Costa Group Holdings Ltd.: Horticulture Strategies and Market Analysis

The paper elaborates on the strategies, internal and external factors, and market analysis of Costa Group Holdings Ltd., a horticulture company. It focuses on competitive advantage factors and uses Pestle analysis to examine the market situation.

Running head: Horticulture
Costa Group Holdings Ltd.

Horticulture
Executive summary
The paper will elaborate the different strategies and also the internal and external factor of Costa
Group Holdings Company. The paper will emphasize on the different competitive advantage
factors and also on the market situation of the company by considering the Pestle analysis tool.
This has helped in examining the different strategies which assisted in boosting the market share
and also created positive image in the market. So, for this task Costa Group Holdings Company
is one of the best horticulture companies which are selected.
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Table of Contents
Executive summary.........................................................................................................................1
Background......................................................................................................................................1
Costa Group Holdings Ltd. external environment...........................................................................4
Costa Group Holdings Ltd. internal organization............................................................................6
Recommendations for future strategic direction..............................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9
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Background
Costa Group Holdings Ltd is known as the popular company in the sector of Horticulture
business. The company is founded on the principles of the People first, a character and also there
are value based programs that is driven by the overall performance and passion. The core values
of the business are passion, determination, accountability, sincerity and respect. Costa Group
Holdings Ltd is one of the Australian leading companies in terms of grower, packer and marketer
of the premium quality fresh fruits and vegetables. From leading the market to work incredibly
the company works hard to bring improvisation in the overall quality of products and services
that are delivered to the customers. The tagline of the company is “Fresh is our passion”. The
company stated that in order to meet the needs of the customers the focus is given on producing
the fresh fruits that helps in creating strong relations with the strategic alliance partners. There
are many regions where the company conducts the activities (Costa, 2019).
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Source: (Costa, 2019).
The growers supplement and also extend the offering from the farms. Costa Group Holdings Ltd
produces different category products such as Berries, mushrooms, tomatoes, Citrus, table grapes
and bananas. The company produces packs and also markets the fruits and vegetables to different
food retailers and FMCG companies present in the Australian market. Costa Group Holdings Ltd
operates in different segments such as Produce, Costa farms and logistics and international.
There are also other services such as chilled logistics and warehousing services and wholesale
marketing services (Costa, 2019).
In the category of Avocado, the growth has been attained by the company in which 36% of the
overall avocado. In the category of costa farms and logistics has also attained progress by
repositioning to capture the market share. In international segment, the company has also
enhanced the market share. The revenue of the company is enhanced and in 2018 the revenue of
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the company was up to $93 Million and the total revenue earned by the company was AUD
1,002 Million (Costa, 2019).
Source: (Costa, 2019).
In terms of the different categories, the Avocado revenue growth is high which shows that it is
29%. In reference to the overall growth, it is analyzed that company has attained the large
market share and boost the brand image is maintained. This has also positively boosted the
growth opportunities for the company in the competitive market (Costa, 2019).
(Source: Costa, 2019).
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Costa Group Holdings Ltd. external environment
Political factor
Costa Group Holdings Ltd conducts the activities in many countries so they have to face the
different political policies that are designed for the specific market. In the Australian market, the
company has focused on bringing improving in the investment sentiment in relation to the
government policies that are designed (Sanderson and Curtis, 2017). The political stability in the
existing market has offered the opportunity to the boost the populism that focuses on maintaining
the similar trends. One of the benefits the company attained is related with the low taxation
policies that are present in the market of Australia. By emphasizing on the current trends, it is
seen that there is transition in the overall policies in the market. It is important for the company
to focus on preparing for the eventuality as it can lead to the change in the priorities of the
government (Rawling and Schofield-Georgeson, 2018).
Economic factor
It is noticed that there is increase in the liberalization of the trade policy in the Australian market
that has also assisted the Costa Group Holdings to focus on the investment in the different
regions which are off limit for the organization. It can also be said that the economic
performance of Australia in the near future will be stable so the company has the opportunity to
boost the demand and also to enhance the investment into the different industries. In relation to
the inflation rate, there is easy liquidity in the market that related with the recession in 2018 and
it will boost the inflation of the Australia. The Costa Holdings Ltd has the chance to focus on the
financial markets and the liquidity in the Australian economy can help in boosting the
performance of the company. The scope for expansion has been enhanced for the company in the
competitive market (McCarthy and Schurmann, 2015).
