Strategic Management Journey: Understanding the Food Industry

The provided content includes various academic papers and studies on Porter's Five Forces framework and PESTEL analysis for Innocent Drinks Company. The papers cover topics such as industry analysis templates, competitiveness of nations, innovation trends in the food industry, internal and external factors affecting individual movements, and more. Additionally, there are studies on strategic management tools like SWOT analysis, McKinsey's 7 S Model, ERP readiness factors, core competencies required for managerial workforce, and customer analysis. The content aims to support a PESTEL analysis and Porter's Five Forces framework for Innocent Drinks Company, providing insights into the internal and external environment of the company.

Marketing Strategy and Plan
Bear Nibble

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................1
Introduction......................................................................................................................................1
External Analysis.............................................................................................................................2
Customer Analysis...........................................................................................................................8
Internal Analysis............................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................18
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Executive Summary
Bear Nibble is known as the smallest organization which provides different products to its
existing customers. The organization operates in different business segments. It provides its
customers with all facilities of better health and low calories in its products. This report mainly
focusing on the feasibility of strategies of Bear Nibbles. Internal and external analysis of the
organization is performed to understand the different internal and external factors which
influence the success of the organization in high context. PESTEL and Porter's five model study
is utilized to understand the different external factors, or SWOT analysis is utilized to understand
the core competencies and opportunities of the organization. Analysis of these factors helpful in
developing and implementing the successful strategies.
Introduction
Bear Nibbles is considered as an organization which is engaged in producing delicious natural
food products such as paws, yoyos, alphabites, and fruit nibbles. The quality of its products
makes it different from the other existing food organizations. It was established during 2009 with
its headquarter in London, GB, and England. In this paper, we will study about the internal and
external analysis of the organization by using different tools. This will help us in suggesting a
better strategic plan for the success of the organization. It is a private organization which is
considered subsidiary of Lotus Bakeries. It offers attractive food options to its customers so that
it can enhance its brand image in the eyes of people. It produced its products with gently baked
fresh fruit, whole grains and vegetables. This will enable the organization to produce health
conscious food with low sugar level. Till now, the organization is earning $17.7 million revenue
which enables it to bring latest innovative and tasty food products. The estimated employees of
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the organization are approximate 81 which makes it possible to compete in its existing market in
an efficient manner (Rothaermel, 2015). The main competitors of the organization are Mondelez
International, Kellogs, MARS, PepsiCo, and Nestle. It can be said that the dried fruit snacking
category in the UK has been faced a tremendous growth from last some year and benefiting
enlarge the different food products organization in the UK. Therefore, the main challenge in
front of the Bear Nibbles was to create engagement with customers. This will offer the
organization, functional as well as emotional benefits. The UK industry is considered the most
successful industry and is considered the fifth-largest national economy industry in the whole
world. There are a large number of industries contributes towards the economy of the US. It
operates under food and beverages industry of UK which is considered a larger industry as per
the revenue than other industries of the business sectors.
External Analysis
It is necessary to understand the external environment of the organization if it wants to survive
for a long time in its available market. External factors influence the profitability of the
organization in a significant manner (Eden, 2013). It is the key part of the planning of the
organization. The external environment of the Bear Nibbles can be understood by studying
following tools:
PESTEL Analysis
This tool is utilized to understand the macroeconomic factors of the organization which can be
helpful in measuring the external opportunities and threats. Its components are:
Political Analysis
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Generally, it is considered that the political environment of the UK is highly covered by the
policies and regulations formulated by the government in the country (Rachet, 2014). Great
Britain is considered as a constitutional monarchy for the country. Furthermore, the government
of the country also formulate some defense strategies to regulate the performance of different
types of industries in the country. Constitution monarchy means that the official head of the state
is considered the monarch by her or his powers are limited by the constitution. Political factors
of the state are following:
 Accession of new members
 EU regulations
 Updated laws
Thus, it can be said that government and politics play an important role in the success of a
business organization. The political influence on the food products market is generally not as
pronounced as it is with the other markets. Food product is considered safe products and thus is
not subject to extensive political debate. So, the organization need not to worry about the
influence of the political factors.
Economic Analysis
The economy of the UK is considered the sixth largest economy in the whole world if it
measured by the nominal GDP and eighth largest if it is measured as per the purchasing power.
In the 8th century, the UK was considered the first country in the world to industrialize and the
second industrial revolution in the country and Germany represented a growing economic
challenge to Britain (Martin, 2013). The below mentioned are some economic factors:
 Changes in rate of interest
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 Attack by terrorist during 2001 influenced all the people of the industry
 People were scared to make investments and travel.
 Sterling and growing strength of Euro is making the economy of the UK very stronger
The economic atmosphere of the country will play a significant role in shaping the failure and
success of the organization. Interest Rate and Unemployment is considered the most influential
factor for the organization. It is because if the rates of interest are too high than the borrowing
cost of the organization enhancing due to which the organization is not able to expand the size of
its business.
