A Marketing for the Next Years for Yollies - Business Plan Example

Marketing Plan (2017-19) for Yollies

Executive Summary

Kerry Food is one of the leading organisations in the UK and Ireland in the field of baby food production. Over a long period, this organisation is reputed in the market for providing one after another good baby food as well as other healthy foods in the market. In recent years, parents of children are becoming more and more conscious about the tendency of their children regarding eating junk foods. There are number of food related disease growing at a very fast pace in countries like UK, Ireland which prompting parents to become over cautious (Brandweiner, 2011). In this scenario, launching new food items in the market, which is categorized as fast food is a challenging task. The main objective of Kerry Food is to launch Yollis in the market and promote it as one of the health food among the parents. The marketing plan of the product not only involves a market scenario analysis but at the same time, it also focuses on the competitors and possible financial condition of that organisation in the market. The financial plan is being designed keeping in mind the 4P of the organisation related to Yollis. The marketing plan for next 3 years is being developed considering both micro and macro factors associated with the organisation’s overall business process and to make sure that the product get enough success in the market.

Table of Contents

1.0 Background and Introduction4

2.0 External Analysis4

2.1. PEST Analysis:4

3.0 Micro Analysis6

3.1 Market analysis6

3.2 Company analysis6

3.3 Customer analysis8

3.4 Competitor analysis9

4.0 SWOT Analysis: Yollies9

5.0 Principle Assumption Associated with the Marketing Plan10

6.0 Marketing Objectives and Strategy11

6.1 Marketing Objective11

6.2 Marketing Strategy11

7.0 Marketing Mix12

8.0 Implementation, Budgets and Controls14

9.0 Conclusions & Recommendations15

Reference List17

• 1.0 Background and Introduction

Yollies is a product of Kerry foods section of Co. Kerry, which was established in Ireland in 1972 (Kerrygroup, 2016). Its product portfolio in foods section ranges from dairy, savoury, cereals, sweet, beverages and nutritional food items. It reported a sale of € 5.8 billion in 2014 with a profit of € 636 million. The organisation is having more than 100 operational units all around 140 nations across the globe. For its foods section alone, there are around 24000 employees and makes 15000 products over 100 manufacturing units. Yollies is a newly launched product where they have successfully put “yoghurt on a stick” without any artificial flavour, colour or preservatives, but has the goodness of calcium and vitamin D (Unahanandh and Assarut, 2013). The main purpose of the assignment is to develop an appropriate marketing plan for the product Yollies so that it is possible to retain a wide range of consumers towards the organisation.

After a survey, 84% of the parents showed positive response towards buying this lunch-box healthy snack and based on that, Yollies is planned to be distributed through convenience retail outlets like ‘Asda’ and ‘Nisa’ (Kerry foods, 2013). With the launch of a product after thorough understanding of what the children want and growing demands of parents for tasty but healthy foods for their children, Yollies has a huge scope of sales. This research will analyse the present state of business and future adoptable strategies that the company can use to make this product is in demand for at least next three years.

• 2.0 External Analysis

Usually, external analysis of a market in which a company is working is done with the help of PEST analysis. It helps in understanding the underlying risk related opportunities indicating growth. It also helps in estimating the chances of market capture, penetration access or suitability of the targeted market. Apart from the basic four elements of PEST (political, economical, social and technological), factors like environment, legal and ethical considerations are sometimes measured (Busimessballs, 2016).

• • 2.1. PEST Analysis:
• Political:

The company tries to maintain political rule sand regulations to run the business activities successfully which is necessary to promote the product, Yollies. The product is mainly for children and therefore, the company maintains all the legislations in food industry and give 20% tax to the World Health Organisation (WHO) (Tradingeconomics, 2016).

• Economical:

In 2016, UK’s GDP growth has been more than 2% with low inflation, indicating the spending of consumers as a driving factor thereby ensuring that people’s preference towards having healthy dietary options will increase (PWC, 2016). Labour cost in UK has gone down since last three years resulting in low manufacturing cost (Trading economics, 2016). Population growth between 2013 and 2014 was 0.8% and a steady growth trend is there in the market. It is a good sign for any economy where the growing young population results in direct increase in consumption of dairy related products (Keynote editorial, 2016).

• Social:

High rate of literacy- Knowledge brings about changes in food habits, shifting more towards health-consciousness. UK has a heritage of quality education resulting in people’s demand of healthier food options (Marketline, 2013). The customers in the recent years prefer more innovation and creative products and therefore, it is beneficial for the brand to launch the product at target market where the potential to purchase Yollies is high. Moreover, recent taste and food preferences are more towards healthy and safety habits and therefore, it is also advantageous for Kerry food to promote the product and retain more social community for Yollies.

