MARKETING PLAN ON MARKETING APPROACH

FOR A CONFECTIONARY BUSINESS IN SRI LANKA

WITH REFERENCE TO CEYLON BUSCUITS LIMITED

BA MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP ( COVENTRY UNIVERSITY UK )

Student Name & ID: W.A.D.D Perera ( COBAML- 18.2P- 034 )
Module name: 301MAN - Marketing
Assignment 1 of 2 - Marketing Plan
Word Count: (4367 words Excluding tables, headings and reference’s)
 Table of Content

1.0 List of Tables.........................................................................................................................2

2.0 List of Figures........................................................................................................................2

3.0 Executive Summary..............................................................................................................3

4.0 Company Background..........................................................................................................4

5.0 SWOT Analysis......................................................................................................................7

6.0 Market Analysis....................................................................................................................9

6.1 Analysis of the confectionary market in Sri Lanka..........................................................9

6.2 Competitor Analysis.......................................................................................................10

6.3 Potters five force Analysis..............................................................................................11

6.4 Macro Environmental Analysis......................................................................................13

7.0 Marketing Plan...................................................................................................................16

7.1 Product and branding strategy......................................................................................16

7.1.1 Description of the product concept............................................................................16

7.1.2 Description of the product levels................................................................................17

7.1.3 Positioning strategy.....................................................................................................18

7.2 Description of the market opportunity.........................................................................20

7.2.1 Segmentation..............................................................................................................20

7.2.2 Target Market..............................................................................................................21

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 7.2.3 Target market potential..............................................................................................22

7.2.4 Description of the need...............................................................................................22

7.2.5 Targeting strategy.......................................................................................................22

7.3 Pricing strategy (Estimated costs)..................................................................................22

7.4 Estimated costs...............................................................................................................23

7.5 Distribution strategy......................................................................................................24

7.6 Promotional strategy.....................................................................................................25

7.6.1 Overall promotional objectives...................................................................................25

7.6.2 Promotional techniques..............................................................................................26

8.0 Entry strategies..................................................................................................................29

8.1 Suitable country to initiate the product........................................................................29

8.2 Entry Strategy for the selected country........................................................................30

8.3 Macro Environmental Analysis of the selected market................................................31

9.0 Brand development strategy.............................................................................................34

10.0 Online marketing strategy.................................................................................................35

11.0 Implementation.................................................................................................................36

11.1 Action plan......................................................................................................................36

11.2 Budget for launch...........................................................................................................37

11.3 Monitoring strategy.......................................................................................................38

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12.0 Role of the Marketing manager and the Marketing team...............................................39

12.1 Role of the Marketing Manager....................................................................................39

12.2 Role of the marketing division.......................................................................................41

13.0 Reference list......................................................................................................................42

1.0 List of Tables

Table 1 - Competitors in confectionary sector (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2019).....11

Table 2 - Main Importing Markets (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2016:p.9)..................30

Table 3 - Country Analysis (Author’s Concept, 2019)....................................................................30

Table 4 - Brand Development Strategy (Author’s Concept, 2019)................................................35

Table 5 - Action Plan (Author’s Concept, 2019)............................................................................37

Table 6 - Budget for Launch (Author’s Concept, 2019).................................................................38

2.0 List of Figures

Figure 1 - Positioning map (Author’s Concept, 2019)...................................................................20

Figure 2 - Estimated costs (Author’s Concept, 2019)....................................................................24

Figure 3 - Distribution Network (Author’s Concept, 2019)...........................................................25

Figure 5 - Product Package (Author's Concept, 2019)...................................................................35

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3.0 Executive Summary

Ceylon biscuits limited is the biggest manufacturer and the market leader of the Sri Lankan

confectionary industry with more than 60% of the market share. CBL is well known for its

delicious biscuits products, however CBL also specializes other confectionary products from

breakfast cereals to organic products. Due to the positive attention towards technological

advancements and innovation CBL has been able to enter into the global market by exporting

its products to more than 55 countries over the globe.

This marketing plan describes how a new confectionary product is marketed effectively in the

international market via marketing approach in order to accumulate more business in the

global context with reference to Ceylon biscuits limited. Furthermore, this marketing plan

portraits the cruciality of certain marketing tools and techniques in the process of introducing a

local biscuit product of Ceylon biscuits limited to the international market. Especially this

marketing plan focuses about the marketing programs and principles such as industry analysis,

competitor analysis, environmental analysis, entry strategies, Branding strategies, pricing

strategies, promotional strategies, distribution strategies, online marketing strategies etc… in

detail in the process of developing a new confectionary product to sell in a selected

international market.

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4.0 Company Background

Ceylon biscuits limited is the oldest competitor in the Sri Lanka confectionary sector which

produces the world renowned biscuits Munchee. Not only that, CBL is the market leader in the

confectionary industry of island with more than 60% of the market share.

