Burger Fuel: Marketing Strategy for Global Expansion in Thailand

This report presents a comprehensive international marketing strategy for Burger Fuel, a New Zealand-based restaurant chain, aiming to expand its business into Thailand. The report begins with an executive summary and introduction outlining the objectives and scope of the analysis. It then delves into the findings and analysis, including a detailed examination of the external environment, encompassing political, social, economic, legal, technological, and cultural factors relevant to the Thai market. The report also assesses the competitive environment, identifying key competitors such as McDonald's and Burger King, and analyzes consumer behavior, considering the preferences and trends of Thai consumers. Furthermore, it explores the global marketing mix components, including product, price, place, and promotion strategies, and emphasizes the importance of social responsibility and ethical considerations. The report concludes with recommendations for Burger Fuel's successful entry into the Thai market, including strategies for adapting to local culture, forming partnerships, and leveraging technology. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding consumer behavior and adapting the global marketing mix to suit the local market conditions.

Running head: MARKETING PRINCIPLE
Marketing principle
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Executive summary
The report as prepared to discuss about how Burger Fuel in New Zealand could adopt
the global marketing strategy to enter the global marketplace of Thailand. The assignment
also included how the company should conduct the external environment analysis to evaluate
the external factors affecting the business while the competitive environment was assessed to
determine the presence of competitors in the market. This helped in grabbing the right
opportunities to influence consumer buying behaviours and at the same time, manage the
global marketing mix components properly to address the international marketing aspects.
The joint venture or partnership working could be beneficial while the company must also
focus on social responsibility campaigns to deliver healthy food items by adopting to the
local culture and even contribute to the health and wellbeing of the environment and
community as a whole.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Findings and analysis.................................................................................................................3
External environment.............................................................................................................4
Competitive environment.......................................................................................................6
Consumer behaviour...............................................................................................................7
Global marketing mix.............................................................................................................8
Social responsibility and ethics............................................................................................10
Conclusion................................................................................................................................11
Recommendations....................................................................................................................11

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Burger Fuel from NZ to other country THAILAND
Introduction
The report is prepared to discuss about the global or international marketing strategy
that can be adopted by the restaurant chain named Burger Fuel from New Zealand to
establish its business in Thailand. Being a marketing manager of the restaurant chain of New
Zealand, I have been handed over the responsibility of researching on and develop a suitable
international marketing strategy for global business expansion with ease and efficiency. The
report will examine the concepts of international marketing and even conduct the external
environment analysis for evaluating the political, social economic, legal and cultural factors
(Chernev, 2018). It will also help us to understand about whether the company shall adopt a
sales or marketing oriented strategy for influence consumer buying behaviours. The global
marketing mix components will also be assessed here, which can allow for developing a good
marketing strategy that will help Burger Fuel in New Zealand to contribute benefits and
values to the hospitality, food and culinary industries in Thailand too. The objectives of the
report are to develop an effective global marketing strategy that can help in allowing the
company to expand to Thailand on the global context (Burgerfuel.com, 2019).
Findings and analysis
Burger Fuel wants to grow its business and reach Thailand, which can help in global
business expansion and also generate higher revenue for the business in the global business
marketplace (Christopher, Payne & Ballantyne, 2013). The company should adopt a new
global marketing strategy for sustaining in the global business environment and at the same
time, facilitate the consumer buying behaviours to make more purchases from the company
newly set up in Thailand.

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External environment
The external environment would assess the political, social, legal, environmental,
technological and cultural factors associated to the management of business in Thailand on a
global context. The political factors that can impact the restaurant chain include the rate of
tax, taxation policies and reforms along with the health and safety rules and regulations. For
example, the health grading system for each nation is different and so the restaurant chain
must make sure to implement Codes of conduct and practices properly according to the food
and health grading criteria of Thailand to ensure meeting the standards and fulfil the needs of
clients easily (Baines, Fill & Page, 2013).
The economic factors include the minimum wages and benefits along with the
condition of economy that can impact the restaurant industry of Thailand. Though the
external factors are not visible, still Burger Fuel must focus on making assessment of these
needs properly, furthermore ensure that after introducing a new restaurant chain by Burger
Fuel in Thailand, the new employees to be appointed ate paid well. It has been found that the
country lacks proper and robust laws, legislations and rules, due to which it becomes difficult
for new businesses to set up in the location (Bowie et al., 2016).
To ensure entering the market segments of Thailand, Burger Fuel needs to adopt the
local culture of Thailand and ensure food delivery options for catering the needs of people.
There has been higher level of awareness among people regarding the locally raised organic
food items and this has influenced the new businesses entering the marketplace to deliver
healthy food items that can improve the health and wellbeing of the community too (Gillespie
& Riddle, 2015).
With the advancement of technology, the business functioning has improved and this
can be a great opportunity for Burger Fuel to create a digital system for managing the