Social Analysis
Working in the industries is highly influenced due to the circumstances of the society in which
they operating (Sölvell, 2015). The below mentioned are some social factors:
 Having ageing people in the society of the UK
 Different types of sports, tourism, and leisure activities are available
 The society of the UK permits all types of workers from all over the world.
 The London 2012 helped the country in fostering the identity of the UK.
In addition, it can be said that buying habits and lifestyle factors of social environment
influencing the organization in greater extent. All this happens because sale of food products
depends mostly on the buying habits and requirements of the people.
Technological Analysis
The important thing regarding information technology is to improve the internet technology
influence the economy of the country in a significant manner. The industrial areas of the city
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utilize internet technology to identify their global customers and also help them in providing the
enough knowledge about the recently developed products which can provide lots of satisfaction
to them (Becker, 2016). Furthermore, the below mentioned are some technological factors:
 High competition among the organizations within the market.
 Most of the people are familiar with the current and prevailing technologies
 Responsive to the current technologies
The invention of new material is considered the important influential technological factor
because the invention can enable the organization to changes the current technology of existing
products. Through doing this, the organization can extend its maturity period and can survive for
a long time in the market.
Environmental Analysis
The physical environment of the country is also a big challenge in front of different operations
organizations in the national market of the country. Generally, the physical environment of the
country may be seen as relatively benign in comparison to the physical environment of the other
countries because it suffers more with the high intensity of natural disasters like forest fires and
earthquake (Dey, 2016). The below mentioned are some environmental factors:
 Changes in climate
 High-level concentration on business sustainability
 More critical standards and expectations on waste disposal.
Finally, it can be stated that the awareness about the environmental aspects stabilize the business
process for a long time through which the organization can generate more profit in its future time
period.
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Legal Analysis
The environment of the country is highly covered by different legal standards and regulations.
Equal opportunities legislation and various others are specially designed to protect the rights of
individuals and ensure equality both in the recruitment and selection process or the workplace.
The below mentioned are some legal factors:
 Product and Health safety regulations
 Moderate rate of different types of regulatory changes (Davis, 2013)
 Regulation on ingredients of GMO.
When Bear Nibbles conducted overseas, it faces various complicated legal affairs. Through
conducting the worldwide business, the organization is become more familiarize with the other
countries which will help the organization in performing their functions under the specified rules
and regulations of the country.
Likely Issues
Below mentioned table shown the various issues which have a significant impact on the working
of the organization:
Factors Explanation
Belief The firm permanently considers the customer
interests and rights during building a decision
Satisfaction The customer is satisfied with the innovative
product or facility delivered by the firm.
Obligation The firm's wish to preserve long-lasting
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working relationships.
Internal Business Process Perspective The internal process of business examines
emphasis on processes that will have the
extreme influence on customer satisfaction
and achieving an organization’s financial
objectives (Bigliardi, 2013).
Growth and Learning Perspective The viewpoint of the balanced scorecard,
learning, and growth, identifies the
infrastructure that the organization must shape
to create long-term progress and
improvement.
Customer Perspective The essential consequence measures contain
retention of the customer, new customer
acquirement, customer success, and market
share in targeted market segments.
All these risk factors have a significant influence on the working of the organization. It is
necessary for the management of Bear Nibbles to pay more consideration to these factors. These
could be a threat or an opportunity for the organization. These are threats because in the absence
of proper control on all such factors influence its overall profitability and these are opportunities
because the presence of all factors enables the organization to expand its business and gain a
competitive advantage in its existing market.
Competitive Environment
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There is huge competition in the food industry of US. The main competitors of Bear Nibbles are
Nestle, Kellogg's, Tyson foods, PepsiCo, and Coca-Cola. All these competitors influence the
strategic position of Bear Nibbles in a greater manner (Galbraith‐Emami, 2013). The competitive
environment of the organization can study effectively by using Porter five forces model.
Industry Attractiveness: Porter Five Forces
Threats of New Entrants
There is a large potential for profits in the food
and beverages industry. Due to this, HSBC needs
to face more market entry threats. All these
threats play an efficient role in making or
breaking the organization. In this regard, the
organization is able to create some entry barriers
to maintaining its competitive position in the
market.
Likely Impact
High
Bargaining Power of Consumers
Buyer power is considered the most important
factor of the microeconomic environment. It
influences the occupation of value formulated by
the organization at its marketplace. The main
determinants of this force are customer
concentration and size of operations. The
organization has the capability to manage its
customers efficiently which permits the
Low
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organization to gain customer satisfaction and
loyalty.