CBL was established in 1930 by Sir Simon Arthur Wickramasinghe after acquiring a handmade

biscuit manufacturing plant from a Sri Lankan known as Williams. By 1939 the company was re-

established officially as Williams’ confectionary limited. The company was initiated with ten

employees in Dehiwala and within the first 18 years of operation the company was able switch

from labour intensive system to capital intensive system by upgrading the manufacturing lines

from machines that were directly important from Great Britain. The business passed from Sir

Simon Arthur Wickramasinghe to his children in the year of 1961.

In 1960 the company met its turning point where, the company was given a huge contract to

produce biscuits for the entire Sri Lankan schoolers by the ministry of education, as the

government provides a mid-day meal to students under the US based organisation Care. This

lead the company to expand the business in a rapid manner and to open a new plants around

Sri Lanka to meet the demand in the market. The mid-day meal program for schoolers existed

until 1988, after that the company launched a variety of biscuits including Hawaiian cookies,

ginger biscuit and milk short cake biscuits to the market under the brand name Munchee. These

products made the company even more sparkle in the Sri Lankan confectionary industry. At

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present the company is acting as the market leader in each and every product they produce, as

an example CBL holds the market leadership in the chocolate industry in Sri Lanka with more

than 47.2% market share, CBL holds the market leadership in the soya based industry with

more than 30% market share. With the vision to become the number one biscuit, chocolate and

confectionary manufacturer and marketer in Asia, today the company operates with the glory

as one of the best confectionary manufacturers in Asia and this is also depicted by winning

several local as well as international awards including Presidential exports award to Global

awards for brand excellence.

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5.0 SWOT Analysis

Strengths Weaknesses

1) Market leader in the Sri Lankan 1) Insufficient production for some products

confectionary industry with 62% of the to satisfice the market demand. eg:

market share potato crackers

2) Well established management directory 2) High dependence on individual vendors

3) Well known and a well-established brand for critical ingredients. Eg: Flour from

name with 83 years of excellence prima Sri Lanka

4) Availability of good will and positive 3) Low profit margins of certain products

customer perception 4) Lack of cost saving approaches

5) Availability of a strong distribution and 5) Lack of E-marketing practices

sales network all around the world

6) High focus on technological

improvements

7) High focus on innovation, research and

development

8) Availability of a vast product range

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Opportunities Threats

1) Opening of the northern reign of the 1) Negative effects of Globalization and free

country after the war trade agreements

2) Soaring benefits to Sri Lanka through free 2) High competition from other

trade agreements with other countries manufacturers

3) Current positive growth in Sri Lankan 3) No brand loyalty and awareness for

economy certain products. Eg: Munchee curry puff

4) Emerging demand for organic products in 4) Availability of better substitutes to

the global market various products from other brands

5) Rocketing demand for sugar free, low 5) Existing multinational companies in the

calorie and healthy products in the global country might capture the market of

market certain products in future. Eg: Nestle

6) Availability of a lot of un-touched Lanka

confectionary products in the Sri Lankan

market

7) Availability of a lot of special occasions

and festivals in the reign

8) Current trend in internet based shopping

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6.0 Market Analysis

6.1 Analysis of the confectionary market in Sri Lanka

Confectionary industry can be portraited as one of the most crucial industries in the world due

to the existence of a vast amount of benefits towards the economy. This industry is an industry

that has a constant rise in demand as well as a constant export growth throughout the globe.

Similarly, the Sri Lankan confectionary market too faces a constant growth in, as an example it

is recorded that the sector has faced a tremendous growth from 8 million dollars to 39 million

dollars during the period 2006 to 2012 (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2019). Being an

island Sri Lanka earns approximately 265.2 million dollars alone from the confectionary exports

annually (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2019).

Sri Lanka is one of the biggest biscuit consuming countries. The per capita biscuit consumption

in 2008 was recorded as 4 kilograms. This is a very big figure when compared with other Asian

countries such as India where the per capita biscuit consumption is just 1.1 kilograms. The total

biscuit consumption in Sri Lanka for the year 2008 was 44000 metric tons which is valued at

17.8 billion rupees. However, in 2017 total biscuit consumption in Sri Lanka was 81000 metric

tons which is valued at 36 billion rupees (Sequeira, 2017). Therefore, it can be clearly seen that

the total biscuit consumption of Sri Lanka has doubled over 9 years which is a favourable figure.

This can be due various reasons such as the affordability of the biscuit products of the country

as well as due to the busy schedules of the people which lead them to find quick food options

like biscuits.
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6.2 Competitor Analysis

There are around 58 large and small scale confectionary manufacturers in Sri Lanka who

manufactures confectionaries such as Biscuits, chocolates, sugar based confectionaries etc. So

following table portrays the key players, their products and their market share.

