Global Marketing Strategies for Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier's Velvet Truffles in China

This report discusses the global marketing strategies for Iain Burnett Highland Chocolatier's Velvet Truffles in China. It includes information about the country, market entry mode, and recommended marketing strategy for the chosen product in the new market. The report also covers the target audience, positioning, product strategy, price strategies, and promotional strategy for the company.

GLOBAL MARKETING
STRATEGIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Choice of foreign nation..............................................................................................................3
Choice of market entry mode ......................................................................................................6
Recommended Marketing Strategy..............................................................................................7
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION
Global marketing is a process which includes planning, placing, producing and
promoting the business products and services in the global market. It is a specialized skill which
can help an organization to increase its market share in the industry and reach to the next level.
There are several strategies which can be opted by a company to promote their products in the
global market which completely depends on the company's target market. The current report will
be based on Iain Burnett Highland Choclatier which is a successful chocolate selling brand
planning to expand its services in various popular nations to increase its market share. The report
will include information about the country the company is trying to expand and launch is new
product, the market entry mode of the organization with the chosen product and
recommendations on the marketing strategy for the chosen product in the new market.
TASK
Choice of foreign nation.
Iain Burnett is a planning to expand its business with the product velvet truffles into
China. As they are already established in various countries such as UK, Germany, US and
various others. They are continuously increasing their revenue as the citizens like their product.
Its product is of high quality as well as similar pricing. Iain Burnett is one of the famous
chocolates in the world, it is gaining more and more market share in the existing countries. It
have various competitors cadbury, MARS, Mondelez International, Vosges haut choclat, richard
donnelly fine chocolates, and various others.
It is a brand of chocolates which have various types under every chocolates and truffles.
Their some products under velvet truffles’ are mentioned below (Iain Burnett THE HIGHLAND
CHOCLATIER, 2022):
Chinese Ginger Dark Chocolates Florentine
Mixed Milk & Dark velvet truffles’
Peppermint Dark Chocolates Florentine
Pistachio & Almond Chocolates Florentine
Strawberry Chocolates Florentine
Lemon Slices
Orange Sunrise Slices
Salted Caramel Hearts

Their main target market is people of every age group and ethnicity. The target interest
market is those people who are movie lovers, cooking enthusiasts & luxury brands.
The decision for the company is better for their growth because according to the statistics
the chocolates market in China had a sales forecast of CAGR of 3.28% during the period of
2021-2026 (CHINA CHOCOLATE MARKET - GROWTH, TRENDS, COVID-19 IMPACT, AND
FORECASTS (2022 – 2027),2022). This will be a benefit for the company to expand to market
by registering more sales when expanding to the china. The product they are planning to launch
also have a sub-product which consists of some Chinese flavour, which will attract the
consumers of chocolates who are there in the China. Chinese Market have a trend of impulse
buying of premium chocolates which is increasing the demand of the products. It is considered a
good opportunity for the business to grab as it will increase the financial growth of the company.
Another trend is of box chocolates which is also present in the company's chocolates. This
decision will eventually be beneficial for the company in long run. There are different types of
factors accessible in the Chinese market that plays important role in the context of velvet truffles
market share, that will be increased day by day. The overall information related to new market or
nation, where organization plan to enter, make management decision effective, as it drive their
attention toward taking pleasure of increasing sales and generating revenue more than last few
years. The best strategic framework to conduct in depth research related to chosen foreign nation
is PESTLE, which enable management to focus on collecting information about how and in
which manner, a factor put direct impact on organization, that enter into China for purpose of
selling velvet truffles, to specific target market.
PESTLE analysis-
1. Political — Political factor will affect success of velvet truffles in the Chinese market,
either in negative or positive manner. As changes in either party or policies will directly
impact organizational plan. The best thing related to selected foreign market is stability,
thus, the political stability in the Chinese market will provide a lot of benefits to
organizations, whether they are existing or new. This may also lead them to make some
changes in the distribution of the products. The distribution strategy changes will have
changes in the contract with some courier companies if the company has informed them
about the quantity of the goods which will go through their company.
2. Economical — Any form of change related to economic factor affect Chinese market

