Chocosol's Expansion: International Marketing Strategy in the UK

This report details Chocosol's strategic plan to expand its chocolate business from Canada to the United Kingdom. It includes a PESTLE analysis comparing the UK and France to determine the optimal market, a market entry plan, SMART objectives, and a marketing mix strategy. The report also addresses potential organizational challenges and provides recommendations for Chocosol to ensure a successful expansion into the UK market. The analysis considers political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, and legal factors influencing the market entry. Desklib offers similar solved assignments for students.

Running head: CHOCOSOL
CHOCOSOL
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Executive Summary
In order to ensure success in the long run, any business organization would be required to ensure
that they will be successfully able to expand the different operations into viable markets and
ensure that they are being able to attain success in those markets. The given report is based on
the expansion plan of the Chocosol, a chocolate brand based in Canada to the United Kingdom.
The report has followed a systematic format with respect to which, the brand would be required
to expand its overall operations in the other country. The report lays down the marketing plan of
Chocosol in United Kingdom and the different promotional tactics which are to be adopted by
the firm. Certain recommendations have also been provided.

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Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction................................................................................................................................3
2.0 About the firm/product..............................................................................................................3
3.0 External analysis of UK and France using PESTLE.................................................................4
3.1 Conclusion about the market.................................................................................................9
4.0 Market entry plan.....................................................................................................................10
5.0 Smart objectives.......................................................................................................................11
6.0 Plan components......................................................................................................................12
6.1 Marketing Mix.....................................................................................................................12
6.2 Key Factors of the planning Schedule.................................................................................13
6.3 The Marketing Budget.........................................................................................................14
7.0 Organization challenges...........................................................................................................15
8.0 Conclusion...............................................................................................................................17
9.0 Recommendations....................................................................................................................17
10.0 References..............................................................................................................................18

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Brief title: ‘Beyond Fairtrade: These bean to bar chocolate makers are venturing`
1.0 Introduction
The global business scenario has become highly competitive and it is with respect to this,
that it becomes considerably important for the different companies as present to take
considerable initiatives so as to ensure that they are able to maintain a competitive positioning in
the market and that they are able to take advantage of the different economies which shall enable
them to increase their sales and perform considerably well (Ansoff et al. 2019). Hence, in line of
this, it can be mentioned that the internationalization of the firms is not an easy task and the
business which plans to internationalize its operations would be required to take considerable
initiatives with the help of which they will be successfully able to identify the right kinds of
market for themselves and then consider the overall scenario as well in order to be able to
expand and earn large amount of profits. The report is based on the marketing plan of the
Chocosol which is a chocolate firm based in the Canadian country of America. The plan will
compare the international markets of France and the United Kingdom using the frame of
PESTEL analysis and then will accordingly plan so as to ensure that the firm is able to decide the
most suitable market for itself.
2.0 About the firm/product
The Chocosol is a chocolate social enterprise which is based in Toronto in Canada. The
company is one of the largest manufacturers of chocolate as present in the country and thereby
engages in a production of 1.4 tons chocolate in a month. The company also has varieties to offer
to the target audience based on which it can be stated that the firm has 10 different types of
chocolate for consumption and 4 types of chocolate for drinking Chocolates
(Chocosoltraders.com 2019). The company has made considerable profits in the last few years

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and can be stated to have a good share of the Canadian market. It is for this that the company has
not decided to expand its operations so that it is successfully able to ensure that it will be able to
reach out to new and better economies and in the same manner, it will also be able to, increase its
sales as well as the level of operations.
3.0 External analysis of UK and France using PESTLE
Before expanding into newer and better markets, it becomes considerably better for the
firm to take considerable measures which will help them in understanding the overall market
structure and in addition to this, it will also ensure that, the firm is successfully able to take the
right decision and plan accordingly (Chernev 2018). With respect to this, the PESTLE Analysis
of both the countries will be carried out and certain comparisons will be made in order to ensure
that the right country decision is made.
PESTLE Factors UK France
Political The United Kingdom
can be largely
understood to be a
constitutional
monarchy and
conducts its
operations under the
influence of the
parliamentary system.
The overall economy
and political status of
the country can be
understood to be fair
and stable. Although
the change in the
Prime minister of the
country and the
introduction of the
Brexit issue, there
have been various
instability in the
economy, however,
In France, there has
been a wide gap
between the rich and
the poor and this
aspect has often led to
the destruction of the
overall market
performance. Hence,
although there exists a
great number of rules
as well as regulations ,
for a business to be
successful in the long
run, the business
needs to abide by a
strict set of rules and
regulations which is
absent in France
(Wheelen et al. 2017).
The political
instability often leads
to market uncertainty

