Brand:

Marketing Environment Audit

TECHNOLOGICAL:
What major changes are occurring in product and process technology? What is
the company’s position in these technologies? What major generic substitutes
might replace this product? What are the digital implications of how the
company conducts its business and its marketing?

Product and Process Technology Innovations at K&N's

Product Technology Innovations:

Meeting Consumer Demands:

K&N's continues to develop its product offering to meet the changing demands of consumers with the offering
of its diverse range of poultry products, including whole bird, parts, ready-to-cook, ready-to-eat items, along
with its range of value-added products like burgers, nuggets, and sausages. This is so the firm meets the
consumer's most preferred convenience, quality, and variety.

Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) Technology:

In this process, K&N's uses Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) technology in its processing plant, which ensures
better retention of product nutrients and natural taste because of the rapid product freezing and, subsequently,
improved quality and safety characteristics of the frozen food product.

Process Technology Innovations:

Bio-Secure Breeding Operations: K&N's strictly keeps all the stages of poultry production in its hold, from
breeding to processing, hence ensuring the safety and consistency of products. The grandparent and parent
breeding operations are carried out in the bio-secure, environment-controlled houses, ensuring concern about
health, vaccination, and proper selection of the breeding stock.

State-of-the-Art Processing Plant:

Their ultra-modern poultry processing plant ensures automatic, highly hygienic processing of the chickens.
And their slaughter, that is, the Chickens, follows hand slaughter rules according to the Shariah rules of
HALAL, later followed by thorough washing inside and outside.
The whole operation gets cleaned and sanitized throughly every evening to ensure the highest level of
cleanliness and therefore food safety possible.

Excellence in Hatching and Broiler Growing:

K&N's proudly displays itself as a company that has excellence in hatching and broiler growing,
complemented by hatcheries located at strategic places to provide the highest quality day-old chicks to
farmers across the length and breadth of the country. Their broiler-growing farms are also top-notch,
representative of modern facilities like automated heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, all built with the
aim of raising animals in line with quality products from them. Major Technological Changes and Company's
Position:

Innovation in Feed Production:

The in-country initiative for soya cultivation of K&N's reflects the drive of the company towards technological
innovations in manufacturing feed. This effort of being self-dependent in feed ingredients is done in order to
bring down the cost factor and to be able to engage with sustainable agricultural practices.

Advancements in Processed Chicken Products:

Placing an emphasis on processed chicken products, the branding of K&N's was recognized at the IFFA
International Quality Competition, where this shows that they are highly recognized for their technology in
product development. K&N's leads in development and marketing in the processed poultry products line, with
high emphasis placed on the value-added products of sausages and cold cuts.

Major Generic Substitutes in the Frozen Food

Market

Competitive Landscape Overview:

Operating in the competitive landscape of the frozen food market of Pakistan, there are some brand names
which could post potential competition for K&N's as major generic substitutes.
Over the years, the market has been quick to see the advent of such formidable competitors who sought to
capture the consumer's interest by way of innovation, product quality, and marketing effectiveness when
K&N's has sustained itself as a market leader.

Key Competitors:

Al-Shaheer: Al-Shaheer is considered the major competitor for K&N's in the market for frozen foods and
produces many products related to poultry and other categories of frozen foods.

Big Bird: Another serious competitor to the Frozen Food business is Big Bird, who has a range of frozen
poultry products along with convenience food items that give competition to K&N products.

Frozen Fresh: Frozen Fresh competes with K&N's by offering a mix of frozen food products, which may serve
as an alternative for another kind of product among the consumers of K&N's.
Sufi: The other competitors involved in this market are Sufi, a complete range of frozen food products that
include frozen poultry and other convenience foods, considered to be a substitutable product for K&N.

Menu: The menu provides an alternative to K&N's product in the market for convenient frozen food choice
with a range of poultry products.

Dawn Foods: The other major player in the game is Dawn Foods, with its frozen parathas and samosas,
along with its recent series of frozen products. On the other hand, Dawn Foods has 6% share compared to
dawn from K&N's.

PK Foods: PK Foods is a competitor of K&N's in the frozen foods market, offering substitutes to K&N's
products in the hope that it can capture consumer demands for products that are more convenient frozen food
alternatives.

Market Dynamics and Growth:

The country's frozen food market is growing at an impressive CAGR and is expected to reach close to USD
968.48 million by 2029. Demand, therefore, is expected to be driven by an increase in labor force participation
rates among women, which is expected to increase the market's growth for convenient food products and,
hence, intensifying competition among major industry players. Despite the strong positioning by K&N, over 10
new entrants have come into the market in the last five years, clearly pointing towards a rapidly evolving
landscape.

Digital Implications for Business and

Marketing

Quality and Halal Standards Communication:

The digital platform provides a way in which K&N can educate the consumer on how firm they are with Halal
standards, dispelling myths associated with poultry feed and health, hence clear means of interacting with
their audience.
Digital Marketing and Global Expansion Challenges:

Taking full advantage of the opportunities in such international markets would necessarily entail strong
effective digital marketing strategies, negotiating regulatory hurdles. On the other hand, K&N's may use digital
platforms to exhibit their compliance with international quality standards, as well as preparedness to take on
global consumer needs.

