Kellogg's Essay

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, as discussed in Darden Business Publishing Case UVA-F-1479, appears to be at a crossroads. After years of astronomical growth, the company find its share price plummeting in the midst of discoveries about faulty accounting practices. The following paper examines several issues behind the sudden decline First, the historical income statements and balance sheets are examined to determine the financial health and current condition of the company. This is followed by an analysis of key financial ratios across time and versus industry standards. Next, the paper addresses if Krispy Kreme is financially healthy at year-end 2003 and, if so, what accounts for the firm’s recent share price decline. The paper concludes

The only real vision statement Heinz offers is to ‘have a bottle of ketchup on every table.' This vision statement reinforces the notion that Heinz only produces ketchup. It is unnecessary for Heinz to further identify themselves with ketchup. The ketchup market is not going to continue to expand much more than it has already. Since Heinz is synonymous with ketchup already, and customers are aware of this high quality product, they should make consumers aware of the other products they offer. Those who feel Heinz ketchup is of the highest quality would be eager to buy other products produced by Heinz believing they too would be of the highest quality. They do need a

The leadership at Kellogg’s missed it. They did not see that consumers were no longer sitting around the table to have breakfast. The also missed that the trend of the consumption of copious amounts of sugary breakfast cereal on a daily basis was heading off a cliff. So as a result their sales and even the viability of the company is now at risk.

A future marketing plan should focus on the product being sold as a family cereal in the morning as there is a growing segment that would relate to this. A report conducted by Ihekweazu (2011) looks into the eating habits of people within the UK. Stating that the sales of breakfast cereals has therefore been mainly driven by consumers demand for a cost effective and convenient breakfast options driven by a desire for a healthy start to the day. It was also found that ‘two thirds of consumers eat breakfast at home every day, rising to 78% of over-55s and 85% of those that are retired.’

This paper research the possibility of General Mills to be successful despite of high levels of competitions and consumers changed in eating habits to find healthier and fresher alternatives. With 150 years in the market and with a vast portfolio of more than 100 products that are marketed inside and outside the United States, General Mills have gotten behind in the development of new products that attract the need of the new consumer demand. New eating patterns represent a threat to the company along with the proliferation of private labels. A weakness in the strategic planning functions made General Mill’s competitors gained market share over GM. Chapter one mentioned that one the company biggest rival in the cereal line is Kellogg’s, which was already suffering from low sales. Yoplait in the yogurt line, used to be a leading brand in the country are now losing market share to give way to the newcomers.

Q2. Breakfast cereal industry is a very competitive industry in today’s market. Over the past century, they were few large cereal companies that led the cereal industry, and they were cooperative to increase their profit and satisfy their market. However, due to consumer’s taste changes and increase in competition, the industry has changed and it has to face more challenges.

In the 1990’s, the core markets of Kellogg’s, such as the United States and the UK, had been stagnant for over a decade. There also seemed

Despite winning several awards and featuring in many tables of the best places to work, Kelloggs is still committed to improving the conditions of its workplace. The most impressive of improvements this year include the establishment of a ‘total health management’ program for all employees, as well a new leadership development program. These two initiatives show Kelloggs to be a company that cares not only about their employee’s physical wellbeing, but also to be a company that is involved in the training and development of their staff. Other notable workplace schemes include the improved safety regulations and their dedication to diversity-related organizations.

The strategic problem considered is to analyse Krispy Kreme’s current operations and suggest recommendations for how this may be tailored for the UK market for long-term profitability given cultural and retail differences.

United Cereal began its European expansion in 1952 by the acquiring a baked goods company in England. It then directly invested in other established companies in order to save costs by utilising their well-established distribution lines and branding products using well known subsidiaries. This expansion aimed to achieve leverage by economies of scale and further increase revenues. The company’s strong shared values, ‘The UC way’, effected their strategies by ensuring the company carried out extensive market research before launching their new products to maximise customer value and innovate to prevent stagnation. Additionally, innovation was greatly encouraged in the organisation.

Associated British Foods PLC is a British multinational food processing and retailing company which was founded in the year 1935 by a Canadian named Willard Garfield Weston and from that date the rest is history. (Grace’s Guide, 2016).

The only real vision statement Heinz offers is to ‘have a bottle of ketchup on every table.' This vision statement reinforces the notion that Heinz only produces ketchup. It is unnecessary for Heinz to further identify themselves with ketchup. The ketchup market is not going to continue to expand much more than it has already. Since Heinz is synonymous with ketchup already, and customers are aware of this high quality product, they should make consumers aware of the other products they offer. Those who feel Heinz ketchup is of the highest quality would be eager to buy other products produced by Heinz believing they too would be of the highest quality. They do need a

Nestlé is decentralized and is organized in a matrix structure. Branches of the organization are given a relatively high degree of autonomy in running daily operations, while major strategy decisions are made at headquarters. The company operates six segments: Zone Europe; Zone Americas; Zone Asia, Oceania, and Africa; Nestlé Waters, Nestlé Nutrition, and Other. The responsibility for making operational decisions are left to local divisions of the company. Nestlé has a board of directors and a chief executive. Nestlé’s management is divided into three levels – top-level, mid-level, and lower-level.

Market through the "marketing mix" which is: product, price, place, promotion. As part of the managing and balancing between strategy and the marketing mix, the Kellogg Company announced that while creating a balance between strategy and marketing mix, the company has developed a unique brand that has helped to raise sales and service levels. The Kellogg company managed the marketing mix through 4P's and the product was the First, the Kellogg chose the product of breakfast cereals with high and light characteristics, which were studied extensively, as well as the researchers conducted by the company in order to know the best product for the customers. Second, is the price, The Kellogg prices the product according to the market conditions and also sets flexible prices in order to compete and obtain the competitive advantage which depending on the growth of sales, however, Kellogg most of the time put discounts and vouchers to win the satisfaction of the customer and success in the market. Third, place, where the Kellogg sells its products through the force of direct sales for resale by the grocery stores and also used the system of intermediary and distributor of certain products and the system of delivery of direct stores such as super brand and distribution through electronic commerce. Kellogg focuses on the emerging market, which contributes to making the company's products available to all customers. Fourth, the promotion, Kellogg built a large brand and used promotional strategies to increase the share of sales, where it sponsored some of the concerts and events under the publication of the brand such as gymnastics and a series of children

Kellogg failed to realise that even if consumers accept the product but still it has to offer it at a rate compared to competitors. Kellogg didn’t lower its prices thinking that competitors would follow suit but they didn’t and as such, Kellogg was unable to gain projected market share.