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the government is
quite proactive in
nature and its split
into the national as
well as the local
administrations has
made it considerably
easier for the country
to expand its
operations adequately.
and has an impact on
the overall
performance of the
business as well. In
addition to this, the
country believes in
only protecting the
rights of the large
brands as present in
the country and hence,
the different
businesses as found in
the United Kingdom
may find it
considerably difficult
to ensure that it is
successfully able to
expand its operations.
Additionally, the
political elites share
large privileges to an
extent such that, it
becomes for the
general citizens to
survive.
Economic The United Kingdom
can be stated to be
relatively strong
economy in terms of
the performance of the
other countries as
present. The count try
has a diverse economy
as well. Moreover,
there exists certain
positive aspects like
its position of the 5th
largest GDP in the
globe, scope of good
performance for the
small markets, free
markets, the existent
of both private as well
as the public sectors,
increase in the foreign
direct investment and
During the great
economic depression,
when the different
countries as present in
Europe faced a large
extend of economic
instability, it was only
France which did not
undergo this
depression because of
greater governmental
intervention.
However, in terms of
the international
businesses, they find
it very difficult to
conduct their
operations in the
particular country due
to the different taxes
which are imposed on

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other related aspects
among the others
(Wheelen et al. 2017)
However, the firm
suffered a huge slow
down door to the
economic recession
and lots of funds are
spent on providing
free healthcare which
limits the spending on
the other economies.
the different
businesses as present.
However, the country
is abundant in terms
of the resources which
often makes it a
suitable place in terms
of the expansion
required to be made
by the different firms
as present.
Socio-cultural The social factors tend
to form an important
part of any Pestle
analysis and hence, in
line of this with
respect to this, it can
be mentioned that in
the United Kingdom
there exists high
social standards which
have led to a positive
outcome in various
sectors. Some of the
aspects which can be
discussed in line of
this can be stated to be
the fact that the
country provides
various free public
services to its citizens,
is densely populated
in terms of the diverse
culture and along with
this, the possibility of
conducting the
business is easier in
the country (Noe et al.
2017). Additionally,
the country is quite
open to the migration
and can be stated to
have a cosmopolitan
environment.
Although France is
abundance in terms of
the cultural value and
the overall target
market, the disparity
of income between the
rich and the poor in
the country is quite
high. In addition to
this, it also needs to
be understood that,
Unionized activities
often form the norm
of the businesses and
this makes it
considerably difficult
for the firms to
perform well in terms
of the labor issues
faced by them.
Moreover, very often
the country is subject
to Racial violence
which makes it
difficult for the
citizens to live in
peace and for the
businesses to achieve
their overall
objectives
successfully.

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Moreover, the
standard of living of
the individuals can be
understood to be quite
high. However, there
are some downturns
as well with respect to
which it can be
mentioned that the
dependency ratio is
high and increasing,
there exists certain
social unrest in terms
of ethnic groups and
lastly, the cost of
living has been
increasing
considerably.
Technological The United Kingdom
can be stated to be a
More economically
developed Country
and has good access
to the advanced
technology.
Moreover, the
different citizens of
the country have
Quality innovation
skills, greater
expertise in the
science and IT and in
addition to this, the
country has effective
laws to govern
international
competition and
growth within the
economy (Chernev
2018).
France can be
understood to be a
global leader in terms
of Technology. Very
often the place is only
viewed as a pioneer of
art and fashion, but
this is not the case.
The country has
invested greatly in the
fields of electric
energy and renewable
as well as sustainable
technology. Thereby,
the country is greatly
inclined towards
Health technology
which makes it easier
for them to produce
thousands of educated
researchers, scientists
and global developers
every year.
Environmental The physical
environment forms a
key source of concern
for any business to
The ministry of
Environment in
France has made
considerable laws and