• Technological:

The company focuses on technological advancement to produce the product creatively to retain more potential buyers for the product, Yollies. By implementing proper machinery to store and manufacture the product and packaging style helps the brand to launch Yollies in more creative way in the market (Unahanandh and Assarut, 2013).

• 3.0 Micro Analysis
  • 3.1 Market analysis

Yollies is a dairy product and in order to make a marketing plan, it is necessary to understand the market of the products which are required in its production like Milk, dairy products etc. UK shows a trend of more imports than exports in dairy category. For yoghurt, import is more than export indicating internal manufacture is less than the country’s demand (Varadarajan, 2015). The market demand for the product is increasing year to year and it is advantageous for the brand to promote the product at target market.

• • 3.2 Company analysis

Kerry food is considered as one of the leading child food brand in the Europe and Ireland. At present the product line of the organization is consisting of 11 different products. The business model of the organization is helpful in developing strong network among its customers and at the same time developing new product to attract more customers (Amit and Zott, 2008). There is one loophole or weakness of the company and that is its firm or rigid infrastructure. Due to less organised work culture, the process of development is comparatively slower. Available manpower of the company is productive and the objective of the organization is clear to them hence they are working together to achieve it. From the financial perspective, the net asset of the organization as of 2014 was £2235.6 million, which help the company to take care of its liabilities and at the same time look for new product development (Kerry group, 2015)

• Primary activities:

Through the primary activities of the organisation, it is possible to understand the inbound and outbound logistics, marketing and sales, services and operation. The organisation tries to maintain proper relationship with the local suppliers and supermarkets or hypermarkets to manage inbound and outbound logistics of the company. In order to produce the product at cost effective way, the brand use proper techniques and store raw materials to improve quality of the product (Ramaseshan, et al., 2013).

Figure 1: Financial Performance of Kerry Food

(Source: Kerry, 2016)

Kerry food is one of the well-known organisations in the UK and Ireland. The organisation is having a wide range of product but still it is looking for increasing the offering for the children to strengthen its position in the market. The above figure illustrates the financial data associated with the organisation’s overall performance in last 5 years (2011-2015).

• Supportive activities:

In order to strength the supportive activities, Kerry tries to manage procurement, human resource management, firm infrastructure and technological development. The company tries to strengthen the human resource department to produce healthy and safe food like Yollies in more innovative way. The efficiency of the employees helps the brand to meet their objective and deliver high quality products and services to the customers in the market. On the other hand, the company focuses on improving organisational capability and increasing resource structure to secure sustainable growth in near future (Pagani and Otto, 2013). Kerry offers suitable work environment and upper level managers try to build cooperation and communication with each other to improve organisational efficiency. By encouraging employee’s creativity and technological advancement, it is also easy for the company to improve operational efficiency and deliver quality products and services to the customers (Brandweiner, 2011).

• • 3.3 Customer analysis

The customers are the main part of the company and it is important to analyse the needs, purchasing behaviour and customer’s attitude to target the potential buyers in the market. As per the figure, it is found that expenditure for milk, egg and cheese is increasing as compared to previous years (Nielsen, 2015). Therefore, it is easy for the company to target the customers and influence their buying decision making behaviour for the product, Yollies.

Figure 2: Comparison between Expenditures

(Source: Key Notes, 2016)

The key segments of customers of Kerry food are the children of age group 10 to 17 years. Children in this age group like to have snacks such as flavoured milk, cookies, cakes, soy or yoghurt, etc and are ready to spend close to £5 almost every day for the consumption of this kind of snaks. If one consider the present market scenario, it is very clear that children of the above mentioned age group still enjoys fast foods over yoghurts there are very less variety with yogurts (Snacma.org.uk, 2014). So the opportunity for Yollies to capture the market is still very high.

• • 3.4 Competitor analysis

In order to conduct competitor analysis, the theories of Porter’s five forces is important to identify the competitive rivalry in the dairy industry, threats of substitute products, threats of new entrants, bargaining power of the suppliers and buyers. The brand faces moderate threats of new entrants as it is not easy for the new entrants to enter and operate in the market in cost effective way (Burchell, et al., 2013). Accordingly, there is high competition in the market due to existing competitive brand sharing high market share such as Nutrica. One of the major competitors of the organisation in this market is Nutrica in Ireland. The organisation generally provides wide variety of products, which are associated with the development of the child food in the market (Morgan, 2012). Another major competitor in the UK market is Ella’s Kitchen. The organisation is well known for its production of 100% organic food for babies and kids (Ella’s Kitchen, 2016). In addition to high competition, there is an also high threat of substitute products in the food industry. However, the brand faces low bargaining power of the suppliers and on the other hand, innovative product and quality of Yollies decreases the bargaining power of the consumers in the market (Businessballs, 2016).

