Singapore Restaurant Chef-in-Box Marketing Development Plan Evaluation

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the marketing development plan of Chef-in-Box, a prominent restaurant chain in Singapore. It begins with an executive summary and an overview of the company, highlighting its brand image and diverse food offerings. The core of the report features a detailed SWOT analysis, identifying the company's strengths (location, food quality, variety), weaknesses (limited outlets, competition), opportunities (product diversification, expansion), and threats (new entrants, changing consumer preferences). A competitive analysis compares Chef-in-Box with key rivals like Beni Singapore and Odette, examining their marketing strategies. The report also includes an analysis of Porter’s Five Forces to evaluate the competitive dynamics affecting the business. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of enhanced marketing strategies for Chef-in-Box to maintain a competitive advantage in the evolving hospitality and tourism industry. The analysis covers various aspects of marketing including the marketing objectives, strategies, and competitive landscape within the Singaporean market.

Running head: MARKETING DEVELOPMENT PLAN
MARKETING DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note

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Executive Summary
The significant objective of the report is to evaluate the marketing plan adopted by one of the
leading restaurant chains in Singapore, Chef-in-box. The report presents a detailed SWOT
analysis of the company identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
Additionally a competitive analysis has been provided which identifies the key competitors of
the company in the market. The analysis of Porter’s five forces on the company has also been
provided to evaluate the competitive forces that affect the business operations and processes.
In conclusion, it has been mentioned how in the rapidly developing market of the hospitality
and tourism industry, Chef-in-box can gain a competitive advantage by improving and
enhancing its marketing strategies.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................4
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
Overview of the Company.....................................................................................................4
SWOT Analysis.....................................................................................................................5
Strengths.............................................................................................................................6
Weaknesses........................................................................................................................6
Opportunities......................................................................................................................7
Threats................................................................................................................................7
Competitive Analysis.............................................................................................................8
Marketing objectives and the strategies.....................................................................................9
Porter’s Five forces Analysis...................................................................................................10
Threat of substitutes.........................................................................................................11
Threat of new entrants......................................................................................................11
Competitive rivalry..........................................................................................................11
Bargaining power of customers.......................................................................................11
Bargaining power of suppliers.........................................................................................12
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
There is an observable increase in the general per capita income among people across
the world, which is leading them to resort to an improved lifestyle. For this reason, the food
and hospitality industry around the world is rapidly developing to cater to the needs,
requirements and preferences of the customers (Mohammed, Guillet and Law 2015).
Improvements in the quality of food and services provided attracts the global customers and
creates positive brand image and identity for the restaurant chains. The tourism and
hospitality industry in Singapore is booming due to the natural inflow of a large number of
international tourists around the year (Mandal and Vong 2016). Therefore, Singapore
supports the development of regular as well as luxury hotels and restaurants to meet
preferences of the customers in terms of food, beverages and services provided. Chef-in-box
is one of the best food and beverage service providers in the Singapore. Their brand image
and profile is maintained adequately with the help of the superior quality of food and services
provided by them. To maintain the high quality of food, Chef-in-box hires the best chefs
available in the country, who are skilled enough in terms of food preparation and
presentation. Furthermore, the chefs also consider the health and safety standards of the food
prepared by them so as to cater to the needs of the health conscious customers. In order to
ensure the success of business operations, it is essential for an organization to strategize
marketing goals so that they may be able to increase their reach to the target customers. The
report will further analyze the strategies adopted by the restaurant to market their brand in the
hospitality industry of Singapore.

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Discussion
Overview of the Company
Chef-in-box enjoys a positive brand image in the hospitality industry of Singapore
owing to the high quality and diversified food items and services provided by them
(Chefinbox.com.sg 2019). In terms of food products, the restaurant provides a wide variety of
items and cuisines that are prepared keeping into consideration the quality and health
standards. Nutrition and ingredients play a vital role in the preparation of food items in Chef-
in-box. In this aspect, the ingredients and raw materials used are of the best quality as
available in the market. Moreover, the materials used for the preparation of the food items are
Halal Certified (Henderson 2016). The variety of food products offered in the menu of the
restaurant include westernized dishes, Malaysian food cuisines, local delights of Singapore,
Indian food meals, thalis and cuisines. Additionally, the use of artificial food colors and
preservatives is strictly prohibited during the preparation of food. They use very advanced
technology that is consisted of cook-chill and cook-freeze process assisting in keeping the
nutrition in between the meals and that make the meals bacteria free. In terms of services
provided, the staff and employees maintain a good behavior while taking orders and greeting
the customers. Services are provided to the customers in a prompt and responsive manner
with an immense emphasis on customer satisfaction and their brand loyalty.
SWOT Analysis
The framework of SWOT Analysis involves the identification oif the various internal
and external factors that affects the business activities and operations of an organization
(Gürel and Tat 2017). Such an evaluation helps in the recognition of the strengths and
weakness of the organization, along with the identification of the future opportunities and
threats that may affect its processes. The framework of SWOT analysis further provides
assistance to the organization to strategize its activities so that it may be able to gain a