and company that tend to enter into that with velvet truffles. The key economic factor that
put positive impact on organizations in the China, is excellent economic growth. It will
affect the prices of the product as if there are any changes in the wages policies, material
cost, inflation and various other factors. It might increase or decrease the prices of the
product. This might also affect the profitability of the company as consumer are price
conscious which will affect the demand of the products. It might also affect the
promotion strategy when there are changes in the economy. This factor will help nation
to grow rapidly and gain the attention of profitable companies.
3. Social — Social factor is one of the important factor when the a company is expanding to
china. It will affect almost every strategy because of the difference in the culture. The
company sometimes have to change their product strategy or positioning strategy. The
company premium product might happen that some society will not think affordable or
charged according to the price. The company will have to consider the social factor when
they are advertising their products in the market. They will also have to consider the
positioning strategy when there is difference in the culture of the society.
4. Technological — Technological factor will affect the price, distribution as well as
promotion strategy of the company. In the China there is change in the technology, then
they will have incurred more expenses to establish those technologies. It will affect the
distribution such that the company will have problem in coordinating with the product
sales data. It will affect the promotional strategy such that if any new application is
launched then they will have to consider those applications also, such that the people are
targeted on that application too.
5. Legal — There are various legal factors which will affect the growth of the company. As
it may lead to lower investment in the foreign companies. This might also make the
consumer not taking any chances with the new brand which is launched. They also have
banned social media platforms which will make the promotions' strategy to change. It
will somehow reduce the reach of the company, and they will not be able to communicate
their products features to the consumers. The e-commerce platform laws will also affect
the target market of the product and it will not be able to reach to the correct target
market (Phan, 2021).
6. Environmental — In the China, governmental body and customers are concern for

environmental sustainability, which is the key factor of organizational success. The
guidelines of the company regarding the pollution control may increase the price of the
product. It is because the company will have to consider various rules and regulations
while making the product. It will also benefit the company in distribution strategy as they
are aiming to launch electronics vehicles which will make the distribution of the products
easy. If the government is trying to set extra guidelines it might increase the cost of
production which will eventually reduce the profit capacity of the business.
Choice of market entry mode
Licensing
The organization can enter the market of China with the help of licensing which involves
two firms from different countries with the licensee using the rights given by the licensor to
manufacture and sell the products in his country (Hillestad, and Berkowitz, 2018). The company
may be able to get into the international market quickly with limited finances and legal risks due
to the licensing agreements with the financing companies. The agreement may help the foreign
company to to sell its products or use the intellectual property in exchange for the royalty fees.
The management of Iain Burnett strongly believes that that by this strategy the company may be
able to successfully expand in the market of China and increase its market share over the
competitors. The velvet truffles’ developed by the organization will be made available by the
organization to the licensee in the country to sell on its full potential in order to generate the
popularity of the product in the chosen country (Kim, 2018).
This entry mode has potential to provide a large return on investment to the company
because less investment of capital and resources may be required in this choice to establish the
business in the new market. The organization should consider focussing upon the market size and
growth of the region in order to get then maximum advantage from the entry mode. The
government regulatory and legal framework of the country can be critically analysed in order to
successfully expand its new product in the internal market (Li, and et.al., 2019). This method can
be beneficial for the organization according to the convenience of lending a person or company
the rights to run the business there and promote the products according to the tastes and
preferences of the existing target market. It might be beneficial for the company to gain
competitive advantage over its rivals in the industry and develop better products.

Recommended Marketing Strategy
Target Audience
Company should target those people who are interested in the chocolates, luxury brands,
art, risk taking & mostly women. They will target women because if they like the brand then
they will act as a medium for advertising as well as sales booster. They will act as sales booster
because they will motivate their children to eat the chocolates because of the reasons which will
be marketed. In the context of Velvet Truffles, organization will target all, and utilize
demographic, and behavioural segmentation strategies. The main segmentation bases are interest,
income, age, gender, occupation, etc.
Other than this they should target their product in various cities of the china as well as on
the online platform as it will help them to capture market at more speed. The targeted audience
will be such that no segment is left of the country and it will help them to reach out to more
people. This will eventually increase the sales of the products as well as make the company
popular in the market (Graham, and Kennedy, 2022).
Positioning
Iain Burnett will be positioning themselves as one of the chocolates brand which have
premium prices as well as high quality products. It is because of the packaging of their products
as well as the product. The company will also be positioning themselves as one of the most liked
and tasty chocolates when compared to the other brands of the chocolates. Another positioning
strategy will be such that it will become the brand which is a perfect chocolate for eating after
the dinner. The positioning will be of that type it will help the consumer to understand various
things of the product. The positioning help the company to deliver the values of the product. The
product will be such that it will be easily determined when compared to the competitors as it is
very different in every aspect (Pontikes, 2018). For purpose of setting velvet Truffle positive
image or position in customers mind, organization will take social media support, as the people
in China prefer to use that, to collect information related to a new product or service.
Product Strategy
The product offered will be mixture of both the cultures of the country such as UK as
well as China. They will also involve the taste of Chinese specialized materials. The company
will also be changing the packaging of the product such that it will be viewed as mixture of art of
both the countries. It will become attractive for the customer's to buy and make them feel belong