Bargaining Power of Suppliers
It is considered that power of supplier represents
the power of buyers. This force of external
analysis is mainly focusing on significant
concentration and size of suppliers which is also
related to the different competitors (Dey, 2016).
Supplier power force also concentrates on
differentiation level in the materials being
supplied by different suppliers.
Low
Threats of Substitutes
Bear Nibbles is also aware of the fact that their
competitor organization will offer new services
and products in the near future. Availability of
these substitute products enforces the
organization to work hard to maintain its
position.
High
Competitive Rivalry
It is considered that the organization has large
rivals in the food and beverage sector. Thus, the
degree of competition forces the organization to
develop efficient strategies to maintain its
leadership position in its existing market. In
High
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addition, because of the abilities of the high-level
competitive organization, Bear Nibbles
formulated different strategic plans to make sure
that they are able to maintain its competitive
position in its existing market by being the
number one choice of customers (Porter, 2014).
Overall Industry Attractiveness
Overall it can be said that food industry is very
attractive. Due to availability of high profit and
long term survival lots of different business firms
attracted towards it (Grant, 2016).
High
Competitor Strategy Markets
Served
Financial
Performance
Strengths Weaknesses
PepsiCo Quality
Leadership
UK,
London,
India
Strong Largest
network of
customer
base
Cultural
Flexibility
Nestle Sustaining
brand image
and
Differentiation
UK,
London,
India
Strong Utilization
of modern
technology
Concentration
only a few
segments of
the market.
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After studying the porter five forces model and competitor analysis, it can be said that the overall
attractiveness of industry is very large and it will grow at an extreme rate in the near future
(Becker, 2016). There is high competition in the food and beverages industry because there are
not such an entry barriers in this industry for new organizations.
Customer Analysis
Customers are that which purchases the products of the organization. It served a large number of
customers. Its potential customers can be determined by conducting the study of its segmentation
and target market (Hämäläinen, 2015). Target market and market segmentation of Bear Nibbles
are following:
Market Segmentation
The demographic segment is known as the study of the human population living in various
different areas, their spending habits, age, jobs, gender, ethnicity, and their income. Through the
demographic study, the organization is able to segment its market which enables the organization
in identifying their potential customers. The demographic segment is considered the sum of
various aspects like Marital Status, Age, Size of Population, Education, Occupation, Race and
Ethnicity. Knowledge about all these aspects of Demographic segment enables the organization
in gathering detailed information about their target customers like their needs, preferences,
lifestyle, and status. Through this, the organization can satisfy them by providing the products as
per their requirements. Studying the Demographic Segment also enable the organization to avoid
all unnecessary costs which ultimately boost up the cost of their product. On the other hand,
psychographic segmentation is also done by the organization. It divides its customers on the
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basis of their personality, lifestyle, and social class which helps the organization in producing
products as per their requirements. Necessary information about the demographic segment can
be collected through using various sources like Bureau of Labor Statistics. Spending habits and
income of the individuals are considered important demographic factors of the organization.
Products of the Bear Nibbles usually imparted to some specific income groups like high-quality
products of Bear Nibbles. It can fulfill all the demands of their target consumers in an effective
way because the management of the organization is fully aware of the requirements and tastes of
its customers.
Finally, it can be stated that the awareness about the aspects of the demographic and
psychographic segmentations stabilize the business process for a long time through which the
organization can generate more profit in its future time period. Some opportunities for
organization can be:
 Enhancing the demand of consumers for food product
 Growing aging market in Western countries
But apart from opportunities it also raises some threats for the organization which should be
handled more efficiently. Threat can be:
 Enhancing level of struggle from existing customers
Target Market
It is difficult to measure the proper market segment of the organization. But the organization
mainly offers its products to satisfied different types of customer requirements. Promotion of its
products is done by the organization to enhance its existing sales. The target customers of the
organization are mainly children and youngsters such as girls, adults, and mothers. Most of its
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products are specially designed to sell females and children because they like to eat more baking
and fruits products.
After studying all this, it can be said that the organization is mainly providing its product to
children, teenagers because they are contributing the large part of the overall population of UK.
Customers in the world can be of different types. Prevailing trends in the market and the industry
influence their lifestyle in the largest manner (Beck, 2014). It is required for the organization to
establish its better values so that it can create loyal customers for its products and services.
Modern environment is prevailing today, and most of the customers prefer the innovative and
different product. This dynamic environment influences the overall working style of
organization.
The organization establish its brand value by delivering sustained empowered people, building
trust and acting responsibly. All these concepts of the organization enable it to create its brand
image in the eyes of the customer. It mainly follows below mentioned principles to create its
brand value:
 It only sells those products at which it feels proud.
 It cares for customers and consumers in the world where it exists.
 It believes in the win with inclusion and diversity (Wang, 2012).
 It speaks with candour and truth.
 Succeed together and respect others.