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business transactions and at the same time, market the products online too. The technological
advancements could allow for implementing information systems that would ease down the
business operations and also manage acceptance of payments with the use of smart phones
too (De Mooij, 2018).
The legal factors constitute the restaurant functioning and with the implementation of
new laws, rules and regulations, the company must aim at maintaining the business standards.
The labour market reforms and policies lacked in Thailand, which also could make Burger
Fuel attain competitiveness within the industry quickly while expanding business in Thailand.
The employees of the organisations in Thailand are not protected by legislations and laws and
due to this many of the employers within the restaurant industry have used the Labour
relations Act to terminate union leaders before the certification of Unions by the Government
(Griffith & Hoppner, 2013). The company should be cautious about preventing any forms of
discrimination, furthermore ensure legally binding with the laws and rules to impact the
entire restaurant industry and ensure management of equal rights, responsibilities and
opportunities along with protection of the workers too within the newly established restaurant
chain (Zeriti et al., 2014).
The environmental protection is a major aspect focused by the business to manage
business functioning effectively. The establishment of the restaurant chain in a new location
should create scopes for better traffic flow though it must be kept in mind about not harming
the environment. The environment of the restaurant should also contribute to the decision
making process.
Considering the rising number of environmental issues that is a major concern to the
atmosphere and environment, it is important to comply with the Government laws, rules and
regulations along with Environment protection acts to ensure that the food items delivered are

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healthy and nutritious and it does not get waste (Tiago & Veríssimo, 2014). Burger Fuel
should grab this opportunity to maintain a low carbon lifestyle and create positive influences
among the customers’ minds to ensure management of sustainability and efficiency of
business operations with efficiency.
Competitive environment
Thailand not only consists of a great number of fast food restaurant chains but also
there are large numbers of burger joints in Thailand, which can make it difficult for Burger
Fuel from NZ to attain competitive advantage in business while operating globally. Few large
competitors of Burger Fuel are McDonalds, Daniel Thaiger Food Truck, 25 Degrees, Burger
King, etc. and these competitors are strong forces, according to the Porter’s five forces
model, which could affect the international business expansion in Thailand (Steenkamp,
2017). The restaurant market in Thailand is saturated with different sized companies and due
to this, Burger Fuel must consider market focus, different kinds of products and various other
features while entering the market segment. The rivalry in the competitive business
environment is high, which also has resulted from the low costs of switching, furthermore
might make customers more inclined towards other popular restaurant chains in Thailand
rather than from Burger Fuel (Burgerfuel.com, 2019).
With the presence of other new entrants in the market as well as the substitute
products and high bargaining power of the suppliers, the company might face stiff
competition within the industry. Burger Fuel must consider the demands and expectations of
the consumer at first, then adopt the local culture and even work in partnership with a local
restaurant chain to gain better accessibility to the marketplace in Thailand and ensure
attracting the potential customers through extensive market and network structure knowledge
management (Magnusson et al., 2013). To enter the foreign market, the most suitable mode

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of entry for international marketing could be the joint venturing or partnership working
strategy.
Consumer behaviour
The consumers’ behaviours have been changing consistently and it has impacted
largely on the selection of fast food items and decision making process too. The consumers in
Thailand like to place orders at the counter and make payment before eating and they have
become health conscious too considering the increased risks of obesity and health related
illnesses from consumption of unhealthy fast food items. To make a positive mind set among
them, Burger Fuel needs to adopt to the local culture and consider the needs of people at first,
furthermore focus on delivering something unique that are differentiable from the similar
kinds of burgers made available by other companies in the marketplace (Magnusson et al.,
2013). Burger Fuel, with the help of joint venture, should be able to draw in existing
customers of the business with whom partnership working is being done and at the same
time, prioritize on the attraction of new clients to strengthen the client base. Burger Fuel must
bring uniqueness to the products by adding extra ingredients and even introduce fried items
such as chicken crispy, nuggets and even pizzas, which could suit the local tastes and
preferences of people in Thailand (Lee & Johnson, 2013). The assessment of customers
needs’ should be possible with the help of online marketing where the customers would
provide their opinions and feedbacks regarding their first purchase from the newly opened
store of Burger Fuel in Thailand, based on which, necessary changes could be done for
influencing their buying behaviours too. Considering the fact that people in Thailand love to
consume beer along with burger, it could be a good opportunity for Burger Fuel to partner
with a beer brand and ensure supplying beer and food items to cater the needs of people
easily, which can be an added advantage for gaining competitive advantage (Burgerfuel.com,
2019).