Competitor Product Category Market share

(Hyslop, 2018)
CBL Food and Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products. 62%

Specialized in Biscuits

Maliban Food and Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products. 28%

Specialized in Biscuits

Edna group Food and Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products.

Specialized in Chocolate based products

Lucky land Food and Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products.

Specialized in Biscuits and bakery items

10%
Uswatte Food and Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products.

Specialized in Sugar based confectionaries

Diana Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products, Processed Food &

Beverages. Specialized in biscuits and chocolates

Other Beverages, Confectionary & Bakery Products, Processed Food, Other

Food & Beverages. Specialized in all other confectionaries

Table 1 - Competitors in confectionary sector (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2019)

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6.3 Potters five force Analysis

As a part of the industry analysis Potters Five force analysis have done to get an additional

understanding about the confectionary market in Sri Lanka.

Power of customer

There two types of customers in the confectionary sector. They are direct customer and in

direct customers. Direct customers are the agents who are appointed directly by the business.

Therefore, the power of direct customers are low. However, due to low switching cost it can be

said that the power of the indirect customers or the final consumer are very high.

Power of suppliers

There are two types of suppliers in the confectionary sector. They are international suppliers

and local suppliers. Most of the confectionary manufacturers import certain raw materials such

as palm oil, chocolate, chemicals etc. from international suppliers. So the power of

international suppliers are very high due to high switching cost. Most of the confectionary

manufacturers purchase raw materials such as sugar, labels etc. from local suppliers. Therefore,

the power of local suppliers are very high due to less switching cost and due to the existence of

a large number of local suppliers. However, the power of local monopolistic suppliers are very

high for certain critical raw materials such as flour where there is only one local supplier in the

country.

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Threat from Substitutes

Simply threat from Substitutes are very high due to the availability of vast number of local as

well as foreign confectionary items such as cakes, chocolates, fruit drinks etc. and due to the

price sensitivity of the Sri Lankan customers.

Rivalry from competitors

There are a lot of confectionary manufactures in Sri Lanka with less product differentiation. So

the manufacturers always try to make their products unique by practicing regular price

deductions, promotional and advertisement campaigns etc. Therefore, it can be concluded that

the rivalry of competitor are very high.

Threat from new entrants

Threat from new foreign entrants are very low. Due to the current economic situation in the

country it can be anticipate that foreign manufacturers will not enter the local confectionary

sector in the near future. However, the threat from new local entrants are also very low, due to

the existence of certain factors such as, availability of a large number of entry barriers, high

brand loyalty towards local products and due to the inability to attain the economies of scale.

However, in future al lot of new entrants can be expected since there is a 10% vacuum in the Sri

Lankan confectionary sector (Jayasinghe, 2018).

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6.4 Macro Environmental Analysis

Political

With the end of the catastrophical war in the northern part of Sri Lanka, the island has started

to move towards economic development due to the emergence of new market opportunities in

the northern as well as the southern parts of the island. Due to the availability of cheap labour

as well as land, the manufacturing industries including confectionary sector can grab a lot of

advantages to expand their businesses.

Economical

Due to the continuous inflation in the country the confectionary industry might face a lot of

problems including the rise in the prices of raw materials. As an example, there is a 28% duty on

raw material import and 25% as cess charges which is very unfavourable for the industry

(Perera, 2008). This may cause a large amount of negative externalities such as drop in export

earnings. Therefore, the confectionary manufacturers should adopt better strategies to

overcome such situations.

Socio-cultural

Day by day due to urbanization the human kind meet a lot of bad health issues and with

technological advancements people get more awareness about health and wellbeing.

Therefore, this has caused a rising trend in health consciousness which makes people to

consume healthy foods and reject unhealthy junk food. So today confectionery manufacturers

must satisfy this trend by manufacturing healthier products.

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Technological

Today technology is effecting everything both positively and negatively. With the technological

advancements the confectionary manufacturers are seeking the positives of technological

advancements to uplift the confectionary sector by adopting new manufacturing techniques,

technologically advanced manufacturing processes, new packaging methods in order generate

profits. Also technological advancements have lead the confectionary manufactures to fulfil

current customer needs such as health conscious products by engaging in technologically

advanced R&D activities.

Ecological

There are no much bad environmental effects in food manufacturing industry to the ecological

environment unlike other industries. However, even though food industry does not generate any

hazardous effects like radiation or smog, still there can be certain complications that can be

occurred due to certain operations of the manufacturing plants. So, local companies should

focus on certain factors such as better sound level maintain systems, proper waste disposal

systems etc. to mitigate the existing negative effects of the manufacturing plants. In Sri Lanka

ISO 14000 certificate is provided for the companies with no environmental pollution. On the

other hand ecological environment can negatively affect the confectionary business. Bad

weather conditions might affect the agricultural processes which will lead to limit or to increase

the price of raw materials in the food industry.

