International Business Expansion: Case Study of Beyond Meat in Belgium

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Running Head: BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL
CONTEXT
BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL
CONTEXT

BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Background information..................................................................................................................3
Analysis of the business scenario....................................................................................................6
SWOT Analysis...........................................................................................................................6
Porter's five forces analysis..........................................................................................................7
Recommendations............................................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Reference List................................................................................................................................10
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Introduction
The business environment present in different countries has a significant impact on the overall
progress of any business in that country. It is very important to have a conducive business
environment in every country so that the organisations can expand their region of operations
geographically and it in terms of products. There are several barriers present within an
organisation that can possibly lead to unexpected losses to the company. Hence, it is very
important to analyze the existing business environment in any particular country before
establishing a business for expanding the existing business in that country. The following study
is about an organisation named “Beyond Meat” which is looking forward towards its expansion
in Belgium. The studying has included the details about business environment present in the
country and has carried out an analysis describing the possibility of Business expansion and
success after expansion.
Background information
The company named “Beyond Meat” is owned by its parent company named Savage River
Incorporation. The company started in 2009 with the mission of providing replacements for meet
it and non vegetarian products. The company has gained significant popularity since its origin
because it is expanding gradually in United Kingdom, United States of America, and several
other European countries. The company is also looking forward to constantly make people aware
of its products. The primary objective of the company is to save the environment by stop killing
of animals. Moreover, it also promotes eco friendly and healthy living so that the customers are
able to enjoy the taste of meat without killing any animal. The Organisation was able to generate
revenue of US$33 million in the year 2018. In addition to this, the organisation also employed
almost 100 people in different departments especially the research and development department
of the company. This is to promote and discover new ideas of making meat it like plant products
that will help the organisation deliver best products to its customers.
Background information on the business environment
The business environment in Belgium is highly conducive for the organisations belonging to
foreign origin to be established in its cities. The GDP of Belgium in the year 2018 was $532,131
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
million whereas the per capita income of the country was $46,633 million in the same year. Both
the figures witnessed a significant growth compared to what it was in the previous year. The
country has a friendly environment for industrial production and services market. In addition to
this, the consumption market is also very high in the country for meat products and therefore
“Beyond Meat” company can easily expand its business in this country. Following is a detailed
analysis of the different factors that are likely to impact the establishment of business by the
“Beyond Meat” company in Belgium.
Political factors: The political factors are majorly in favour of foreign direct investments in the
country and therefore the company is more likely to experience a hotbed of investment in
Belgium. Moreover, the political parties support the existing loss of employment and foreign
investments. Therefore, any change in the existing government is not likely to impact the
political factors in the organisation. Due to the brexit crisis, there are some barriers that might
occur in the near future but it is less likely to impact the entire business by a huge extent. This
makes the political factors of Belgium quite in favour of the organisation in case it is looking
forward to expand its business. According to the existing laws of European Union, there will be
minimum difficulty for “Beyond Meat” Company to establish its business in Belgium. However,
there might be some difficulties that will arrive in the upcoming future if brexit happens.
Therefore it will be very important for the organisation to establish its business in Belgium as
soon as possible without making any mistake in the research (Apetrei et al. 2015).
Economic factors: The economic factors are also in favour of the company in terms of
establishing a new business plant in the country. The people of Belgium have a high standard
Lifestyle which is as good as any other European country. Moreover, being a developed country,
Belgium has a significantly high population of rich people who can easily afford the products
made by “Beyond Meat” Company. This will be very helpful for the company because it can set
the prices of its products accordingly so that they do not have to worry much about the profits to
be earned after establishing the new business. There are many rich people living in Belgium who
can easily sponsor any new startup. Hence, the “Beyond Meat” company can also look forward
towards getting any sponsor for investor in the company after the actual long-term business plan
is explained to them. Moreover, the organisation is also likely to have less chances of corporate
social responsibility because of the good economic conditions of Belgium (Arijs et al. 2018).
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Social: The social factors also influence the business in a country that has been set up by the
company. The most important social factors include the cultural differences where some people
do not considered eating non vegetarian products or simply meat. However, there are people who
are more likely to stick to the traditional meat eating techniques. Hence, organisation needs to
decide about the company policies and advertisement technique in order to fetch maximum
benefit from the customers without compromising the quality of services been delivered to them.