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Figure: Market share for fast food restaurant chain in Thailand (Lee & Johnson, 2013)
Global marketing mix
Figure: Consumer product component (Charter & Polonsky, 2017)
The global marketing mix would allow Burger Fuel to assess the ways by which,
global business expansion would be possible with the consideration of various components
including the consumer product, price, place, promotions. The products holds the most
importance with the company needs to manage diversification to meet the diverse needs of
people, furthermore adapt with the emerging market conditions, high purchasing power, etc.
The decisions made while purchasing a food item from Burger Fuel in Thailand would be

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based on the branding, risk choices, brand image and positioning along with product lines,
differentiation, etc (Charter & Polonsky, 2017). The product lines include burgers, side
dishes, beverage items, salads and vegetables, sweets, etc.
While establishing in Thailand, Burger Fuel must implement the cost leadership and
cost differentiation strategies to setting competitive prices for the products and services,
furthermore ensure assessment of supply and demands in the market to assess the present
condition, The introduction of new product line should boost the sales by making the
customers purchase value meals at bundle prices, thereby handle the intensity of competitive
with much ease and effectiveness too.
To manage proper distribution, the company needs to target the populated market
segments and even introduce the mobile app for making customers easily access the food
items and get additional discounts and offers, freebies while making purchase, This would
also facilitate easy order placement and getting the food delivered at doorsteps (Winit et al.,
2014). This is something unique when compared to the physical presence of the restaurant
chain, which can facilitate the global business management in Thailand (Burgerfuel.com,
2019).
The promotions should be done by Burger Fuel through extensive advertising
representing the culture of the place and ensure creating influence on the buying behaviours
of consumers, The engagement of social media platforms could also help in gaining better
brand exposure and for that the restaurant chain needs to conduct approaches for meeting the
decisions of allocating resources with the evaluation of market budget and resources needed
for production (Firestone et al., 2017).

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Figure: Consumer product component (Firestone et al., 2017)
To ensure proper distribution of products in the foreign marketplace, Burger Fuel also
should manage greater control by appointing the foreign country middlemen and ensure
development of shorter channels and gain more enterprise and skills of managing the market
conditions accurately.
Social responsibility and ethics
To manage the corporate social responsibilities, values and ethics, Burger Fuel must
find out innovative and sustainable ways of packaging the food items, furthermore develop
excellent recycled and recyclable composting packaging for keeping the burgers and other
food items safe and healthy, The food items are produced with the use of natural vegetable oil
that has to be sourced from renewable sources, furthermore keep the environment safe and
healthy too (Burgerfuel.com, 2019). The Aioli Punnets were made from corn starch, which
should also represent 100 percent of high compostable item usage and ensure devoid of any
plastics. The workplace must be free from discrimination and the employees should be paid
right amount of wages for management of good values and ethics all throughout the business
functioning to (Zeriti et al., 2014). The company’s stakeholder-driven approach: “Food,

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People, Environment and Corporate Governance” also could help in serving the customers
and even create employment opportunities for people all over to contribute to the social and
economic wellbeing of the community too.
Conclusion
The report focused on the concepts of global business marketing and considered
Burger Fuel’s entry into the foreign market of Thailand. The consideration of environmental
factors was done for assessing the political factors, economic factors, social, environmental
and legal factors that influenced the business functioning while operating globally in
Thailand. The competitive environment was high with the presence of rivalries and with the
assessment of market conditions, Burger Fuel would likely make a sustainable position in the
competitive marketplace with ease and efficiency.
Recommendations
 It is recommended for Burger Fuel to manage global business by merging or
acquiring another small business within the restaurant industry such as another small
burger joint or even fast food centres to combine the various assets, resources and
liabilities. This would help in gaining benefits such as greater economies of scale, tax
benefits, diversification and synergy.
 It is recommended to adopt the joint venture or partnership working modes of entry
into the foreign market to ensure successful global business management in Thailand
for Burger Fuel
 This would help in reducing market risks, share rewards and benefits along with focus
on joint product development, furthermore strengthen the accessibility to channels of
distribution and focus on improving relationships between business and its customers.