Digital Operational Efficiency and Supply Chain Management:

Digital technologies are at the very core of part of K&N's operational efficiency and supply chain management.
In this regard, therefore, digitalization allows the management to monitor and control the processes from the
farm to the table, hence ensuring the quality and safety of products.

Digital Quality Assurance and Traceability:

The entire chain of production is followed up meticulously and controlled through modern digital systems,
such as the Quality Assurance Lab and the Poultry Diagnosis & Research Institute. All the above enable the
securing of standards in regard to high product quality and security.

Digital Marketing and Social Media Engagement:

The media of K&N's advertisements are based on digital, engaging in both informative and persuasive
marketing, which covers the launching of new products, maintenance of prevailing market competition, and
direct interaction with the consumers.

Promotional Strategies and E-commerce:

K&N's promotes its strategies through digital platforms and e-commerce plans by which it is able to gain
accessibility to promotions, dynamic pricing models, and wide distribution channels.

Targeted Advertising and Digital Content:

Digital channels allow K&N's to run targeted campaigns appealing to selected demographics. For example,
products under the Deli Line and Fun Nuggets use digital content for targeted campaigns referring to selected
demographics such as families and children. These campaigns are most likely to make use of digital
channels, such as social media, online video sites, or interactive websites over which compelling content can
be posted and virally spread.

Brand Marketing Mix and Distribution Strategy:

The K&N's marketing mix focuses on a strong brand image, transparency, and developing a strong
relationship with consumers. The brand has a target in each segment through organized stores, a good online
presence, and strategic partnerships with international franchises like KFC, McDonald's, and Nandos.

Competitive Advantage and Market Presence:

Furthermore, the market-leading presence in ready-to-cook food category has only been possible with strong
market presence than competitors and more satisfaction of customers through its hygienic and high-quality
products, which are the basis of K&N's customer-centric approach.

With the present era advancing and enhancing more toward digitization and transparency in business, K&N's
marketing strategies have also improved much toward increased attention on digital presence, transparency
Its brand marketing mix is based on high emphasis and creates very strong brand imagery in terms of health
and happiness by virtue of social proof through elaborate videos on their processing mechanisms and detailed
sales promotions during special events like Ramadan. Much of its focus has been the organized stores and
comprehensive online presence that target segments differently, i.e., fast-food franchises or direct consumers.
More interesting is K&N's distribution strategy that includes its brand present under international franchises
such as KFC, McDonald's, and Nando's.

POLITICAL:
What changes in laws and regulations might affect marketing strategy and
tactics? What is happening in the areas of sustainability, equal employment
opportunity, product safety, advertising, price control, and so forth, that affects
marketing strategy?
Impact of Political Landscape on K&N’s
Strategy

Response to Political Tensions:

It is exposed that the 1965 India-Pakistan war brought to the limelight the supply chain vulnerabilities of K&N
and forced them to establish their feed mill to have secure supplies of poultry feed. An upward push for
vertical integration was the strategic response to the uncertainties of political tensions, which had laid the
foundation of success for K&N through enabling control over every single stage of poultry production.

Challenges in Global Expansion:

K&N's dominates the local market; the limitation for the brand in this case is holding back from pursuing
ambitious plans due to Pakistan's regulatory environment, impacting the offering of product traceability abroad
for the brand. This is in addition to the challenges posed to the government by these limitations, other than
those covering bird flu in the poultry industry regarding other viral and contagious diseases. To overcome
these limitations and expand globally, K&N’s invested in a manufacturing plant in Syracuse, New York. The
facility will provide a springboard for the players to expand into markets such as Canada, Singapore,
Malaysia, among several others, providing them with a common platform to be able to navigate regulatory
complexities and access the global market.

Sustainability Initiatives in K&N’s Operations

Integrated Poultry Production:

K&N's essentially symbolizes the concept of an integrated poultry production system: one that gathers all
poultry-related activities at one place, whereas it gives due importance to quality management and proper use
of resources with minimum wastage.
State-of-the-Art Poultry Disease Diagnostic & Research Laboratory:

One of the traits that indicated K&N's commitment included setting up a modern laboratory, which would
indicate the health and well-being of poultry stock—a must without which long-term sustainability is not
possible.

Responsible Broiler Breeding Practices:

"K&N's practices bear testimony to the commitment of K&N's broiler breeding practice and responsible
farming, for which it has maintained the breeding stock populations in the colder, mountainous northern
regions of Pakistan to minimize environmental impact and ensure maintaining an optimal health condition.

Vertical Integration for Comprehensive Control:

The vertically integrated supply chain of K&N's allows comprehensive control over production processes and,
therefore, better practices of sustainability within the whole value chain.