to the brand. It is very important for the company to change their product strategy such that it
will attract the consumers towards their products. The product will have some features which
will attract different age group as well as the product will be marketed such that it will cater to
the needs of various people. The product will contain various information of the ingredients used
in it so any person who is allergic to some will get alert whether he should purchase the product
or not (Adrianto, Cinantya, and Prasetya, 2018). In regard to product strategy, organization will
take initiative to utilize recyclable materials, which make its new product valuable.
Price strategies
As the company is expanding its business of chocolates in the China. So, it is
recommended that its should adopt the cost plus pricing for selling of velvet Truffle in the
market (Deou, and et.al., 2022). The cost plus pricing refers to the pricing of the products after
ignoring the demand of the product and pricing strategies of the competitors. It helps in
reflecting the view of the consumers for setting the prices for the chocolates. As the consumers
disposable income of the customers of the China is high. So the price of the chocolates will be
kept accordingly. For increasing the sale of the products and expanding its business in on large
scale it is recommended that the velvet truffles’, should provide variety of the chocolates at the
specific pricing scales to the citizens of the China. For the different income groups of the
country. As it is provided that the high valuable price of the chocolates are not affordable by the
all the customers of the country. So for increasing the sale and increasing the awareness about
the chocolates the company should provide chocolates at the different rates from the low to high.
For expansion and for launching the new product in the market of the China the company
should use market penetration strategy that means entering the market with the existing or new
product. For this the company should analysis the market, the demand and preference of the
customers. Economic factor is one of those forces that will put direct impact on pricing strategy
of company, in positive manner. As the economic growth in China will affect firm to sustain for
longer and keep the price up to the product quality.
Promotional strategy
As the company is expanding its business in the China, it can be recommended that by
adopting the social media promotional strategy for promoting and increasing the brand
awareness of the products will be the best suitable for expanding its business. As with the
increase in the use of the social media all over the world, the social media app such as Facebook,

Instagram, Snap chat are most preferable (Balabanis, and Stathopoulou, 2021). The company
should use Facebook for updating about the new products launched in the country, as the
subscriber of the Facebook is spread all over the world. By posting on the page of the company
and increasing the followers of the page the company can increase the awareness about the
products of the velvet truffles’. The user of the Facebook are also allowed to comment on the
post, that will help the company in assessing the marketing demand and the image of the
company.
This is recommended that the company should resolve the problems and clarification
asked by the customers. The company can also provide various discounts, coupons and combos
of the chocolates so, that the customers are attracted towards the company. For providing more
customers satisfaction the company can provide behind the scene videos to the customers, so that
they can be updated about how the chocolates are manufactured. That will help in increasing the
customer loyalty and will provide more insights to the customers about the making of the
chocolates of the company.
This is recommended that the company should make its website for making it more
preferable for the consumers to order it on online (Li and et.al., 2019). The app should provide
all the information about the types of chocolates available with the company and the amount of
each chocolates and the mode of the payment for placing of the order online. In the China, target
market of chosen company are habitual of utilizing social media sources or channel to reach
desire outcomes. They prefer to utilize Instagram, and other popular channels.
Distribution strategy
As the company is expanding its business in the China, it is recommended that the
company should adopt the strategy of providing its chocolates through the retailers and
wholesalers. As the companies aim is to expand its business all over the country. So, it can be
done by providing it to all retail stores of the country. The company can also supply its products
in the malls.
It is recommended that the company should use the indirect mode of selling of the
chocolates, that is providing the chocolates to the customer by placing order to other retailer and
then purchasing it from the other person (Parasuraman, and et.al., 2021). It should provide its
customer with the chocolates through the local market of the company. Organization can adopt a
simple and effective channel structure in which trustable retailers and suppliers are included.