Social factor
In the Australian market, the gender role has been evolving. Costa Holdings Ltd should focus on
building the local team so that societal norms understanding can be maintained and also it helps
in serving the customers of the company well. In the Australian market, the behavior towards the
migration is negative and it has affected the overall ability to enter into the international market
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as the leader. So, it is important for the company to focus on managing the activities so that
growth can be attained in the market (Bamford, 2015).
Technological factor
Costa Holdings Ltd has to focus on the overall development and also on boosting the experience
of the customers with the high speed and access. This has brought drastic change in the
experience of the customers in the food processing sector. It is analyzed that the company has to
face the issue in context to technology transfer and licensing. It can be stated that there is no
strong culture of the transfer of technology and the companies are also reluctant in which they
are emphasizing on maintaining the competitors out of the collaborators. It is analyzed that
developments and dissemination of the technology related to mobile has also changed the
expectations of the customers in the food sector. Costa Holdings Ltd has satisfied the
expectations of the people but they have focused towards being innovative so that it could be
easy to stay ahead from the competitors (Halpin, 2017).
Environmental factor
In relation to the customers, it has been examined that it is the expectation from Costa Holdings
Ltd to focus on bring the responsible stakeholder in the community. The renewable technology
is also one of the factors for the Costa Holdings Ltd and it has leveraged the trends in the overall
sector. In the Australian market, the focus is also given on offering the subsidies to invest in the
renewable sector. The Paris climate agreement has also focused on putting the real targets for the
Australian government which has helped in the higher scrutiny of the environmental factors in
relation to the company (Hanan,2017).
Legal factors
There are various laws that are important to be followed by the company and also the norms
consistent with the international institutions related to world trading organization and European
Union. At the time of managing the overall activities of the company, the Costa Holdings Ltd has
to focus towards taking into consideration average time of the particular cases at the time of
entering into market on the international platform. Legal protection in relation to patents and
copyrights are important to be considered for the Costa Holdings Ltd as it helps in managing the
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activities effectively. So, it can be stated that legal policies are important to be considered so that
it could be easy to accomplish the set targets (Joss et al., 2017).
Costa Group Holdings Ltd. internal organization
Resources
In relation to the internal factors, it is necessary for the company to maintain the resources so that
growth can be attained. It is examined that the resources of the company related to the machinery
and also the talented employees who focuses on managing the activities of the company. It can
be said that the talented employees are the important asset of the company that focuses on
managing the operations of the company. The intangible resources of the company are concerned
with brand image and also with the customer base. Costa Holdings Ltd has the large customer
base and also due to having the customer base the overall brand image has also been improved.
So, the company has the sufficient resources that help in boosting the profits in the market
(Hulme et al., 2018).
Capabilities
The capabilities of the company relates with the farms and logistics. It is analyzed that the farms
and logistics of the company helps in growing in the market. The farms and logistics of the
company are known as the national provider in relation to supply chain management and
logistics solution for the retail organizations. The company has specialized distribution center
activities that helps in maintaining the cold storage and ambient storage solutions (Costa, 2019).
So, it can be stated that this has helped the company in boosting the demand of the services and
also helps in accomplishing the overall goals of the company. Coordination is also the factor that
has helped in boosting the competitive advantage. So, the company has the capability to compete
with the competitors present in the market (Mathew et al., 2018).
Core competencies
It relates with the partners of the company and also with the joint ventures which is done on the
global platform. There are different joint venture partners that have boosted the overall growth of
the company in the competitive market. The partners are Driscolls which is the partner that has
helped to market the berries under the same brand. The partnership has supported the world
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leading blueberry throughout the Americans. The company has a joint venture with the company
as it helps to grow and market the berries in the market of china. African blue is also the partner
of the company that supplies the global customers that helps in utilizing the costa genetics and
expertise. There are other strategic alliance partners such as Monterey mushroom, sun world and
Amycel Spawn. These are the strategic partners who helped the company in maintaining the
large market share and boosted the overall profits in the competitive market. So, it can be said
that company focuses on maintaining the core competencies by coming up into the joint venture
with the different companies (Costa, 2019).