• 4.0 SWOT Analysis: Yollies

Strength

Yollies is an innovative product in dairy industry and it contains Vitamin D and Calcium which is suitable for the children (Euromonitor International, 2015).

Absence of artificial flavour increasing popularity of the product.

Due to the over health consciousness of the customer, the chances of this product getting successful is high.

Weakness

The product is made of thick yogurt which is less healthy than the raw yogurt. This is a weakness for which it can be difficult to target the potential buyers towards the company (Kerry, 2016).

As it is a newly launched product in the market, it requires heavy investment on packaging and promotion and thus the level of profitability is very low (Kerryfoods, 2013).

A major weakness of this group is its high debt to equity ratio and its high expenditure on R&D.

Opportunity

Adding various flavours to make it more attractive for the children

Promoting the nutrient value of the product among parents as they are the main one to convince to increase the sales level.

Producing it as an attractive and healthy alternative in front of parents with zero artificial flavour and other harmful ingredients which dominating the market.

Threat

High competition in the food industry is the main threat of the brand to gain high competitive advantage over other existing companies.

The main threat is the raw yogurt products in the market as the product. Yollies is made of thick layer of yogurt.

Presence of other organisations in the market with variety of health products already established their market. To break into that will take time.

Changing customer’s needs and preferences is another market threats as it further changes the market demand for the organisational product.

• 5.0 Principle Assumption Associated with the Marketing Plan

In order to develop proper marketing planning, it is important to analyse the market and make proper assumption about the market for Yollies. The government rules and legislations in the food industry is quiet stable and this environment provides a scope to Jerry group to run the business successfully (Financial Times, 2015). There are high potential of the customers to buy the product of Kerry group as it is safe and healthy food and its taste is also good. Moreover, the market structure of Ireland is quiet favourable for conducting the organisational activities in a smooth manner (Business Wire, 2015). Therefore, we can assume that stable political environment and market growth in Ireland are perfect for launching the product, Yollies in the market and retain more potential buyers towards the brand.

• 6.0 Marketing Objectives and Strategy

For Yollies it is necessary to develop a well define objective before going aggressively in the market. Objective can be define as the goal of any organisation which it sets related to any particular project or service before launching it (Maile, et al., 2015).

• • 6.1 Marketing Objective
• Target the child food segment below 15 years and become one of the most preferred brands within next 3 years.
• Able to capture 20% market in the UK child food industry as preferred child dessert after lunch.
• Capturing 10% market share in the Ireland market as preferred dessert among the children.
• Ensuring healthy quality and maximum possible variety.
  • 6.2 Marketing Strategy

Marketing strategy is important for the brand to target the potential buyers towards the brand. Every organization is looking to get marketing advantage with the help of well organized marketing mix as well as properly designed marketing program. Brodrechtova, (2008); Moghaddam and Foroughi (2012) in his review has mentioned that marketing strategy is a well thought-out plan which clarify how an organization use its reserve and link the same with the environment to achieve corporate objective in order to make economic value and remain ahead of its competitors in the market.

In this regard, Ansoff’s matrix is useful to implement appropriate marketing planning to retain more customers towards the brand (Kumar and Rajan, 2012). As per the matrix, product development, market penetration, diversification and market development are the necessary steps through which the brand can target the potential buyers in the international market. The company needs to focus on the product development to lunch new innovative and differentiated product in the market. In this regard, the brand produces Yollies in different flavours such as cherry, strawberry, mango and grapes to grab market opportunities. Therefore, differentiated product development is useful to deliver Yollies as per the preferences and needs of the individual.

• Target market:

In order to launch the product at effective market, it is important to target the consumers in the international market where the chances of purchasing the particular product are high. Therefore, the brand mainly targets the children aged between 5 to 15 years. Drewnowski et al (2012) in their review has mentioned that “consumption of added sugars accounted for 15.9% (60 g/d) of energy in the diets of children aged 2–5 years and 18.6% (90 g/d) of energy in the diets of children aged 6–11 years. The bulk of this sugar was provided by energy-containing beverages, including sugar-sweetened sodas and flavoured milk, which are a substantial; source of added sugarsin the diets of children aged 2–11 years (p. 1142)”. Approximately more than 90% children sweet dishes in their lunch and therefore, it will be beneficial for the brand to target the school going children to attract potential buyers.

