Cow Girl Chocolates

The opportunity to create any business somehow is very much hard because of the modern world competition which has created nuisance in every market in the world. But there are several other opportunities which needed to be cashed in for any business to be the leader of the market. Today we see many opportunities in many fields and this only talk’s business opportunity (Grayson and Hodges,2001).

Hershey’s and Cadburys are moving towards the premium chocolate market through the acquisition or upmarket launches (Zietsma, 2007). The profit potential present in this sector supported by its 20% annual growth rate make it very attractive for large organizations to come forward and avail this opportunity. There is a low threat of new entrants prevailing in this chocolate industry because of the high capital requirements and expected retaliation by current manufacturers. Current players in the industry also possess some barriers to entry for new entrants by maintaining economies of scales with their large production capacity and keeping their product differentiation with their specialized and novelty chocolate products. Even though there are low switching costs and easy access to distribution channels, but still the brand loyalty of the customers including the Rogers’ Chocolate itself make it harder for new firms to come into the competition.

In the 21st century, a typical corporation consists of a number of strategic business units (SBUs) that all operate under the same roof but which often employ different growth strategies. Having a number of SBUs allows corporations to diversify and grow their company without compromising on quality of products or services they offer. Each SBU then gains a particular focus and requires a unique marketing strategy that would support its strategic objectives.

Rogers’ Chocolates is Canada’s oldest chocolate company and British Columbia’s second oldest company. Steve Parkhill, the new president of company is expected to double or possibly triple the size of company within the next 10 years. In the chocolate candy industry, Canada’s market size was $167 million and growing 2% annually. Although the growth rate in the chocolate industry is falling as a whole, large companies such as Hershey & Cadburys are moving into the premium chocolate market and growing 20% annually.

In my opinion, Milky Way candy bars are the best Halloween candy. The smooth nougat and sweet,sticky caramel adds so much flavor. The creamy milk chocolate leaves your mouth wanting more, it is also nut free.

The primary problem of Cowgirl Chocolates is that the company has not established a target market for its product and identified its customers. The company specializes in the niche product of hot and spicy gourmet chocolate. According to the company owner, only about 15% of Americans are consuming hot and spicy foods and men are usually more receptive to her hot and spicy chocolate. Additional demographics are missing. Her product development was based on the input of her friends and family, which represents a skewed and too small sample of the population.

Specific to the entrepreneurial challenges, the instructor also has the latitude to discuss the prospects and problems that the firm would encounter in future in its growth endeavor. This could involve a discussion on the various avenues of growth, the feasibility of the avenues, possible competitor reaction and how the company could cope with it. This case can be used to demonstrate the difficulty of introducing a new product to an already well-established market, the challenges of being a small player in a big market, and the challenges of expansion for a highly specialized product. The instructor is free to choose the concepts to highlight from Chapters 12 and 13.

xv Part I: The Premise for a Viable Vision Chapter 1. Improve! .................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2. Viable Vision .......................................................................... 9 Part II: The New Frame of Reference Chapter 3. Moving from Complexity to Simplicity ............................... 23 Chapter 4. A Simpler Frame of Reference for Decision Making .......... 31 Part III: Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Part IV: Chapter Chapter Chapter The Components of a Viable Vision 5. Marketing .............................................................................. 6. Operations ............................................................................. 7. Distribution: From Push to Pull ........................................... 8. Project Management ............................................................. 9. The Supply Chain ................................................................. 10. Information Technology: Necessary But Not Sufficient ....

|the industry and its challenges it is important to understand its various phases of growth so far. |

Each business unit focused in a group of products, they were evaluated based on their profitability and their objective was returns on invested capital.

While Cowgirl Chocolates has been in business for twenty years, it is still in a stagnant position. While they may not be losing enough money to have to close right now, they are certainly not achieving much in terms of growth or sales. The company has not been successful in gaining any larger retailers. It is not easy to find consumers who prefer something as distinct as spicy chocolates. This makes it very difficult to expand the business.

|specialization) |of returns and overall profitability. However, there are clear examples where strategic business units (SBU’s) of |

The cost of producing the chocolates far exceeds the expense of producing. Adding a $3000 advertisement is moving in the wrong direction as this cannot guarantee a boost of sales. Marilyn should focus on convincing magazines and newspapers to run stories about her products as previously covered in the local newspapers. The $3000 advertisement is focused more on a picture instead of information about a product that consumers need to know more about. This form of advertising works better for products that consumers are more familiar with. What separate Cowgirl Chocolate from its competition is its high quality and the unique ingredients that contribute to its taste. This should be the focus of her advertisement.

How profitable is it? What is its potential? To find its potential, perform a SWOT analysis

Cowgirl Creamery is an artisan cheese producer offering locally grown, organic specialty cheeses. Cowgirl Cheese is a mid-size business with three retail stores where the left over portions of wholesale products sold are offered to the public. The majority of the products Cowgirl Creamery creates are sold to restaurants and other retail or grocery stores. Like many businesses, Cowgirl Creamery has felt the effects of the economic recession and is beginning to experience reduced growth. Cowgirl Creamery and its specialty cheeses have reached the maturity stage of the product life cycle. To remain a viable business, Cowgirl Creamery faces several difficult decisions to make. A