Sustainable Chocolate Marketing Strategies

This assignment requires an in-depth analysis of the sustainable chocolate market. Students must investigate consumer preferences for ethically sourced products, explore the challenges and opportunities of sustainable production practices, and evaluate various marketing strategies employed by companies in this sector. The analysis should consider factors such as brand reputation, social responsibility initiatives, and environmental impact.

Running head: PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Assessment 2: Proposal Marketing Plan
[Donald’s Company]
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
1. Executive summary
The study presents a marketing plan for the Donald’s Company, the company that expertise in
producing different varieties of chocolates. The plan has been designed to support the launch of
new products initially at the different places in Australia and then later on, in the different parts
of world. The concept may find some opportunities as depicted in this paper. A very good
population of people in particular the kids and the teens love to have chocolates. The concept
may be a good boost for the company in regards to have a competitive advantage in the
chocolate making industry. The company may also be in a very good position to counter the
challenge of its competitor companies. However, the concept may also face some challenge in
numerous forms like the social behavior of people and uncertain legal policies for fast-foods in
Australia. The advertisements related to the harms of having fast-foods are now widely presented
through television advertisements, newspaper articles and much other. Such activities are letting
the common people to have an enhanced awareness on the harmfulness of fast-foods. This means
that there is a need for the Donald’s company to be flexible enough to scuffle with the changing
perception of customers in order to keep it safe from unexpected damages done to the business.
Additionally, the local government policies in regards to the pricing of materials that are being
used to manufacture the chocolates are also a challenge. This may at any time hamper the
profitability margin. Moreover, strategic capability to respond to such circumstances may be a
key for the company to remain competitive despite being hammered by a hike in material
pricing.

2PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction:..............................................................................................................................3
1.1 Brief summary of the company:............................................................................................4
2. A brief summary of situational analysis:.....................................................................................4
- Macro-environmental forces:....................................................................................................4
- Micro-environmental factors:....................................................................................................6
- Consumer behavior:..................................................................................................................7
3. Target market analysis:................................................................................................................8
4. Marketing strategy:......................................................................................................................9
- Positioning map:........................................................................................................................9
- Positioning statement:.............................................................................................................10
- Marketing mix variables:.........................................................................................................11
5. Conclusion:................................................................................................................................14
References:....................................................................................................................................16

3PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
1.0 Introduction:
Competency is largely seen as a key to maintain a progressive trend of profitability and
also acquiring a sustainable business process (Sohn, Kim & Jang, 2014). Such competency is
attained through various business strategies that also include having a competitive marketing
strategy, which could generate much attention among the target customers and increase the
chances to get sold among them (Liu, Li, Chen & Balachander, 2017). As stated, a competitive
marketing strategy might be an important aspect to popularize a newly launched product or
service or to increase the sales of existing products or services. A competitive marketing strategy
can be attained by designing it appropriately under the guidance of marketing experts who are
well experienced in doing such thing (Huotari & Hamari, 2017).
This particular study presents a marketing plan for the Donald’s Company, which is
specialized in making chocolates. The plan is required to support it to enhance its
competitiveness with the products like drinking chocolate, cocoa product, marshmallow, candied
nut and glazed fruit products, which will be new to this company. These products will enhance
the competitiveness as opined by the company; these are some rarest concepts to the chocolate
lovers. Moreover, if these products are launched with an appropriate marketing plan, chances of
success according to the company will increase. This looks feasible also as according to Bettiol
et al. (2016), “marketing strategy is now like a weapon that is being used to influence the
perception of customers as governed by the three different views of Aristotelian Appeal Ethos,
Pathos, and Logos”.
The main purpose of this assignment is to present a marketing plan that could suitably
place the proposed product line of the Donald’s Company with enhanced opportunities for

4PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
business incrimination and reduced risks from various factors like consumer behavior and the
legal policies of the Australian government.
1.1 Brief summary of the company:
Donald's Company is being owned by "Donald B" and is based in Melbourne. The
company is specialized in making chocolates. The prepared chocolates are then sent to customers
with the help of various supermarkets in Australia like Aldi, Coles and Woolworths. The
company like any other company in the same industry has desire to attain competency to
compete strongly against its rival companies. To serve the purpose, new products have been
planned to introduce to the market like drinking chocolate, marshmallow, candied nut, cocoa
product and glazed fruit products. The planning is being done after identifying a fact presented
by the IBIS world industry report that consumer preferences to chocolate related products are
rapidly changing (Golev et al., 2016). Moreover, a sustainable business can only be attained if
the company is flexible enough with the changing preference of customers. Furthermore, every
new product is required to be presented to the market in a more attractive way, so that, it could
increase its appeal among the customers (Ryan, 2016).
2. A brief summary of situational analysis:
- Macro-environmental forces:
Australia is one of the major markets in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, it is
politically stable as well (Chong, 2014). Donald’s Company will have better prospects in
expending to a wider market at the national level. Australia has stable economy and the value of
Australian dollar is strong (Manalo, Perera & Rees, 2015). Hence, imported goods will be
cheaper that is a good opportunity for Donald’s Company as production will be cost-effective

5PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
(Manalo, Perera & Rees, 2015). Additionally, unemployment rate is considerably low in this
country, which means company will face no such challenge to find skilled staffs (Manalo, Perera
& Rees 2015). Additionally, as per the report of IBIS, the chocolate industry has been predicted
to have growths in the next five years and the growth will be around 2.2% (Ibisworld.com.au,
2018). However, there has been a rise in the health awareness related talks, which is why the
production of harmful chocolates is under scrutiny (De Vogli, Kouvonen & Gimeno, 2014).
Additionally, the price of cocoa has also increased, which means that the company will have to
face some economic-related challenges (De Vogli, Kouvonen & Gimeno, 2014).
Chocolates are being loved by Australian with different age groups like children aged (5-
15), the teenagers and the adults (Biglia et al., 2015). The social trends had looked much in favor
of the industry; however, in recent times, there has been a drift in the perception. Due to the
news on different media channels, customers now have much more idea of the harmfulness that
chocolate can cause. Moreover, chocolate is one of the kinds of fast-foods, which are strongly
believed as one of the reasons for obesity (Poelmans & Rousseau, 2016). It means that Donald’s
Company will require being flexible to the changing perception of customers to have a better
response to their demands.
Donald's Company will have support from the technological perspectives as the two
organizations like Defense Science Technology Organization (DSTO) and Commonwealth
Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) in conjunction to the Australian
government are engaged in Research and Development (R&D) works (Hunt et al., 2014). The
environmental requirement is now a growing concern. Donald’s Company will be largely
benefitted from taking appropriate steps to reduce the wastages in the manufacturing sites.
Additionally, adhering to Environmental protection Act 1974 will also guide to ways, which are

6PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
required to attain an environmentally friendly business (Brown, Moodie, Cobiac, Mantilla &
Carter, 2017). Changing legal policies can be threats to the business. If the materials that are
being used to manufacture the different kinds of chocolates get expensive then this may impact
the cost of production. Moreover, business profitability will also be challenged (Brown et al.,
2017).
- Micro-environmental factors:
The Donald’s Company has intended to expand to a wider market at the national level. In
this mission, skilled employees will be needed. The purpose can be served through an effective
recruitment process that will help to get the required workforce (Matuleviciene & Stravinskiene,
2015). Customers are perhaps the biggest factor in their different responses will decide whether
the product or service is successful. An effective marketing strategy will be a key in this regard
apart from the manufacturing strategy and relationship with the suppliers (Matuleviciene &
Stravinskiene, 2015). Competition is also much high in the chocolate industry in Melbourne.
Koko Black and Mork Chocolate Brew house are the two biggest competitors to the Donald’s
Company. Both the companies are centric to quality products. It means that product
differentiation will be a key approach to maintain the competitiveness and a progressive
profitable venture (Matuleviciene & Stravinskiene, 2015).
Supply chain management will be a key factor to utilize the expected impact of
marketing strategy (Brandenburg, Govindan, Sarkis & Seuring, 2014). The Donald’s Company
needs to have an effective supply chain management to live up to the expectations, which will be
generated after the implementation of the marketing strategy. Moreover, relationships with
suppliers will be very important to fulfill the demands of customers (Brandenburg et al., 2014).

7PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Additionally, an effective logistic operation is also required to transport the products within the
committed deadline (Brandenburg et al., 2014). Investors will also be required after
implementing the marketing strategy. They will provide the necessary funds required to facilitate
the business. Repayment will also be required to make within or on the committed time.
Investors will also grow on trust, which will help the company in long-term business (Pucheta‐
Martínez & García‐Meca, 2014). Media and the local community will also be important. Media
such as the use of different communication modes for marketing will help to reach much closer
to the media and the customers. In addition to this, the company will get the opportunity through
corporate social responsibility (CSR) related works (Korschun, Bhattacharya & Swain, 2014).
Product diversification is a big strength of Donald’s Company as the chances of success
will be much higher with the new product line. The company also has skilled employees;
however, they will need some fresh hires of marketing experts. Those experts will guide to and
will manage the entire marketing strategies. The company also has an effective supply chain and
the logistics operation (Benur & Bramwell, 2015). The company has some potential weaknesses
like it targets only the premium customers and also the cost of production is high. There is a need
to target even the middle-class family and also to implement effective measures to reduce the
cost of production (Lo, Cornforth & Chiong, 2015). The political and the economic stability of
Australia provide opportunities to its business. Moreover, Donald’s will be able to get benefits
on imported goods (Cole & Nightingale, 2016). The changing perception of customers and the
uncertain legal policies are the biggest threats in Australia (Taghian, D’Souza & Polonsky,
2015).
- Consumer behavior:

8PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
This is very vital and will be decisive after bringing the products to the target market.
Consumer behavior in Australia is very unpredictable as it is reported by the IBIS world
industry. They have the idea that fast-foods are one of the major reasons behind the rising cases
of obesity (De Vogli, Kouvonen & Gimeno, 2014). Chocolate is also fast-food that people
consume in huge numbers. Some customers those who select the product they do a little research
on the content of the product. Moreover, they make it sure that they have only healthy foods.
Such customers will be a challenge to the Donald’s Company as they will not buy the products.
Flexibility will be the key to success with the new product line (Leonidou et al., 2017).
3. Target market analysis:
The target market can be defined as a particular segment of the market that has been
targeted with the launch of a new product or service. According to Gilani, Kazemi, Asadi,
Samadzadeh & Atashpanjeh (2014), “setting a target market requires a very thorough study on
the different factors that include the demographic, the behavioral, the geographic and the
psychographic factors”. In case of Donald’s Company, the concerned factors are the
demographic and the behavioral factors. The proposed product line has been planned to launch at
the national level. The only concern for the products is the consumer behavior, which in context
to the company has been considered as the target age groups and the consumer behaviors.
The target age group for the proposed product line are the children aged (5-15), the
teenagers and the adults. These groups are targeted because they consume a lot of chocolates
(Gilani et al., 2014). Nevertheless, it is essential to the marketing strategy that it sends the
products to the appropriate customer. Additionally, an effective marketing strategy should also
have an improved understanding of the target audience. The growing awareness of obesity and

9PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
the causes for it have created an environment where it is relatively difficult to predict the
consumer behavior. Customers at any time can make their mind up and against a product. The
Australian customers are now getting educated on the harmfulness of using chocolates.
Flexibility will then be a key to survive for the company and to attain the desired success (Gilani
et al., 2014).
On inspecting the target market for Donald’s Company, it looks evident that children
aged from 5 to 15 and the teenagers will provide a potential business. However, children are not
the decision maker. They are under the influence of their parents. A lot more will then depend on
the parents and the relative action against the identified threats of eating chocolates (Gilani et al.,
2014). This will indeed be advisable that the Donald’s Company is much more flexible with the
product differentiation. They may need to consider a change when a particular product is
fetching fewer sales. Change may be in regards to the packaging or the addition of some
attractive contents or to labeling it as a nutritional product. Such changes will only be done after
inspecting the actual cause behind the reducing sales of that particular product (Gilani et al.,
2014).
4. Marketing strategy:
- Positioning map:

10PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Figure 1: Perceptual Mapping
(Source: Pulker, Scott & Pollard, 2018)
- Positioning statement:
The products will be sold as usual through the various supermarket stores in Australia
like Aldi, Coles and Woolworths. Products will be priced as discussed in the positioning map
and will be made available to the customers. Products will be made available to customers in
various sizes as they are already available in market. Different sizes will be made available to
customers in different prices. The more emphasis will be given on the marketing message, which
is necessary to draw the attention of customers. Customers will be made sure with the message
that they are getting valuable products, which are also healthier. This is indeed necessary as more

11PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
and more people are growing in concerns for healthier products. The positioning message will be
as follows:
“Eat healthy and feel valued”
- Marketing mix variables:
Figure 2: Marketing Mix
(Source: Huang & Sarigöllü, 2014)
Product-
This will include drinking chocolate, candied nut, marshmallow, cocoa product and
glazed fruit products. These products are not new to the market but will be relatively new to the
company. Moreover, they are taking an attempt to have diverse range of products, so that, they

12PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
could answer to a rapidly changing consumer perception. The Australian chocolate industry can
be highly affected from the concerns growing for obesity. Fast-food is one of the sources of
obesity and chocolate being one of the kinds of it is in all sort of threat from the growing concern
(De Vogli, Kouvonen & Gimeno, 2014).
The products have been positioned accordingly to suit the target customer with the
different age group. For example, children in the age group of (5-15) have lesser buying
capability as they are dependent on their parents. Moreover, drinking chocolate will suit those
customers. Additionally, children can also make the purchase from their pocket money, which
they get from their parents (Liu et al., 2017). Teenagers will be encouraged to make the purchase
of cocoa products as this will be priced higher. Moreover, teenagers despite having the idea on
the harmfulness of the product they do purchase they go on for it just to satisfy their temptation
(Liu et al., 2017). Marshmallow and glazed fruit products will be best suited to the adult who
looks for quality products. In such category, some customers need a high-quality product at the
low price whereas few can afford high-quality products at high prices (Liu et al., 2017).
Place-
Selecting an appropriate place to sell the products is very essential to ensure a very good
start with the new product line. The concerned company should have an idea of its customers and
the places where they will be largely found. As opined by Datta, Ailawadi & van Heerde
(2017), it is irrelevant to sell ice cream and cold products to people living in cold regions.
Moreover, identifying a suitable place is much more important to produce a good result with the
planned marketing strategies.

13PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
The different product line will be made available to customers in different places. The
major area of entry will be the traditional format of Donald's Company, which is to go to the
supermarket stores like Woolworths, Aldi, and Coles. These are indeed a very good source to
reach a wider customer base. Every single product will be displayed in the supermarket stores.
This will be feasible as well because they have had a very good relationship with the different
supermarket stores in Australia.
Price-
This is also very vital as it influences the perception of customers. Pricing should be
made according to the products and the values that it carries. Customers will purchase only those
that are worth a value for them. Some customers make the purchase only when they have
realized that the product or the service is of some use to them. Some make the purchase just to
satisfy their needs. It is then very important to position the products carefully, so that, it meets
the requirements of all. The product positioning is being done accordingly. Follow is a brief of
pricing for different products:
Product Price
Marshmallow $0.94 / 100g, $2.20 / 225g
Candied nut $8.00 / 500g
Glazed fruit products $4.40 starting price
Cocoa product $10.00 starting price
Drinking chocolate $1.40 / 100g, $3.35 / 225g
Table 1: Proposed Pricing for Different Products
(Source: created by author)

14PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Promotion-
This is very essential to implement a marketing plan. Perhaps, a marketing plan will not
be able to raise the appeal, which is required to attract the perception of customers. In the
contemporary business, there are ample of promotional strategies that work well to communicate
the planned message (Anderson, 2017). Roadside hoardings are a good source to advertise the
product. Such hoardings are generally being mounted on some tall statured building or on the
roadside at good heights to make this well evident to the customers (Anderson, 2017).
Advertisements will also be made on the television during some popular daily soap or
during the popular sports. These are the few occasions when many audiences used to be in front
of the screen. Moreover, a large audience will then be able to see the launch of a new product
line from Donald’s Company (Anderson, 2017). Advertisements will also be given in the popular
daily newspapers. This will also help to reach a good population of the audience in just a few
days (Anderson, 2017). The advertisement will repeatedly be telecasted on the television for at
least one month. In the newspapers, an advertisement will be made for 2-3 weeks (Anderson,
2017). Online promotion will also be there, which will mainly target the teenagers. A short video
will be uploaded to the YouTube platform revealing the good in it (Anderson, 2017).
5. Conclusion:
To conclude, the prospects are good for the proposed product line in Australia. A healthy
political and the economic aspects of the country will help to flourish the business. However,
legal policies are one of the potential threats, which is quite uncertain. It can seriously impact the
price of chocolates. Hence, competitiveness may be challenged as many customers have
concerns about the cost-effective products. The social trend in Australia can be threatening also

15PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
as many people are getting to know the adverse effect of fast-foods. Chocolate is one of the kinds
of fast-foods may seriously get impacted by the rising concern for health-conscious foods. The
company will also be required to take part in few corporate social responsibility (CSR) related
works. This will help them to develop a brand image. Moreover, they are also required to reduce
the wastages from the manufacturing sites.

16PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
References:
Anderson, C., (2017). Amplify Your Impact: Moving from a Promotion Strategy to an
Engagement Strategy. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 57(2), 89-92.
Benur, A.M. and Bramwell, B., (2015). Tourism product development and product
diversification in destinations. Tourism Management, 50, 213-224.
Bettiol, M., Chiarvesio, M., Di Maria, E. and Tabacco, R., (2016). Luxury firms in China: The
role of design and marketing capabilities. Global Business Review, 17(6), 1269-1279.
Biglia, A., Fabrizio, E., Ferrara, M., Gay, P. and Aimonino, D.R., (2015). Performance
assessment of a multi-energy system for a food industry. Energy Procedia, 82, 540-545.
Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J. and Seuring, S., (2014). Quantitative models for
sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions. European Journal
of Operational Research, 233(2), 299-312.
Brown, V., Moodie, M., Cobiac, L., Mantilla, H. and Carter, R., (2017). Obesity‐related health
impacts of active transport policies in Australia–a policy review and health impact
modelling study. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 41(6), 611-616.
Chong, S., (2014). Business process management for SMEs: an exploratory study of
implementation factors for the Australian wine industry. Journal of Information Systems
and Small Business, 1(1-2), 41-58.
Cole, D. and Nightingale, S., (2016). Sensitivity of Australian trade to the exchange rate. Reserve
Bank of Australia Bulletin, 13-20.

17PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Datta, H., Ailawadi, K.L. and van Heerde, H.J., (2017). How Well Does Consumer-Based Brand
Equity Align with Sales-Based Brand Equity and Marketing-Mix Response?. Journal of
Marketing, 81(3), 1-20.
De Vogli, R., Kouvonen, A. and Gimeno, D., (2014). The influence of market deregulation on
fast food consumption and body mass index: a cross-national time series
analysis. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 92(2), 99-107A.
Gilani, S.R.M., Kazemi, M., Asadi, H., Samadzadeh, G.R. and Atashpanjeh, A.R., (2014).
Market segmentation of sport tourism in Iran for foreign tourists regarding culture and
modeling of target market. Asian Journal of Research in Marketing, 3(6), 192-200.
Golev, A., Werner, T.T., Zhu, X. and Matsubae, K., (2016). Product flow analysis using trade
statistics and consumer survey data: a case study of mobile phones in Australia. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 133, 262-271.
Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., (2014). How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand
equity, and the marketing mix. In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors (113-132).
Springer New York.
Hunt, W., Birch, C., Vanclay, F. and Coutts, J., (2014). Recommendations arising from an
analysis of changes to the Australian agricultural research, development and extension
system. Food Policy, 44, 129-141.
Huotari, K. and Hamari, J., (2017). A definition for gamification: anchoring gamification in the
service marketing literature. Electronic Markets, 27(1), pp.21-31.

18PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Ibis World (2018). Market Research. Available at: https://www.ibisworld.com.au/industry-
trends/market-research-reports/manufacturing/food-product/chocolate-confectionery-
manufacturing.html [Accessed 6th Jan 2018]
Korschun, D., Bhattacharya, C.B. and Swain, S.D., (2014). Corporate social responsibility,
customer orientation, and the job performance of frontline employees. Journal of
Marketing, 78(3), 20-37.
Leonidou, L.C., Christodoulides, P., Kyrgidou, L.P. and Palihawadana, D., (2017). Internal
drivers and performance consequences of small firm green business strategy: the
moderating role of external forces. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(3), 585-606.
Liu, Y., Li, K.J., Chen, H. and Balachander, S., (2017). The Effects of Products’ Aesthetic
Design on Demand and Marketing-Mix Effectiveness: The Role of Segment
Prototypicality and Brand Consistency. Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 83-102.
Lo, S.L., Cornforth, D. and Chiong, R., (2015), January. Use of a High-Value Social Audience
Index for Target Audience Identification on Twitter. In ACALCI (323-336).
Manalo, J., Perera, D. and Rees, D.M., (2015). Exchange rate movements and the Australian
economy. Economic Modelling, 47, 53-62.
Matuleviciene, M. and Stravinskiene, J., (2015). The Importance of Stakeholders for Corporate
Reputation. Engineering Economics, 26(1), 75-83.
Poelmans, E. and Rousseau, S., (2016). How do chocolate lovers balance taste and ethical
considerations?. British Food Journal, 118(2), 343-361.

19PROPOSAL MARKETING PLAN
Pucheta‐Martínez, M.C. and García‐Meca, E., (2014). Institutional investors on boards and audit
committees and their effects on financial reporting quality. Corporate Governance: An
International Review, 22(4), 347-363.
Pulker, C. E., Scott, J. A., & Pollard, C. M. (2018). Ultra-processed family foods in Australia:
nutrition claims, health claims and marketing techniques. Public health nutrition, 21(1),
38-48.
Ryan, D., (2016). Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the digital
generation. Kogan Page Publishers.
Sohn, T.H., Kim, H.R. and Jang, H.S., (2014). An MDB business competency assessment of
Korean construction companies. KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 18(5), 1314.
Taghian, M., D’Souza, C. and Polonsky, M., (2015). A stakeholder approach to corporate social
responsibility, reputation and business performance. Social Responsibility Journal, 11(2),
340-363.