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Legal

Since confectionery industry produce edible consumer goods the industry is strongly influenced

by taught rules and regulations of several authoritative institutions such as Ministry of

healthcare. Such rules and regulation should be strictly followed in local well as in international

context in order to survive in the market.

Global

Global environment is the most challenging environment out of all the PESTEL factors since

there are a tremendous amount of confectionary manufacturers in the global context.

Therefore, the Sri Lankan confectionery manufacturers should produce the right product to the

right market at the right price. Sri Lankan confectionary products have a positive image in the

international market due to the availability of excellent quality control and food hygiene

practices. However, in order to retain this image the sector should also focus its attention on

current trends in the international confectionery sector. As an example, today a lot of

chocolates have replaced sugar free sweeteners such as stevia.

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7.0 Marketing Plan

7.1 Product and branding strategy

7.1.1 Description of the product concept

Nutri bite is a nutritional multi grain cookie which is specifically prepared for kids’ population

who are suffering from malnutrition due to the absence of a balance diet. Nutri bite can also be

consumed by lactating mothers as well as active youth population, since this product is

prepared as a nutritional snack.

This product is a combination of the two CBL products namely the “Samaposha” and the

“Munchee rice raisin cookie”. Samaposha is a powdered pre-cooked cereal for which is

produced for children as well as for adults. This product is produced by adding four types of

grains such as soya, corn, white rice and green grams which provide irons, vitamins and protein.

On the other hand the rice raisin cookie is produced by adding red rice and raisins. Therefore,

Nutri bite will have all the nutritional benefits of Samaposha and the flavour from the rice raisin

cookie. However, the final product will be produced by omitting sugar from the raisin cookie

and further a natural sweetener like stevia will be added along with desiccated coconut and

milk for additional flavour. In order to attract the child population, the product will be prepared

according to “emoji” shapes and with an icing layer on top of the cookie. So all and all “Nutri

bite” is a vegan, sugar free nutritional multi grain snack with no added artificial flavours that

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can be consumed to recover vitamins, minerals and other nutritional elements that are not

received by the main diet.

7.1.2 Description of the product levels

1. Core product -

Core product is the basic reason why the consumers should purchase Nutri bite. The core

benefit of Nutri Bite is to satisfy the hunger in a nutritional manner.

2. Actual product -

Actual product is the tangible product where the consumers purchase with the expectation

to attain the benefits in the core product. So Nutri bite satisfies customer anticipations by

providing this product as a multi-grain nutritional cookie that provides vitamins and

minerals to overcome malnutrition deficiencies.

3. Augmented product -

This is the point which exceeds the customer satisfaction. So, in order to attain this Nutri

Bite facilitates its customers with a 24*7 customer care contact line to deliver the

comments, enquires and complaints of the product.

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7.1.3 Positioning strategy

Establishment of a unique brand identity in the customers mind for a specific product is known

as positioning. With the tag line “For health and Fun” Nutri bite is a nutritional snack for

children which will be positioned by product benefit and price. The positioning strategy of Nutri

bite is the Market Nicher strategy. A niche market is a very small market with a limited number

of buyers whom needs are not been satisfied by the existing competitors in the market. When it

comes to the Indian biscuit market it can be seen that there are no Nutritional biscuits that are

specifically produced for children with nutrition deficiencies for an affordable price. So Nutri

bite saw this as an opportunity to enter the market as a Nicher with a biscuit product with

distinctive features. Following chart further illustrates the positioning of this product.

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 4
Price
3

0
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4

-1

-2

-3

Britannia Horlicks
Marico Nutri Bite
Parle-G

Sunfeast Nutritional
Benefit

Figure 1 - Positioning map (Author’s Concept, 2019)

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7.2 Description of the market opportunity

7.2.1 Target Market

The target Market of this product is the age category below 15 which represents kids who are

in the growth stage which is one of the most crucial stages in the human life. So these people

need high amount of energy and nutritional nourishment since they are exposed to physical as

well as mental growth. However due to the immaturity, people in this category will not

consume all types of nutritional foods such as vegetable and greens. So a nutritional biscuit can

act as an alternative for a good source of nutrition and to overcome malnutrition.

7.2.2 Target market potential

Nutri bite is a multi-grain cookie which is specially produced for children who are suffering from

various malnutrition disorders. However, Nutri bite can also be consumed by lactating mothers

since this product is prepared as a nutritional snack with no added sugar or extra preservatives.

Therefore, this product has the potential to target the lactating mothers’ population by

introducing a slightly modified version of this product.

7.2.3 Targeting strategy

The targeting strategy of Nutri bite is concentrated targeting strategy which aims to target a

very small group of selected consumers by utilizing only one marketing mix. Since this product

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satisfies a very unique need of a small group of consumers who are children with Nutrition

deficiencies aged below 15.