Multi channel strategy can also become a part of distribution tactic according to which firm will
start selling its product via own outlet, along with providing through others like supermarket, etc.
It is also recommended to the company that they should focus on consolidating all the
small channels into a single and strong channel to get the maximum benefit from the distribution
strategy. It can help the organization to excess its distribution activities with more convenience
and make the products easily accessible to the consumers of the company. It may be beneficial
for the organization to improve the services offered by the company to the customers and
managing the supply chain accordingly to deliver better results than the competitors. It can have
a positive impact on the operations of the business and ease the management process of the
organization.

REFLECTION
I have noticed that the new chocolate product which is offered by the organization in the
market of China will provide better assistance to the company in order to enhance their global
market share. The business organization is able to make several changes in their business
strategies in order to provide better products and services to the customers in the international
market and increase their demand in the business. I have experienced that with the help of an
appropriate expansion strategy, the businesses are able to achieve better competitive advantage in
foreign market which is crucial in order to establish a successful business in new market. The
current project has provided me with a better learning of these expansion strategies such as
licensing which is impactful in expanding into a new country to conduct the business practices.
The learning of these aspects from the current assignment have been crucial in order to increase
my understanding of several aspects that plays a vital role in increasing the efficiency of business
in the competitive industry.
It is helpful in reducing business risks and providing better benefits to the people who
have a better advantage in the industry and are considered as effective for the company to
operate. I have learned that an appropriate marketing strategy provides various benefits for the
overall development of the business in the competitive environment. It has helped me in
identifying the target audience appropriately which is one of the most important part for any
organization in order to achieve better success in the industry. By identifying the correct
audience which will be targeted by the business, I will be able to make effective strategies on
how to evaluate them properly and gain better advantage in the business. It has provided me with
better opportunities to develop an understanding of the positioning of a brand in the market on
the basis of its marketing strategies. A positive approach towards business will lead to a better
positioning of the organization in the competitive business environment which may be helpful to
increase the efficiency of the output which is achieved by the business in the industry.
Different strategies such as pricing, promotion and distribution may explain that the
business have to focus on these aspects in order to gain a significant advantage in the foreign
market and improve the overall success of the business in the industry. It has provided me with a
better idea of the different operational areas which are crucial for the overall development for a
better establishment of the new business in the international markets. It has a significant impact
ion my ability to prepare better plans for increasing the efficiency of the output which is
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achieved by the business in the competitive environment. It has increased my ability to analyse
the different crucial factors that have a positive impact in increasing the efficiency of the
business in the competitive industry which is beneficial in order to increase the advantage which
is provided by the business better opportunities to grow and increase the growth opportunities in
the industry.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Adrianto, Y.R., Cinantya, I.G. and Prasetya, A.J., 2018, May. Design Product Packaging
Chocolate Using with Design Element Inside It. In ICITAS2018.
Balabanis, G. and Stathopoulou, A., 2021. The price of social status desire and public self-
consciousness in luxury consumption. Journal of Business Research, 123, pp.463-475.
Deou, J. and et.al., 2022. Decrease of the amount of fat in chocolate at constant viscosity by
optimizing the particle size distribution of chocolate. Food Structure, p.100253.
Graham, C. and Kennedy, R., 2022. Quantifying the target market for advertisers. Journal of
Consumer Behaviour. 21(1). pp.33-48.
Hillestad, S.G. and Berkowitz, E.N., 2018. Health care market strategy. Jones & Bartlett
Learning.
Kim, J., 2018. Market entry strategy for a digital platform provider. Baltic Journal of
Management.
Li, Y. and et.al., 2019. Effects of a secondary market on original equipment manufactures’
pricing, trade-in remanufacturing, and entry decisions. European Journal of Operational
Research, 279(3), pp.751-766.
Parasuraman, B. and et.al., 2021. Consumers’ choice and preferences of dairy based
products. The Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 91(11).
Phan, S., 2021. The effect of pestle factors on development of e-commerce. International Journal
of Data and Network Science. 5(1). pp.37-42.
Pontikes, E.G., 2018. Category strategy for firm advantage. Strategy Science. 3(4). pp.620-631.
Online References
CHINA CHOCOLATE MARKET - GROWTH, TRENDS, COVID-19 IMPACT, AND FORECASTS
(2022 – 2027).,2022. [Online]. Available through
<https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/china-chocolate-market>.
Iain Burnett THE HIGHLAND CHOCLATIER., 2022. [Online]. Available Through
<https://www.highlandchocolatier.com/chocolate-florentines-c-11>.
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