• Positioning market:

The company tries to implement effective marketing strategies through which it is easy to promote the brand by targeting the market segment where there are high chances of buying the organisational product. Vitamin D and calcium further improve the quality of the products and therefore, it is quiet easy to attract more potential buyers by delivering safety and healthy foods. Yogurt is beneficial for human being and social media interaction helps the brand to deliver proper information about the product. It further facilitates an opportunity to promote the brand by targeting a particular segment of the market and gain high market share.

• 7.0 Marketing Mix

It is directly associated with strategies that an organisation generally implement to improve its business performance. Marketing mix generally consists of four different aspects and those are product, price, and promotion and place (Foreign and commonwealth office, 2015).

Product: It is nothing but Yoghurt on stick which is rich in Calcium and Vitamin D. Each stick is having a letter printed on it, which attracts children to collect more. Apart from that, a character associated with the same. To attract more, organisation can add flavours in it, making it more and more attractive for the children. Using colourful and added taste can add on to the benefits as well.

• Price:

For Yollies, best pricing strategy can be to provide discount offer to attract more young children. This pricing strategy to provide offers is effective for Kerry group to attract more potential buyers in the international market. The brand also needs to set the price of Yollies at competitive level so that the brand can offer the product at affordable price (Pinto et al., 2016). This strategy is essential to gain competitive advantage over other competitive companies in the international market. In addition to these, special discount and buy one get one free strategies are also appropriate to retain more consumers towards the brand (Smedescu, 2013). Providing discount, giving free gift with every purchase, promoting events for the kids in different schools or fares with promotional offers on the product will help the organization to stabilize its market position.

• Promotion:

Promotion helps organisation to develop a long lasting image in the mind of the consumer, which helps in overall marketing of the product for a long-run (Smedescu, 2013). The company implements several promotional strategies through which it is possible to launch the product at effective market by ensuring high customer retention. In this regard, advertisement is one of the important strategies through which the brand can retain more consumers and in this regard, the brand adopts the social media marketing strategies to launch the product (Poulter, 2014). The digital media marketing is therefore effective to provide the authentic information to the consumers so that it can influence the purchase decision making behaviour of the customers. Moreover, sales promotion and sponsorship through other brands are also appropriate strategies through which the brand can attract more potential buyers towards the product, Yollies. Sales promotion through television attracts children as well as social media marketing is also useful to target the social communities in the country (Singh, et al., 2014).

• Place:

For this product, place is more associated with the distribution policy that the organisation used to follow. In place, one of the important elements is the process of distribution. Strategies associated with the placement is helpful in determining which channel is best fit for the distribution of the product and how the product can be reach out to maximum number of potential consumers within less time (Martin, 2014).

Suggested strategies can be opening more outlets in different parts of the UK and Ireland. Reaching out to more number of young generations, especially children below 15 years of age by establishing stalls outside schools is also an effective strategy for placing the brand Target shopping malls, movie halls where child film are going on can be a better option to target new customer.

• 8.0 Implementation, Budgets and Controls

To implement any strategy, every organisation needs to allocate finance properly for each segment associated with the business (Marketline, 2013). For a 3-year marketing plan, organisation needs to focus on following points and here is the estimated budget for implementing those successfully:

• Budget Allocation:

(Source: Author’s Creation)

Implementing the plan require proper supervision from the higher authority. It is very much necessary that there is a proper team who will look after the entire designing of the marketing plan and at the same time also look after the overall budget allocation and implementation. Proper follow up from both ends will ensure that management planning and implementation are on the same track.

• 9.0 Conclusions & Recommendations

A well design business plan is the backbone of success of every organisation. Marketing plan is one of the integral parts of it. Whether for a new organisation or for any exiting one, marketing plan plays a major role in the success of the overall process (Poulter, 2014). This report is a general outline about the marketing plan of Yollis in next 3 years especially in the UK and Ireland market. The financial budget allocation or strategies are not fixed as depending on the situation there are always options to review and alter the same in order to ensure success.

The organisation, Kerry needs to implement the online marketing strategies to retain more consumers towards the organisational product. Yollies is a healthy product and it is the main strength of the company to target the consumers that contributes in high demand for the product. In such an era of globalisation, people try to be safe and healthy and the purchase decision making behaviour and taste of the consumers shifts towards healthy and safety foods. Therefore, the company needs to provide all the relevant information about the safety and healthy factor of Yollies and price level to the consumers which are effective for more customer retention.

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