EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Patchi company was born from a mind of a 11 year old boy who was fascinated by beautiful things and the value of chocolate. Nizar Choucair’s dream came into reality when he formed Patchi to produce chocolate. The company was started in 1974, the company has over the time grown to win the hearts of many consumers in UAE. Its brands have been acceptable even beyond the UAE borders.
The company has grown to produce not only chocolate, but also gift boxes and decorations. In this gift period the company is willing to promote the sales of a unique brand of chocolate called “Palini” and gift boxes. This marketing plan will majorly focus on the market analysis to see the best ways the company can increase its market share and make the company more sustainable.
CURRENT MARKET SITUATION
This refers to the environmental analysis or rather the marketing environment around a particular product, factors like competitors, consumers and the market are discussed below.
Competitive forces
Patchi is not only the sole producer of chocolate in UAE, there are some competitors in the market already offering similar products. Luckily enough, Patchi company happens to be holding 40% of the market share in the UAE. This has been due its unique and sensational chocolate brands, hence giving the company an upper hand in dealing with marketing of a new product. Competitors include Cardburry limited which is an international company. As stated earlier, Patchi is unique in its products and therefore it stillnn enjoy a huge market share despite the presence of other big industry players. This, however, does not give a chance for the management to relax, but a motivation to even work harder.
Economic forces
Chocolates are always regarded as luxury goods and therefore in some economies this would be the last product that goes into a shopper’s basket. In UAE, however, there is a growing percentage of the middle class and the economy is also growing. This relates to increase in disposable income, consumers are encouraged through promotions to surprise their loved ones, family members and friends with a packet of palini chocolate as this would touch a heart of someone and bring change. The Patchi has also partnered with supermarkets in major towns to make sure that the new brand is sold at strategic shelves that any consumer entering the supermarket would never fail to see it.
Political forces
UAE is a very politically stable and therefore the is no effect of this factor on the sales of Palini. The government has always promoted living in peace among the citizens of the UAE. This is a major reason why doping business in UAE has been a lifetime opportunity.
Technological forces
The advancement in technology is a key factor in their business industry. Patchi company has adopted various technological changes in most of its operations. This has seen the company advance in the way products are packaged and most importantly has led to massive drop production costs. Use of technology has also helped the company in effective promotions by the printing of colorful banners as well as using digital screens in the advertisement. The current decorations on the products is also as a result of advanced technology. The UAE enjoys an affordable rate of technology services since there are so many technological firms in UAE. Patchi’s one of key strategies are to embrace technology in both production and marketing.
Socio-cultural forces
United Arab Emirates culture has been a spending and flashy culture. It is a people who love good and trendy goods like chocolates. This culture of spending on luxurios goods has been drawn to the fact that there is a huge amount of disposable income, there is also a luming culture of issuing of gifts. Family heads like the father or mother on their way back from a job has to pass by a shop to buy a gift for the family members. This usually a chocolate that has always been deemed as a very social and friendly product at all times since time memorial. Patchi has put an initiative to make palini accessible to all people returning home by ensuring that all roadside shops are supplied and billboards on the country sides bear the advertisement of this lucrative e brand.
MARKET DESCRIPTION
This section discuses the market for chocolate in UAE, current customer needs and changing trends in the consumer needs.
The market
The market for chocolate in UAE is promising, with huge sales of chocolate sales daily. Patchi company has been driven by this fact and for that reason release of a new brand in the market will the company register more sales as consumers would be interested in knowing more about palini. This product is expected to attract huge sales as the company is planning to promote its sales by giving its consumer free gift boxes on a purchase of above two packets of palini. The market of chocolate in UAE has also attracted other companies like cardburry and many others that also enjoy a considerable percentage of the market share. The company is striving hard to remain the key player at all cost to maintain the market share.
Consumer current needs and wants
The UAE consumers are in need of a uniquely different product. The patchi company has answered these consumers by coming up with a well packaged, attractive and sweet chocolate. This new brand will leave the consumers with a yearning feeling to grab more and more packets of palini. The consumers had also complained earlier about chocolate brands that were melting very fast due to the high temperatures experienced in the UAE. Palini has the ability to withstand high temperatures for a long time without melting. This is a key strategy that will be used in marketing as consumers will be very happy to hear and experiment with this new invention. This will ensure that consumers will now be able to buy chocolate even when they are intended to travel long distances.
Potential changes in consumer needs
There are no fears of drastic changes in consumer behavior. However, assumptions cannot be made in this important factor as consumer demands can change even overnight. It is expected that consumers will demand for small packets of chocolate that are affordable. This is due to increasing demand for chocolates, the consumers should be able to have a bite even with less amount of money. Patchi is in discussion if it is necessary to introduce smaller packagings of palini and other brands to be able to satisfy its consumers even at low costs. This decision will depend on the economy of scales and whether the consumers will embrace this idea.