Research and Development Support:

The company is also supported by USAID and has established the K&N's Poultry Diagnostic & Research
Institute as their commitment to research and development of sustainable poultry practices. Advocacy for

Government Support in Export Promotion:

Khalil further supports that the government should also market Pakistan to the rest of the Muslim world as a
meat-exporting country, among other international markets, which would be supportive of sustainability goals
in the way it may help reduce—arguably reduce—the continued dependence on meat imports. In order to
keep with the position and be active in aggressively promoting sustainability issues at the forefront of the
poultry industry, K&N's does this multi-pronged sustainability thrust.
Product Safety Measures at K&N’s

Commitment to Food Safety and Quality Assurance:

K&N's always takes care of the minutest details all the way down the production line and assures the safety of
its consumers' chicken products. That emphasis on quality assurance can be seen one step further at K&N's,
as it also has its very own quality assurance laboratory and even a feed mill. The HACCP, ISO 9001:2015,
USDA, and HALAL certifications are further proof of K&N's promise and guarantee to always ensure that
product safety and quality are never compromised.

Halal Slaughtered Chicken:

This further strengthens not only the appeal to a market share following strictly Islamic Zabeeha (Halal)
practices but also shows the commitment to ethical and safe ways of production.

Absence of Harmful Additives:

Thus, non-usage of MSG, preservatives, and artificial colors, along with nitrates, nitrites, and trans fats in the
products, directly relates to their positioning towards product safety and consumer health.

Comprehensive Bio-Security Measures:

This clearly brings to light the commitment of K&N to its product safety, putting in place very elaborate
bio-security measures that minimize the risk of transfer of disease. This is following the strict protocols for the
health monitoring, vaccination, weighing, and selection of birds to give assurance that healthy and even
breeding flocks are put in place.

Hygienic Processing Practices:

K&N's ensures every measure of product safety through safe halal slaughter and hygienic, automated
processing of chickens. K&N's ensures every highest level of state-of-the-art facilities with the best standards
for food safety, cleaned and sanitized regularly, and continuously inspected by veterinary staff.
Comprehensive Advertising Strategies at
K&N’s

Foundation for Advertising Strategies:

K&N's advertising strategies take away from the state-of-the-art facilities and quality assurance practices at
their setup. The effective means of pointing toward the enhanced quality and safety of their product include
environment-controlled houses for breeding, a state-of-the-art diagnostic and research institute, and advanced
processing techniques.

Emphasis on Quality Assurance:

Details of quality assurance, from sourcing of the ingredient to the final product, are dealt with thoroughness,
which goes a long way in firmed up position in the market as a brand devoted to quality and ethical standards.
This focus on quality assurance is crucial to their advertising efforts, with a keen eye toward drawing the
consumer whose major concerns are focused on safety, quality, and ethics in the practices of product
production.

Diverse Advertising Mediums:

K&N's uses a number of media for their advertisements: television, radio, print, and outdoor media. They
reflect an all-round advertisement strategy, which captures different segments in the market.

Consumer Education and Transparency:

It seems the main ingredients of K&N's advertisement approach would be transparency and consumer
awareness in the light of their actions like "The K&N’s Way Club" and the contents of video practices of halal
slaughtering available on their company website.
Price Control Strategies at K&N’s

Integrated Supply Chain for Cost Management:

K&N's integrated supply chain, from breeding to distribution, plays a crucial role in their ability to control
prices. Having full control over the whole process, probably K&N's may be able to better manage their cost
containment, reflecting right through to strategies on pricing.
This integrated approach paves the way for either consistent pricing or absorbing fluctuations in the costs of
production, hence making K&N's well-placed in the market to offer quality products at competitive pricing.

Market Price Leadership and Competitive Pricing:

To some extent, K&N's being the market price leader for chicken refers to some pricing strategies within the
industry in place. Effort by the company to provide affordable options compared to competitors, especially at
the wet market, might influence pricing dynamics and customer behavior.

Promoting Equal Employment Opportunity at

K&N’s

Contribution to Local Employment:

By 2011, K&N's had reached a maximum strength of 4,134 personnel working for the company in its 64
facilities, which were scattered all over Pakistan. This showed that the company has contributed highly to
creating local employment opportunities. It points out to their service and commitment to the country in
providing job opportunities throughout the regions.
Efforts to Overcome Skilled Labor Shortages:

Some of the barriers identified in finding experienced retail workers allude to the efforts of providing
employment opportunities even in regions where skilled labor might be hard to come by. This is a pointer to
how serious K&N is in promoting equal employment opportunity in the search for finding employees at all
costs, despite geographical constraints and lack of skilled personnel.

References:
https://www.kandns.pk/thekandnsway/index.html
https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2017/03/22/kns-vs-everyone-else-the-battle-for-the-frozen-food-aisle/
https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/pakistan-frozen-food-market
https://fp.brecorder.com/2017/04/20170421171448/
https://ecampusontario.pressbooks.pub/bio16610w18/chapter/kns-health-and-happiness-for-pakistan/
https://www.abacademies.org/articles/case-study-of-kns-foods-pvt-ltd-16718.html
https://phdessay.com/strategy-marketing-report-kns/