7.2.4 Description of the need

As per the following statistics it can be seen that India is a country which is seriously suffering from

Malnutrition. Most of the children who are suffering from malnutrition is from rural Hindu

families. This is because that they restrict from eating high protein sources like beef. Therefore,

Indians are always in need of an affordable solution to this problem. Therefore, Nutri bite has

been developed as an effective solution for this market need.

Figure 2 - Malnutrition Indicators among children and Women (USAID, 2014)

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7.3 Pricing strategy (Estimated costs)

Price is the value given to a product. Nutri bite will utilize the competitor pricing as the official

pricing strategy to price the product. The only competitor for Nutri bite is the “Britannia 5 grain

biscuit” which is priced for 55 Indian rupees. So Nutri bite will also be priced at 55 Indian

rupees. The reason for utilizing the competitor price is due to the competitive advantage of

Nutri Bite which is the better appearance of the product than its competitor’s product.

7.4 Estimated costs

Following are the all expenses from manufacturing to until distribution of the product which

has been calculated as a percentage.

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 Shipping and Handling
Expenses
21%

Manufacturing Expenses
45%

Promotional Expenses
34%

Figure 3 - Estimated costs (Author’s Concept, 2019)

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7.5 Distribution strategy

Nutri bite will be utilize intensified strategy as the distribution strategy with the objective to

distribute this product for many locations as possible. For this it is planned to use indirect

distribution system with two distribution channels. One distribution channel will be used to

distribute the product to rural areas and the other to the urban areas. Nutri Bite will be

distributed to wholesalers and to medical reps in rural areas through agents. However, to

distribute the product to urban areas, CBL will establish a new MOU with the biggest super

market chain in India. By doing this it can be ensured that Nutri bite will be sold in all 181 D

Mart branches that are established all around India. Moreover, Nutri bite will utilize the CFR

INCO term in trading which means CBL will be responsible only for the production, packaging,

cost in distribution to port and the port charges.

D. Mart branches

Agent D. Mart D. Mart branches

D. Mart branches
Nutri bite
Retailers and medical reps

Agent Whole seller Retailers and medical reps

Retailers and medical reps

Figure 4 - Distribution Network (Author’s Concept, 2019)

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7.6 Promotional strategy

7.6.1 Overall promotional objectives

Basically there are three main promotional objectives for this product. They are,

1. To create product and awareness

2. To create demand and to persuade customers

3. To create customer loyalty

To create the product and brand awareness, vigorous promotional campaigns will be carried on

within the initial period of the launch. During this period to create a good brand awareness

presentations regarding Nutrition and the product, will be carried on in school assemblies.

Moreover, certain give away items such as pens, pencils, books, Mugs etc. will be given to

school children and items like clocks, calendars, prescription books etc. with Nutri bite logo will

be given to medical reps.

The second promotional objective is to create demand and to persuade customers towards the

product. For this, initially samples will be distributed in super markets and in medical facilities.

Moreover, all types of media platforms will be effectively utilized. Through the media the

product will try to highlight the benefits, features, price and competitive advantages of the

product in order to portray that this product is the solution for the unsatisfied customer needs.

The most important promotional objective is to create customer loyalty. The brand tries to

attain this by running loyalty programs including provision of discounts, loyalty cars and

rewards.

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7.6.2 Promotional techniques

There are five promotional technique’s that will be used to promote the product. They are,

1. Launch

2. Advertisements

3. Awareness campaigns

4. Sponsorships

5. CSR projects

Launch

This product is planned to launch in the World Nutrition Day. Since Nutri bite is a nutritional

biscuit, launching in World nutritional day will helps grab an additional public attention. The

launch is planned to hoist in Bihar since that area has a highest malnutrition concentration. The

launch will be hoisted in theme park after coming to a strategic alliance with one of the famous

theme parks in Bihar. School children will be invited to participate with their parents for this

one day event. The event will be hoisted with a lot of activities and games while educating the

school children and their parents about nutrition and about the product.

Sponsorships

Nutri bite will sponsor certain events such as sports meets and sports related events in schools

as a promotional technique. Here ground decorations, T-shirts, caps and refreshments will be

provided as per this technique.

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Advertisements

This product will be advertised in both the digital media as well as in printed media. When it

comes to digital media this product will advertised through TV, Radio and Social media. And in

printed media this product will be advertised through newspapers advertisements, Bill boards,

point of sales boards and leaflets. Moreover, school playgrounds and school busses will be

decorated with the brand name and the brand image as another medium of advertisement.

Awareness campaigns

Awareness campaigns are simply organized to create brand awareness. As stated above in the

promotional objectives certain give away items are given to both school children as well as for

the medical reps to create brand awareness. Also presentations will be carried regarding the

importance of nutrition and the product in school assemblies.