Current market segments
Market segmentation is a very important marketing strategy to meet consumers with same needs but different advantaged. Patchi uses market segmentation to some extent, by introducing an equally unique brand called patchino to target only children and now palini which is a gift hamper for adults. This has ensured that all groups of consumers with common interests have been covered.
Chocolate brands have market segments, for example cheap and affordable brands are manufactured to target lower income individuals while executive brands which are much expensive only end up in baskets of well off consumers. There are discussions to introduce market segmentation for palini, but this will depend with how the consumers will receive this new brand and different views of consumers through questionnaires.
The company has also applied market segmentation geographically by targeting customers in different emirates, the prices always differ depending on the transport cost. Prices are usually a little bit lower in major cities where demand is always high contributing to huge sales annually.
Patchi is, however, silent in full exploitation of this strategy as it can negatively affect the company and create price discrimination making consumers feel that some of the produjcts are of low quality. There are proposals to come out with “palini hybrid”, a brand that will be meant for royal families and few rich families. This however will be done carefully to ensure that the consumer do not misinterpret the intended meanings of the company actions. The company is also planning to survey samples of different consumers in different cities to evaluate the impact of this strategy.
MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
According to the market research reports, the market for chocolate has not been fully exploited. Just taking the UAE alone, the consumer demand for chocolate has not been met. Consumer demands are so high than the supply, this has made the key players to increase the prices leading to introduction of substandard brands in the market. Patchi has taken an initiative to wipe out these fake brands by introducing affordable brands like palini.
There is still an opportunity to use, efficient production methods in order to make chocolate affordable and this would relate to huge sales and subsequent increase in revenue. The patch is also doing research in other neighboring countries to start exporting its brands. There is a huge deficit in supply of chocolate in major world cities like New York. If Patchi can invest in this major city, then the opportunity in these cities could be fully exploited. The management is determined in venturing into new markets as one of the strategy to increase the revenue.
Another area of unexploited opportunity is the product diversification. Chocolate can be issued to customers in different forms in order to increase customer preferences. Apart from just manufacturing chocolate bars, the company has plans to start diversifying to introduce products like chocolate sweets, chocolate beverages, chocolate fingers, chocolate milk, other flavored products.
Product diversification meets different needs of consumers and ensures the spread of risk in case sales of a particular product goes down there is a possibility of good sales in another product. The company is also entering into partnership with other liquor companies to come out with chocolate flavored liquor and other beverages.
In conclusion, the chocolate market has not been fully exploited. There is need to for the company to formulate an efficient production process that will ensure large scale production to target various world markets as well as provisions of affordable brands. Patchi can also introduce a self reliant system whereby it can venture in cocoa production to ensure constant supply of raw materials. This can be done through contracting farmers to produce cocoa in cocoa producing zones. The company can provide inputs for the farmers.
APPENDIX
Market research questionnaire
Name
Location
Date
- What is your preferred company?
………………………………………………………………………
- What is your preferred chocolate brand?
………………………………………………………………………..
- Where should we improve?
………………………………………………………………………..
- What are we doing differently?
………………………………………………………………………..
- Do you like the new brand (palini)?
………………………………………………………………………..
- What is your view on the best way to handle market segmentation?
………………………………………………………………………..
- What do you think the consumers may need in future?
………………………………………………………………………..
- What is your view in the existing market segments?
………………………………………………………………………..
- Do you think companies should use market segmentation as a marketing strategy?
………………………………………………………………………..
- How many packets of chocolate do you buy in a week?
………………………………………………………………………..
- When do you buy more chocolate?
………………………………………………………………………..
- When do you demand less chocolate?
………………………………………………………………………..
- Are you aware of any fake brand in the market?
………………………………………………………………………..
- What form of chocolate do you prefer
………………………………………………………………………..
- Do you like product diversification
………………………………………………………………………..
- Do you think chocolate is reasonably priced
………………………………………………………………………..
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References
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Pride, W. & Ferrell, O. (2010). Marketing. Australia: South Western Cengage Learning. From http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=-R1zRakeLJgC&pg=RA1- PA27&dq=examples+of+marketing+plans&hl=en&sa=X&ei=C9p_VIapMcTmuQTF8oL YAw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=examples%20of%20marketing%20plans&f=false
Wong, K. (2010). Approved marketing plans for new products and services. S.l: Iuniverse Inc. from http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=2EvoVyhY1E4C&pg=PT159&dq=examples+of+ma rketing+plans&hl=en&sa=X&ei=nnl_VJLNMuPqyQPmjoHADg&redir_esc=y#v=onepa ge&q=examples%20of%20marketing%20plans&f=false