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Internal Analysis
Internal analysis of Bear Nibbles is done to understand the strengths and Weaknesses of the
organization (Martin, 2013). To analyze the internal environment of the organization SWOT
analysis proves an important tool.
SWOT Analysis
For conducting the SWOT analysis, we utilized the convert and match matrix method. With the
help of this method, we are able to determine strategic recommendations for Bear Nibbles to
move further. SWOT analysis effectively helps the Bear Nibbles to formulate its future strategies
so that it can gain a competitive advantage in the market. The strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats mentioned in the following table enables the organization to
formulate its business strategies as per the competitor’s initiatives. Convert and Match method is
an easier way to applying the SWOT matrix to formulate business strategies. There are two sets
of recommendations derived from convert and match matrix (Sun, 2016). The strategic
recommendations completely depend on converting a weakness into strength or threat into an
opportunity. And the other strategic recommendations are based on matching strength with an
opportunity to create a competitive advantage for the organization in its relative market.
Positive Negative
Internal
List of Strengths
 Excellent financial
position and good
brand image in the
List of Weaknesses
1. High capacity
constraints due to
labor disruption or
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market.
 Competitive base of
customers reduce
level of available risk
(Bohari, 2013)
 Expansion of portfolio
to include products
with higher stiffness,
and impact, improved
wear and enhanced
the appearance or low
emissions
 Core competency in
developing
differentiated products
construction delays
2. Poor relationship with
supplier due to the
inability of a supplier
to meet delivery
orders on a timely
basis.
3. It strongly associate
itself in the small
business sector, but
the existing economic
position has led to
growth in risks
4. Involvement in sub-
prime markets of US
lent to high-risk
(Hossain, 2015).
External
List of Opportunities
1. Possibility of
expansion in another
country
List of Threats
1. High competition
between industry
competitors
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2. Diversifying portfolio
for different
customers.
2. Increasing volatility in
prices and availability
of raw materials has a
significant negative
impact on the
financial margins.
3. Fluctuations in
environmental
regulations
concerning climate
change influence the
profitability level
(Moghaddaszadeh,
2015)
4. Presence of various
unanticipated
operational or
commercialization
difficulties such as the
development of
competing
technologies
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McKinsey 7s Model
It is a tool to measure the design of the organization by looking 7 Key internal elements which
ar3 following:
1. Strategy: The main strategy which the organization is following is differentiation strategy
with which it can make it different from its existing competitors (Almazari, 2014). It
helps the organization in gaining a competitive advantage by accomplishing its mission
and values successfully.
2. Structure: The organization mainly utilized vertical hierarchy business structure to
successfully sharing its information with its employees. This enables the organization to
deliver all important things to its employees effectively. This will be helpful in reducing
the ambiguity level in the organization.
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3. Systems: It mainly follows a top-down approach where all the decisions are taken by the
top level executives. This will help the organization in enforcing an efficient control in its
day to day activities (Shiri, 2015).
4. Skills: The employees of the organization have a large experience in producing food
products. Apart of it, they specialise in the taste of different ingredients with which they
make the products of organization special.
5. Staff: The organization has collaborative staff with 80 members. Due to the lack in
number they coordinating with each other in an efficient manner. The organization
provide different types of financial and non-financial benefits to motivate them.
6. Style: The management of the organization mainly utilize the autocratic style to
encourage more and more participation from employees (Mitchell, 2015).
7. Shared Values: The management of the organization mainly utilize customer relationship
management system to share its values with its customers or its employees.
Analysis of resources and competencies of Bear Nibbles
Threshold Resource Unique Resources
 Human Resources
 Financial Resources
 Intellectual capital (Sani, 2016)
 Physical Resources
 Yoyos
 Alphabites
 Fruit Nibble
 Paws
Threshold Competencies Core Competencies
 Healthier product
 Low Calories
 Capturing value from international
network (Shen, 2013)
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 Customer services  International trade facilitation
 Less Prices
Stakeholder Analysis
Bear Nibbles enjoys the stature of the dominant force due to its famed distribution systems. It
goes in the market through a distribution network of extraordinary flexibility and strength which
work as the core competency of the organization. It is because the organization satisfies the
different sustainable competitive advantage by using it such as rare, valuable capability, and non-
substitutable.
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Bear
Nibble
Customers
Suppliers
Competitors
Commmunities
Environment
Media
Distributors
Unions
Creditors

Conclusion
After studying all this, it can be concluded that the organization need to pay huge attention to the
development of its necessary business strategies because the success of the organization highly
depends on its strategies. Furthermore, sustainability in business operations can maintain by the
organization through following the proper development and implementation process of strategy
(Gentry, 2012). Through this, the organization is able to attract a large number of customers
towards the services offered by it. It ensures the long time success of Bear Nibble in a global
market.
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