CSR Projects

Caring on CSR projects helps to grab the attention of the general public. So today a lot of

companies carry CSR projects with the intension to get an additional marketing advantage

while fulfilling the corporate responsibilities. So Nutri bite will apportion 1% of th3e annual

income to carry CSR projects which include donations and free medical campaigns.

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8.0 Entry strategies

8.1 Suitable country to initiate the product

Following chart is extracted from the industry capability reports 2016 and 2017, which were

published by the export development board. The data shows the countries that import the

highest quantity of confectioneries from Sri Lanka over the years.

Country Value in USD (2014)

Ghana 5,199,000
Maldives 3,242,000
UK 970,000
UAE 2,227,000
India 1,043,000
Table 2 - Main Importing Markets (Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2016:p.9)

Country Value in USD (2016)

Ghana 5,870,000
Maldives 3,805,000
UK 1,336,000
UAE 3,104,000
India 2,046,000

Table 3 Main Importing Markets ( Sri Lanka Export Development Board, 2017:p.9)

Out of the above countries India and Ghana can be selected to further analyse the suitable

country to launch the product with the assumption that developing countries have a high

malnutrition rate.

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 Selected % of Stunted % of Underweight % of Anaemia % of growth Entry
Countries children children in children in import Barriers
Ghana 19% 11% 66% 113% Low
India 20% 44% 82% 196% High
Table 4 - Country Analysis (Author’s Concept, 2019)

Therefore, in conclusion even though there are high entry barriers, India is selected to launch

the product due various other factors such as the availability of the highest malnutrition rates

and the availability of a high growth in the import value; which is an opportunity to launch a

nutritional product like Nutri Bite.

8.2 Entry Strategy for the selected country

As the global market entry strategy, Nutri Bite will utilize the indirect exporting technique.

Export is the process of marketing a product in the international market which is being

produced in local market. There are several reason for selecting indirect export. The main

reasons for selecting indirect export is unlike other strategies export is a very affordable, well

known and less risky.

Moreover, the reasons for not selecting other distribution strategies such as foreign direct

investment is due to various reasons such as current political instability of the country creates

risk in investments. In contract manufacturing, it is not selected due to the expensiveness of

that technique in a country like India with high input cost excluding Labour. On the other hand

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joint venture, licensing or franchising is not selected since those are not the best alternatives

due to its complexity in implementation.

8.3 Macro Environmental Analysis of the selected market

Political

Availability of a high VAT of 12.5% on biscuits (UK Essays, 2018) makes a very negative situation

to the industry which leads the manufacturers to increase the prices of their products which

limits consumer purchases. Due to the revocation of the 14.73% of import duty on dairy

products makes the price sensitive Indian consumers to shift towards the imported foreign

products. However, as a positive factor, the Indian government has introduced a new incentive

system to build cold storage facilities to uplift the confectionary sector and to save the wastage

of food items of the country due to the lack of cold storages.

Economical

The high inflation rate is effecting the overall industries in India including the confectionary

sector. As an example, milk can be identified as one of the critical ingredients in the

confectionary sector. However due to the inflation, the price of milk has been rocketed from

12.6% to 13.6% (Goel, 2019). This has leads to increase the cost of raw materials for certain

products which also makes low profit margins for certain players in the Indian confectionery

industry. Also due to the lack of infrastructure facilities of the country makes manufacturers to

use expensive third party logistics, which can be a huge cost to the confectionary

manufacturers in India.
30 | P a g e MARKETING PLAN ON MARKETING APPROACH
Socio-cultural

Today the human race is more concerned about health and wellbeing. Likewise Indians too

concerns about health. So today this has made the consumers to think of the quality of the

products over the price. Therefore, it can be anticipated that there will be a high demand for

low fat confectionaries and low sugar confectionaries.

Technological

Recent inventions in Indian confectionary sector, such as advanced packaging system like

oxygen scavenging which is done to protect food from micro-organisms has helped to increase

the shelf life of the products. Such technologies have leads to increase profits and to reduce

costs.

Ecological

Climatic changes in the country has affected the confectionary industry up to a certain extent

due to the inability to find locally produced critical raw materials such as flour. Failure to find

required amount of raw materials will leads the confectionary manufactures to import raw

materials by paying a higher price.

Legal

The Indian confectionary sector is effected by rules and regulations of several authoritative

institutions such as ministry of health, Indian council of medical and research etc. As per these

31 | P a g e all M
institutions theA confectionary
R K E T I N G Pproducts
L A N Othat
N M areA manufactured
R K E T I N G AinP the
P R country
O A C H should face

several quality tests. As an example all the probiotic foods should face a clinic test before the
 9.0Brand development strategy

Nutri bite is a new brand which is developed for a new product category which is Nutritious

multi grain biscuit for children who are suffering from malnutrition. Therefore, as per the four

brand development strategies, this particular product should be developed as a new brand.