Technological factors: Belgium is a technologically advanced country because it has almost
every type of modern technology. The overall process of implementation and investing the
different it resources required a series of steps which also includes marketing. Hence, marketing
can be done very easily with the help of technology because almost every individual living in
Belgium has access to the internet and social media. In addition to this, the hardware technology
which is required to grind and process the plant products in order to make meat is also easily
available in the country. This is because of the cute scale automation that has happened over the
last few decades with the introduction of Computer operated machines and assembly lines
(Dankbaar, 2017).
Environmental factors: The environmental factors are likely to be a matter of concern for the
organisation because the grasslands and areas fit for cultivation are limited invention because of
a small geographical size. However, the organisation is likely to install greenhouses and
protected houses at different locations in order to grow those plants manually. Installation of
greenhouses might result into the release of greenhouse gases and chlorofluorocarbons which
might be harmful for the environment. Hence, the company needs to strictly over the laws of
Belgium regarding environmental safety. Moreover, the factory locations where the company
operators will convert plant products into meat products will certainly have some disposal lines.
Therefore, it is necessary that the company management it is able to make proper arrangements
for the processing and assembly line areas so that the disposals and waste by products what do
not negatively impact the environment (Gavurova et al. 2017).
Legal factors: Consumption of meat is different for people belonging to different societies and
religion. The people who follow Islam avoid consuming Pork products. Similarly, the people
who belong to Hinduism belief do not generally consume beef. The legal aspects has given the
right to the customers to take necessary action against any organisation in case this fall victim of
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
some incident. According to the legal constraints in the Belgium government for selling the
products in the market, it is mandatory for every organisation to mention the ingredients on top
of the packets. The company also needs to specifically mention if the food item contains actual
made product or artificial meat made out of plants. The company needs to get a licence from the
Government of Belgium in order to establish a plant and also it needs to get a certification from
the food security authority of Belgium which insurance that at every food product is edible and
free from any harmful item (Gorissen et al. 2016).
Analysis of the business scenario
The business scenario within a country is usually identified by the level of competition present in
that country among different business organisations of farming in the same industry. There are
very few organisations in Belgium that are focusing on growing meat products made out of
plants. Therefore, this factor is likely to act as an advantage for the company because of the
presence of fewer competitors in the market. Following is an analysis that has identified the
major strengths and weaknesses along with the most prominent opportunities and threats to the
organisation.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths: The most prominent strength of the company is its workforce that is highly skilled
and experience. In addition to this, it has an impressive track record where it has delivered its
products as per the expectations of its customers. The company also commands a good
reputation among its customers due to the services that it has provided to them. The major
strengths of the organisation also include technologically advanced infrastructure and marketing
techniques.
Weaknesses: The small size of the workforce can possibly become the biggest weakness for the
company. This is because the organisation is likely to experience high demand traffic from the
customers for the purchase of its meat products made up of plants. Apart from that, the training
and development facilities for people belonging to other countries are also not up to the mark. As
a result of this, the organisation might have to take some necessary actions in order to increase its
capacity to train and develop the skills of people hired from local areas.
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Opportunities: The most usable opportunity available with “Beyond Meat” Company is the
curiosity among the people to know and consume meat products that are made from plants. The
company therefore needs to advertise its products ensuring that the meat products taste as good
as real meat. Moreover, the company also has an advantage because huge population is
nowadays getting aware of the health related issues that an individual is likely to experience by
consuming meat products.
Threats: Although there is no important threat for the company in the Belgium market because
the organisation is not likely to face a tough competition. However, if the business operations are
carried out according to the plan and the company keeps expanding gradually, some local
companies might also be able to establish their own infrastructure in the country. The emergence
of any local company will be preferred more by the local customers due to the regional factor.
This might act as a prominent threat to the organisation at latter stages.
Porter's five forces analysis
The porter's five forces analysis give a clear idea about different forces that are likely to act upon
the business related activities and operations of an organisation. The company management
needs to carefully analyze all the forces based on which the upcoming strategies must be
decided. Following are the major aspects of the porter's five forces analysis in comparison with
the market at Belgium for “Beyond Meat” company.
Bargaining power of suppliers: There will be some suppliers of raw materials like some
specific plants from which the meat products would be formed. This is because the organisation
might not be able to purchase a huge piece of land to cultivate its crops to be used for further
purposes. Therefore, the suppliers have a power of bargaining up to a certain extent where they
might demand higher prices for the supply of raw material (Rizos et al. 2016).