Competitive advantage
The competitive advantage is maintained by the company by maintaining the different values.
Zero harm is the strategy that has considered by the company and it has unpinned the three
pillars which are protect, culture and also to be the best. It is one of the commitments that are
done to protect the people, assets and environment of the company. The safety programs has
made the company the leader and also the employees of the company said that Zero Harm is one
of the unique philosophy and practice that has helped in boosting the market share in the
competitive market. There are other operating principles such as safety is never compromised
and also to provide the safe environment is the responsibility of workers and contractors. So, it
can be stated that this has helped the company in maintaining the competitive advantage on the
global platform. This has assisted the company in creating positive image in the mind of the
customers and also helped in grabbing the large market area in the competitive market (Costa,
2019).
Recommendations for future strategic direction
It is recommended that the company should focus on boosting the partnership with the other
companies as it helps in creating the wide opportunity for the company to achieve success in the
market. If the company enters into the joint ventures then it create the large opportunity for the
company to boost the market share as the options can be enhanced effectively. Market
development strategy is also the factor that can assist the company in creating the wide scope to
enhance the opportunity to grow.
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Conclusion
By analyzing the different factors and concepts, it can be concluded that company has considered
the different strategies that has helped in accomplishing the set goals and objectives. The
position of the market is one of the essential factors that can be said as the opportunity for the
company to boost the market share. Therefore, it can be concluded that growth can be achieved
in the market if focus is given on entering into the joint venture and also if market development
strategy is considered effectively.
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References
Bamford, A., 2015. The influence of work arrangements on hazardous exposures: a study of
Australian and United Kingdom horticulture. Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 13(2),
pp.7-23.
Costa., 2019.farms and logistics. [Online]. Available at: https://costagroup.com.au/Costa-Farms
[Accessed on 23 May 2019].
Costa., 2019.Financial. [Online]. Available at:
http://investors.costagroup.com.au/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/YfnrttzbYEyUJyNrb86SEg
/file/report/01887252.pdf [Accessed on 23 May 2019].
Costa., 2019.Partners. [Online]. Available at: https://costagroup.com.au/Our-Partners [Accessed
on 23 May 2019].
Costa., 2019.values. [Online]. Available at: https://costagroup.com.au/Values [Accessed on 23
May 2019].
Halpin, D., 2017. ‘Digging Deep to Keep their Clout’: Agricultural Interest Groups in Australia.
In Surviving Global Change? (pp. 159-182). Routledge.
Hanan, J.J., 2017. Greenhouses: Advanced technology for protected horticulture. CRC press.
Hulme, P.E., Brundu, G., Carboni, M., Dehnen‐Schmutz, K., Dullinger, S., Early, R., Essl, F.,
González‐Moreno, P., Groom, Q.J., Kueffer, C. and Kühn, I., 2018. Integrating invasive species
policies across ornamental horticulture supply chains to prevent plant invasions. Journal of
applied ecology, 55(1), pp.92-98.
Joss, N., Dupré-Husser, E., Cooklin, A. and Oldenburg, B., 2017. The emergence of integrated
approaches to worker health, safety and wellbeing in Australia. Australian journal of primary
health, 23(2), pp.154-161.
Mathew, S., Zeng, B., Zander, K.K. and Singh, R.K., 2018. Exploring agricultural development
and climate adaptation in northern Australia under climatic risks. The Rangeland Journal, 40(4),
pp.353-364.
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McCarthy, B. and Schurmann, A., 2015. Sustainable horticulture in North Queensland:
Resistance to the adoption of innovations?. The Journal of New Business Ideas & Trends, 13(2),
p.15.
Rawling, M. and Schofield-Georgeson, E., 2018. Industrial legislation in Australia in
2017. Journal of Industrial Relations, 60(3), pp.378-396.
Sanderson, M.R. and Curtis, A.L., 2017. Are Irrigators Different from Dryland Operators?
Insights from a Comparative Study in Australia. JAWRA Journal of the American Water
Resources Association, 53(6), pp.1453-1466.
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