Consumer Based Brand Equity Model

Level of Development Strategic Actions Taken
Developmen stage recommendation
t
Low equity / Brand By building a memorable Brand name: Nutri bite
Un inform Recognition brand name, through Tagline: For health and fun
brand (Salience) product description, tag Package: Figure 5
lines, packaging and logo By executing a set of effective
promotional campaigns
Brand By communicating the Nutri Bite will be positioned as
Meaning products distinct features, an affordable nutritional snack
(Imaginary & Ingredients and price to for children with nutrition
Performance) the customer. deficiencies.
Brand By enhancing the Familiarising the product as an
Response perceived quality and ISO certified product. By
(Judgements superiority developing more product
and Feelings) flavours. By enhancing the
product appearance over the
competitors

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Figure 5 - Product
Package (Author's
Concept, 2019)
High equity / Brand By building Intense brand Nutri bite will run several
Fully inform Resonance loyalty. brand loyalty programs. Nutri
brand bite is consisted with a 24*7
customer care line to receive
customer feedback
Table 5 - Brand Development Strategy (Author’s Concept, 2019)

10.0 Online marketing strategy

This product will utilize three widely used online techniques in Sri Lanka to practice the online

marketing strategy. They are, Social media marketing, Email marketing and via official website.

Via Official Websites -

An official web page will be created as the initial step of the organisations digital marketing

strategy to promote the product.

Social Media Marketing -

Today social media can be recognized as one of the convenient methods to promote a product.

Therefore, Nutri bite will utilize social media platforms such as face book, YouTube, what’s up

etc. to promote the product. Here continuous creative posts will be posted by Nutri bite

through all social media platforms in order to grab the attention of the audience.

Email marketing -

Nutri bite will utilize email marketing as another online strategy. Here Nutri bite will specifically
33 | P a g e MARKETING PLAN ON MARKETING APPROACH
use email marketing to communicate with the customers regarding available discounts and

events, to promote the product and to direct the customers towards the official website.
 11.0 Implementation

11.1 Action plan

Following action plan has prepared with the intension to launch the product in World

Nutritional day (28th May) as per the marketing plan.

Implementation time line Responsible party Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May
Pre-Launch
Develop the product Marketing dep  
Test the product R&D dep  
Income and expense analysis Finance dep  
Selection of the pricing policy Marketing dep  
Designing of the package Marketing dep  
Commence production Production dep  
Establish distribution channel Marketing dep  
Develop promotional plan Sales team  
Ship the product Logistic dep  
Launch
Execute promotional plan Sales team  
Launch the product Sales team  
Post Launch Marketing and Promotional campaigns, monitoring and gather

Sales departments customer feedback will be done continuously.

Table 6 - Action Plan (Author’s Concept, 2019)

11.2 Budget for launch

Following are the expenditures that are related to the launching of the product.

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 Budget (LKR’ 000)

Manufacturing Expenses Promotional Expenses Shipping and Handling Expenses

Research and Development 600 Launch 400 Dealer commission 250

Raw materials 500 Advertisements 400 Agent salary 150

Production 750 Awareness 250 Tax Expenses 150

Labour cost 250 Sponsorships 100 Legal Expenses 100

Tax Expenses 150 CSR 400 Shipping Expenses 300

Legal Expenses 100 Digital Marketing 250 Handling expenses 150

Total Expenses 5,250,000

Table 7 - Budget for Launch (Author’s Concept, 2019)

11.3 Monitoring strategy

There are two main monitoring methods that will be used to monitor this product. They are,

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1. In store surveys

2. Monthly reviews and meetings

In store surveys

After the launch of this product, the agents will engage in in store surveys as the main

monitoring technique. Here the agents will gather the certain information like sales and

customer feedback of the product throughout the outlets.

Monthly reviews and meetings

Monthly reviews and meetings will be continuously conducted as another method to monitor

about product. Here the marketing department will discuss about the information that are

received by the agents in store surveys and through that information several other decision

such as whether to do any modifications to his product, future marketing campaigns etc. will be

made. Also these range of meetings will be hoisted to monitor on going processes such as

promotional campaigns etc. Moreover, these series of meetings will be used to perform

performance appraisals of all completed tasks of the project.

12.0 Role of the Marketing manager and the Marketing team

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12.1 Role of the Marketing Manager

To handle this project a new marketing manager will be recruited. Following are the

responsibilities and the role played by the new marketing manager in each stages of the

project.

Planning -

In this stage the Nutri bite project will be introduced to all the members in the marketing

department. Also here the manager will communicate the objectives, strengths, critical success

factors, weaknesses, assumptions, opportunities, constraints of the project to the marketing

division. Moreover, in this stage the marketing manager will prepare the initial marketing plan.

Here the marketing manager will set the project objectives and also demines what actions to be

taken and whom should take actions to achieve them. For this the marketing manager have

divided the entire marketing division into 4 main teams and each team will be given a set of

responsibilities.

