Rogers Chocolates Case Study (Internal/External Analysis)

The premium chocolate industry is a large market in the United States and continues to grow around 10% annually. It is also populated with very strong

Its value is that they will be caring and considerate of their employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, the community and the environment by showing respect to each other and valuing diversity, working together to achieve a safe, friendly and positive working environment, setting clear expectations, recognising contribution and developing their people, leading by example and taking responsibility for their actions, communicating clearly, inclusively, honestly and in a timely manner, having pride in their product and passion for the business, its heritage and its future and contributing to the community through corporate benevolence and environmentally sustainable practices (Haigh's Chocolates).

The basic characteristics of the marketing concept that could be identified in Clare’s Chocolates are as follows:

e) Maintenance contracts - Maintenance costs should be included as incremental cash flows because they could change the NPV of the project if the maintenance costs are significantly different for each of the different projects.

The industry that I chose is the chocolate industry. Growing up in Pennsylvania the Hershey Company is well know throughout the state and is a factory I have visited on multiple occasions. While the chocolate tycoon has made some negative headlines over the past few years with outsourcing and layoffs, they have done a good share of philanthropy work for the state and the Dauphin County area.

Opportunities include huge market, no competition for at least three years, potential huge margin, good marketing strategy.

Together with the usage of green sources to power the factory, these factors raise up the prices of a chocolate bar to the average of $5. It enhances the brand’s value and good image in people’s observation. Even though their prices are more expensive than other competitors’ prices, Theo still has a loyal following of organic chocolate customers. However, it does a very little traditional advertising. Therefore, in order to maintain the loyal customers and attract new consumers, Theo Chocolate is partnering with local and non-profit organizations that promote their company. Joseph Whinney understands that “Having the ingredients and the quality of the product is the most important thing. And then Fair Trade is the secondary message” (Lindell, par. 19), people concern about the taste, the quality, and the organic food. Besides that, Joe believes that people also care about how a company treats its employees and decide whether they wan to to do business with that company or not. Therefore, combining the two strategies is a good way for Theo to promote itself and build brand value inside customers’ minds.

The following statistics stated in the case indicate that “23% of respondents would definitely buy the Montreaux dark chocolate with fruit product and 40% would probably buy the product.” These average ratings strongly suggest that this product should be introduced into the market very gradually. This strategy would enable the company to evaluate consumer buying patterns so that the company could determine future production levels and future marketing strategies that benefit both the company and the consumer. Financial information given in the case also indicates that the company needs to introduce this product very conservatively. Exhibit 1 informs that with 5.98 million total purchases, low awareness, low ACV and mediocre product, Montreaux would gross $17.44 million. Exhibit 2 shows that with medium awareness, medium ACV and an average product Montreaux would gross $25.1 million. These figures do not meet Montreaux’s objective of earning at least $30 million in its first year. Exhibit 3 shows a slightly improved situation: with high awareness, high ACV, and an excellent product, Montreaux would gross

Marketing plays the most important role for the success of a business. In this chapter, the business’ marketing objectives are laid out together with the plans or actions that will be needed to achieve these objectives. Furthermore, this chapter includes the profile of the respondents which aided the researchers to create this part of the feasibility study.

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

Dream Chocolate (D.C.) is a small company trying to survive in an industry with many competitors. The competitive environment comes from some factors. Firstly, D.C. bars are sold in specialty markets, fine gift stores and also available online. However, the competitive companies can also provide various chocolate bars for customers with the low price on the Internet. Secondly, comparing to the big chocolate company like Mars, D.C. is a small company that has the lower brand reputation. Therefore, there may be not many people would trust their products.

Opening a facility in Kentucky allows the company to ship their products to the Scharffen Berger retail stores located in New York City (Upper West Side and Greenwich Village), and other upscale department and retailers, such as Trader Joes, located throughout the United States. This will save transit time and freight costs substantially[2] .as compared to shipping directly from California to the stores. In a cost comparison researched showed that there was a delta of $4,167.43 when shipping from the West Coast facility to New York compared to shipping from the East Coast facility to New York. This opportunity to reduce transit time can ensure the integrity of the chocolate to conceal the freshness. With a new

‘’organisations exist and function within society and consequently are subject to a variety of social influences. These influences, which include demography, social class and culture, can change over time and affect both the demand and supply side of the economy. Marketing organisations recognise and make use of these factors when segmenting markets for consumer goods and service’’ Worthington, I (2009) p.135.

In 1982 they began selling outside UK (sales to Europe & Australia reached 300000 sterling)

Glaberson, H. (2010). Hershey to launch confectionery brands in UK and Europe. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.confectionerynews.com/Manufacturers/Hershey-to-launch-confe