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competitive advantage in the market (Blockeel et al. 2016). Since the hospitality industry is
rapidly growing and evolving, it is essential for Chef-in-box to identify the various factors
that may affect its business operations in the market of Singapore. The following strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats can be identified for the restaurant:
Strengths – The strengths of Chef-in-box can be identified to be the location of the
restaurant, which is easily accessible by international tourists as well as the domestic
customers. Apart from this factor the other strengths of the restaurant involve the quality of
food and services provided which is capable of developing a positive brand image and
identity of the business enterprise among the customers (Sloan, Legrand and Simons-
Kaufmann 2014). Such a positive brand image additionally induces the brand loyalty of the
customers, who seek to return to the facility in expectation of the maintenance of quality and
health standards (Jafari, Bahador and Ravangard 2016). Variety is also an important strength
of the restaurant as it offers a wide range of food items to the customers. This variety includes
the cuisines from different regions of the world thereby catering to the tastes and preferences
of the international customers. The food items available in Chef-in-box are also priced
moderately and caters to the needs of customers belonging to middle and high income
groups. The restaurant also advertises its food products and brand efficiently which acts as a
strength for them, attracting a wide range of customers.
Weaknesses – The weaknesses of Chef-in-box include the unavailability of enough outlets
throughout the country. For this purpose, the people residing in the outskirts of the city do not
get access to the services provided by the restaurant. Moreover, the other weaknesses include
less number of production units and the presence of a large number of competitors in the
market. It is so because, the hospitality industry in Singapore has a wide scope due to the
major tourist attractions located in various places. However, due to this factor, a large number
of existing hotels and restaurants along with new entrants pose a threat of competition to

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Chef-in-box. The investors are inclined to invest in the most popular and prospective ventures
with large number of outlets, with the view to gain greater profits. The communal diversity
present in the country and inflow of tourists from various cultural backgrounds also act as a
weakness as the restaurant is required to widen its range of food items to meet their
preferences (Lee 2016).
Opportunities – One of the major opportunities of chef-in-box include product
diversification to meet the changing trends of consumer preferences in the field of food
products and services provided by the restaurant. Apart from this, the other opportunities for
the restaurant include the expansion of their business through the establishment of greater
number of outlets throughout the country. The restaurant also has the scope to expand its
business further through the development of their existing infrastructure and facilities (Falk
2016). Such expansion of facilities may include cafeterias and eating outlets that may be kid
friendly or pet friendly. Such initiatives will help the business venture to reach out to a larger
number of customers and increase their customer base, thereby also inducing their loyalty and
trust.
Threats – The various threats faced by Chef-in-box may include the possibility of new
entrants in the market due to the positive scope of the hospitality and tourism industry in
Singapore. Furthermore, there is a changing trend among individuals to turn vegan and get
health conscious due to the emerging social and environmental issues in the world. Such
changing preferences of the customers also pose a threat to the business as they will have to
diversify and increase the scope of their business to meet their expectations. Furthermore,
with the rapid transformation of the scope of service industry and technological
advancements, the restaurant will need to invest more resources to keep up with such
innovations of production and food [reparation. This will also require the restaurant to
adequately train their staff so that they may be able to adapt to such changes. The competitive

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market in the tourism and hospitality industry in a country like Singapore, also requires the
business to step up their advertisement and marketing strategies so that they may be able to
gain a competitive advantage over the existing players and new entrants.
Competitive Analysis
The main competitors who are giving the competition to the Chef-in-box in the
expensive market of Singapore include Beni Singapore and Odette. These restaurants also
have very strong and effective strategies, which they follow to enhance their business and
market (Beni-sg.com 2019). Strategies like strong advertisements policies demonstrate and
display visuals of their product and the videos of people having their delicious foods through
the advertisements and social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and through other
ways like their official websites. This has very strong influencing effect upon the mind of the
people. They are gaining the notice of the customers through proper and effective
advertisements (Odetterestaurant.com 2019). They are also partnering with the online food
apps which can be accessed by the people from their home. The home delivery facility is also
given by these food and beverage service providers. There are some facilities are also given
by these restaurants to acquire the loyalty of the customers. There are also some extra
facilities also given like buy one get another free or discounts on some food items. Yelp also
has very positive impact upon the folk and the positive sound about the restaurants also
attracts more people. The location of the restaurants also have significant role upon the
business (Ng and Austin 2016). The people can only access those things, which are
established and situated in their nearby sides and locations. The geographical location of the
restaurants have very crucial role in marketing. Instagram has the very strong role in
advertising and most of the people are using and access the internet and the social media and
they can easily see the advertisements which make them more influenced. The rival
companies are also availing every kind of scopes for make their brand identity and to create