Organizing -

In this stage the marketing manager develop all the budgets that are related in this project and

allocates resources to the divided teams. Also in this stage the marketing manager will come up

with contracts and strategic alliances as per the marketing plan and fulfils all the legal

requirements to run this projects from authoritative institutions.

Leading -

37 | P a g e MARKETING PLAN ON MARKETING APPROACH

In this stage the marketing manager will execute the plans as per the marketing plan in a

punctual manner. Here the manager will guide, coordinates and mortivates each team to work

hard as per the marketing plan. Also in this stage the marketing manager will continuously

monitor weather are there any errors, conflicts, whether each team is fulfilling the assigned

tasks etc.

Controlling -

In this stage the marketing manager will measure the work performance by comparing results

with objectives of the marketing plan and if there are any negatives then the manager will take

corrective actions. Also in this stage the marketing manager will perform several performance,

product and vendor appraisals for the betterment of the future of the product.

12.2 Role of the marketing division

In this project the marketing division is divided into four main parts by the marketing manager.

They are, the market Research team, pricing & packaging team, Promotional team & the

38 | P a g e MARKETING PLAN ON MARKETING APPROACH

customer relations team. Following are the roles that should be played by the each of the

teams.

1. Market Research team -

The market positioning team is responsible to research and analyse the market place in

order to determine whether there are any opportunities or needs in the market for this

Nutri bite. Also this team is responsible to collect and convey the customer purchasing date

of the country where the product will be launched to the marketing manager.

2. Pricing and packaging team -

This team is responsible to plan product revenue goals, input costs and other finance related

scenarios as per the marketing plan. Also this team is completely responsible for the

packaging of the product from designing until manufacturing the package.

3. Promotional team -

This team is responsible to carry all the promotional campaigns such as advertisements, CSR

projects and awareness campaigns etc. that are planned as per the marketing plan.

4. Customer relations team -

The main responsibility of this team is to maintain a good customer relationship. Also this

team is responsible to monitor the sales of the product and to receive customer feedbacks.
13.0 Reference list

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1. Chaparro, C. & Sethuraman, K. (2014) India Nutrition Profile [Fig]. Available from:

https://www.fantaproject.org/sites/default/files/download/India-Nutrition-Profile-

Mar2014.pdf [Accessed 25th July 2019]

2. Goel, D. (2019) Measures of Inflation in India. Journal of Business Thought. 9(10), 27-28.

Available from:

www.informaticsjournals.com/index.php/jbt/article/download/21171/17681 [Accessed

26th July 2019].

3. Hyslop, G. (2018) Uswatte to tap into Sri Lanka’s growing love for biscuit. Available from:

https://www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Article/2018/07/16/Uswatte-to-tap-into-Sri-Lanka-s-growing-

love-for-biscuits [Accessed 19th July 2019].

4. Jayasinghe, J. (2018) Sri Lanka needs more biscuit manufacturers. Available from:

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180715/business-times/sri-lanka-needs-more-biscuit-

manufacturers-302077.html [Accessed 21th July 2019].

5. Perera, Q. (2008) Sweets business is turning sour. Available from:

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/080928/News/sundaytimesnews_11.html [Accessed 25th July

2019].

6. Sequeira, Y. (2017) Biscuits Need Sweeteners. Available from: https://lmd.lk/confectionery-

sector/ [Accessed 20th July 2019].

7. Sri Lanka Export Development Board (2016) Main Importing Markets [Table]. Available

from: http://www.srilankabusiness.com/pdf/industry_capability_reports/food_and_beverages.pdf

[Accessed 19th July 2019]

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8. Sri Lanka Export Development Board (2017) Main Importing Markets [Table]. Available

from: http://www.srilankabusiness.com/pdf/industry_capability_reports/food-and-beverage-

sector-2017.pdf [Accessed 19th July 2019]

9. Sri Lanka Export Development Board (2019) Confectionary Bakery Products Exporters in Sri

Lanka [Table]. Available from: http://www.srilankabusiness.com/exporters-

directory/confectionary-bakery-products-exporters-in-sri-lanka.html#foods [Accessed 20th

July 2019].

10. Sri Lanka Export Development Board. (2019) Confectionery and Bakery Products. Available

from: http://www.srilankabusiness.com/food-and-beverages/confectionery-and-bakery-

products.html [Accessed 20th July 2019].

11. Sri Lanka Export Development Board. (2019) Confectionery and Bakery Products. Available

from: http://www.srilankabusiness.com/food-and-beverages/confectionery-and-bakery-

products.html [Accessed 20th July 2019].

12. UK Essays. (2018) Analysis of Britannia Industries Limited Marketing Essay. Available from:

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/marketing/analysis-of-britannia-industries-limited-

marketing-essay.php [Accessed 30th July 2019].

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