Bargaining power of buyers: The buyers of Belgium market do not have a prominent power in
their hands because there are not many options available for the buyers in the market that can
supply the same products. According to the existing scenario, the bargaining power of buyers is
not likely to have a significant impact on the business operations of “Beyond Meat”. However,
this might become a matter of concern in the future with the increase in competition (Pekkola et
al. 2016).
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Threats of new entrants: The chances of entry of new companies in the market are very low
because making tasty and healthy meat products out of plants as raw materials is very difficult.
This requires a very long practice along with some thorough research and development related
work activities. The entry of new competitors in the market will take a long time and the
organisation can make necessary strategies in order to counter the negative influence of new
entrants in the market in the future.
Threats of new substitutes: The products made by “Beyond Meat” them are the substitute to
actual meat products. However, considering the possibility of the introduction of any new
substitute in the market for the meat products made of plant, it can be said that there will be no
new substitutes in the upcoming near future. This is because the level of proteins and other
minerals found in artificial manufactured meat products is very high. Moreover, it is also very
cheap compared to the actual meat products.
Company rivalries: As discussed above in the paragraphs, there is very less possibility of any
rivalry between other companies and “Beyond Meat”. This is because of the fact that not many
companies have conducted adequate research to produce plants made meat on a commercial
scale. The organisation needs to invest in multiple sectors of business after establishing itself as a
natural meat manufacturing company in Belgium. This is to counter the possibility of any
increase in the company rivalries.
Recommendations
Following are some of the recommendations that the company needs to consider before
establishing is market in Belgium
 The organisation must primarily focus on advertisement to make the people aware of of
the different meat products that are made available to them without killing an animal.
 The company needs to search for adequate land area at suitable location where the office
as well as greenhouse and other production location can be established.
 Profit market research is also very important in order to identify the right cost which will
be an equilibrium balance between affordability of the customers and profitability of the
company.
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
 The health benefits of consuming plant made meat items must also be advertised
commercially so that the organisation is able to convey its message of not killing an
animal.
 Constant upgrades in its products are also required after receiving feedback from the
customers regarding the taste of their products along with health related aspects.
Conclusion
In order to establishment any business company in a different country, the company management
must conduct a proper survey and research regarding the possibility of success within the market
of that company. The above study has discussed majority of the points based on which the
market research can be conducted by any organisation before making the final decision about
establishing a new business branch in a different country or not. The above study has explicitly
described the six major forces that act externally on the operations of the company. The major
aspects related to the business environment and level of competition present in the market have
also been described along with the legal advantages and constraints present in a country market.
It is also very important to ensure that it there is enough population to consume the food products
manufactured by the company. Hence, there are some recommendations that have been provided
for the organisation so that people get more aware of the advantages of eating the products
manufactured by this organisation.
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BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS AND ENVIRONMENTS IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Reference List
Apetrei, A., Kureshi, N.I. and Horodnic, I.A., 2015. When culture shapes international
business. Journal of Business Research, 68(7), pp.1519-1521.
Arijs, D., Botero, I.C., Michiels, A. and Molly, V., 2018. Family business employer brand:
Understanding applicants’ perceptions and their job pursuit intentions with samples from the US
and Belgium. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 9(3), pp.180-191.
Dankbaar, B., 2017. Innovation management in SMEs: Research in Belgium and The
Netherlands. In Global and European Polity?: Organisations, Policies, Contexts (pp. 171-186).
Routledge.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), 2019. Data sources on animal diseases: Country Card
of Belgium. EFSA Supporting Publications, 16(1), p.1549E.
Gavurova, B., Packova, M., Misankova, M. and Smrcka, L., 2017. Predictive potential and risks
of selected bankruptcy prediction models in the Slovak business environment. Journal of
Business Economics and Management, 18(6), pp.1156-1173.
Gorissen, L., Vrancken, K. and Manshoven, S., 2016. Transition thinking and business model
innovation–towards a transformative business model and new role for the reuse centers of
Limburg, Belgium. Sustainability, 8(2), p.112.
Pekkola, S., Saunila, M. and Rantanen, H., 2016. Performance measurement system
implementation in a turbulent operating environment. International Journal of Productivity and
Performance Management, 65(7), pp.947-958.
Rizos, V., Behrens, A., Van Der Gaast, W., Hofman, E., Ioannou, A., Kafyeke, T., Flamos, A.,
Rinaldi, R., Papadelis, S., Hirschnitz-Garbers, M. and Topi, C., 2016. Implementation of circular
economy business models by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs): Barriers and
enablers. Sustainability, 8(11), p.1212.
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