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the attention in the mind of the people. With the usage of the e-mail newsletter or templates
and layouts, the companies are also making them notify in front of the society.
Parameter
s
Company Chef-in-box Beni Singapore Odette
Founded 2001 2008 2006
Product Multi-cuisine food
items
Specialized in local
cuisines
Multi-cuisine food
items
Target Customers Health conscious
individuals and
middle and high
income groups
Lower and middle
class individuals
High and middle
income
households
Pricing Moderate to high Low to moderate High to moderate
Segment Restaurant chain Restaurant chain Hotel and
restaurant chain
USP Brand identity and
portfolio, high
quality and health
standards
Brand identity and
high quality
Brand identity,
high quality of
services and food
items
Table 1: Competitive analysis of Chef-in-box
(Source: Author)
Marketing objectives and the strategies
The Chef-in-box enhances their business operations with some strategies in their
marketing and they also have a very clear and proper mission that pertains to the expansion of
business and gaining more loyal customers with the help of their quality and good

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relationship and attachment with the customers. The staffs and employees of this restaurant is
well trained and well skilled. Special kinds of development programs are also organized by
the human resource management system so the employees can be able to make them more
developed and efficient enough (Chan and Dar 2014). Special kind of grooming and
mentoring classes are also held so that the employees become more effective in their
communication so that the consumers perceive them as more reliable and convincing (Hsu
2015). The organization is also following well sound finance budgeting which is targeted
upon the expansion of the business. The capital budget and the working capital which is
deployed in the running situation of the organization is focused on growth through savings.
The organization is enhancing their brand image through effective advertisements. The
objectives of the organization are expansion, growth, more customer loyalty and
enhancement in the quality of the product (Purwomarwanto and Ramachandran 2015). That
is why they are providing the best foods cooked by the best chef of the world. The quality
audit is the another systematic program organized for the enhancement and betterment of
their food quality as per the tastes and preferences of the consumers. With the changes in the
society, the tastes and preferences of the people are also changing. So it is an important task
to understand the tastes and choices of the people. They are following efficient means of
communication and feedback policy so that the best can be provided and the proper appraisal
can be made. The communication with the consumers plays a vital role in making people
more loyal. However, Singapore is one of the best tourist places so that is why the sector
provides several kinds of dishes of numerous countries (Henderson 2014). With this the local
communal dishes are also provided by them. They are also emphasizing on very effective
marketing strategy and development policy so that the brand awareness can grow more.

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Porter’s Five forces Analysis
The framework of Porter’s five forces provides an analysis of the various competitive
forces that affect the business functions and operations of an organization (Dobbs 2014). An
analysis of such competitive forces further enables the organization to evaluate its
opportunities and threats thereby aiding it to strategize efficient means of marketing (Dälken
2014). An analysis of Porter’s five forces on Chef-in-box can provide insight on the
operations of the business venture and identify the future opportunities and threats.
Threat of substitutes – Chef-in-box faces a high threat from the presence of substitutes in
the form of the fast food chains that are available in the market. The fast food chains like Mac
Donald’s and KFC are globally recognized brands and therefore have a loyal customer base
(Lim and Loh 2014). For this reason, the sales of a local restaurant chain is highly threatened
as the customers, especially international tourists would rather prefer the food items
presented by such globally recognized brands.
Threat of new entrants – Due to the rapid growth and development of the tourism and
hospitality industry in Singapore, Chef-in-box faces a high threat of new entrants in the
market. It is so because, Singapore is an attractive country for investors in this field due to the
high scope of innovation and profits. Due to this factor, larger number of entrepreneurs will
be attracted to start business operations in the field of hospitality.
Competitive rivalry – Chef-in-box also faces a high threat from the competitors present in
the market. As previously mentioned, the company faces a high threat from the presence of
existing competitors like Beni Singapore and Odette, which have a larger customer base in
Singapore. Therefore, in order to obtain a competitive advantage in the market, the restaurant
chain must adopt superior marketing strategies to promote their brand among the customers
and gain their loyalty (Medlin and Ellegaard 2015).

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Bargaining power of customers – Due to the presence of a large number of hotels and
restaurants in the market Chef-in-box faces a relatively low threat from the bargaining power
of the customers. It is so because, the business follows a competitive pricing strategy by
keeping at par with the present market trends. This enables the company to maintain its
positive position in the market with the help of maintenance of a high quality of services and
food items provided to the customers.
Bargaining power of suppliers – Chef-in-box also faces a relatively low threat from the
bargaining power of the suppliers. It is so because, due to the booming market in the
hospitality and tourism industry in Singapore, there is a presence of a large number of
suppliers. Therefore, the company has a large number of suppliers to choose from to procure
the raw materials and ingredients required for the preparation of their products.
Conclusion
From the above analysis, it can be deduced that Chef-in-box is one of the most
renowned restaurant chains in Singapore. However, the business venture faces a high threat
from the presence of the competitors. Therefore, in order to obtain a competitive advantage in
the market, the company must engage in efficient marketing strategies so that a larger number
of customers are attracted to try out their products. Product diversification and the
maintenance of a high quality of food items and services provides an opportunity to the
company, which can help them to obtain the trust and loyalty of the customers. Advertising,
sales promotion, branding and direct marketing can further engage a larger customer base
within the organizational scope of the restaurant chain, thereby aiding them to fulfill their
aims and objectives and enhance their productivity and profitability.

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