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ensure success in
terms of its operations
and in line of this, it
can be rightfully
mentioned that, just
like this even the
United Kingdom has
certain set laws as
well as legislations,
which it would like its
business to abide by.
There do not exist
high level disasters in
the United Kingdom
when compared to the
other countries as
present which can be
considered to be a
positive aspect
(Ginter, Duncan and
Swayne 2018).
However, there have
been certain
environmental issues
which might be
considered to be a
serious concern for
the overall operations
of the firm. Hence, in
order to ensure that
the country is able to
perform well, it has
outlined certain
operational standards
for the business so
that the firm is able to
perform well.
regulations which
assists them in
ensuring that they will
be successfully able to
combat against the
different
environmental
problems which are
faced by the citizens
in the country.
Moreover, the country
has also outlined
various vulnerable
zones and reserved
areas to ensure that
their country is able to
sustain the ecology
and avoid and distress
in relation to the
same.
Legal Like all the
businesses, even the
United Kingdom
would be required
ensure that its
businesses would like
to conform to certain
standards and has
hence come up with
The main law
enforcement which
takes place in France
can be stated to be the
Police which also
comprises of the CRS
(Lasserre 2017). The
police is largely
responsible for

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laws to ensure the
overall success with
respect to the same
(Meyer, Neck and
Meeks 2017).
However, it can be
rightfully mentioned
that the legal elements
of the country can be
understood to be quite
tough. Moreover, in
line of this, it can also
be mentioned that the
country is required to
comply with some key
wages regulation and
resource legislations
to ensure greater
success.
maintaining the
overall law and
decorum of the
country which thereby
ensures that there is
no clash of delegation.
In terms of law and
other legal aspects
relating to the overall
security of the
country, France has
set out considerable
laws and policies
which go a long way
in assisting the firm to
ensure successful
relations with
neighboring countries.
3.1 Conclusion about the market
Therefore from the given analysis of the two countries France and the United Kingdom, it
could be understood that, the country which will be more suitable for the firm to expand its
operations into can be stated to be the United Kingdom. The reason, why the country is being
chosen is because, in terms of the environmental considerations and the economic standards of
the target market, the country is doing much better when compared to France (Hill 2017).
Moreover, although one might consider the tension regarding the Brexit to be a serious source of
concern for the different operations of the firm, its absence or avidity will not have any major
impact on the operations of the firm. In addition to this, there exists considerably lower levels of
corruption in the United Kingdom which has led to better opportunity for the businesses. Even if
the Brexit comes into place then, the United Kingdom would prefer having suitable FDI`s to
strengthen its overall positioning in the global market which might be considered to be the

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reason why the ease of doing business is relatively easier in the United Kingdom. Hence, with
respect to this, it is better for the firm David and David (2016), to expand internationally in the
United Kingdom and this report will highlight the market strategy as per the target market
consideration of the United Kingdom.
4.0 Market entry plan
In order to ensure that a business is able to attain long term success and engage in the
expansion of the different operations in the long run in an international market, it can be
considered to be very important for any organization, to plan its market entry mode (Rowley
2016). This is because, the market entry strategy and plan goes a long way in ensuring the
different considerations which have to be undertaken by the business to ensure that it is
successfully able to carry out the operations successfully in the market (Olson et al. 2018).
Hence, for Chocosol it can be considered to be very important that the business is able to ensure
that they take up a market entry strategy which will enable it to have access to the brand name of
the firm. For this purpose, the entry mode of franchising is being recommended.
The concept of Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be easily adopted
by the firms in order expand their operations in the long run whereby the franchisor can license
the know-how of the business including the intellectual property and the business model as well.
Moreover the business would be required to comply with certain obligations in return of the
licensee agreement (Lovelock and Patterson 2015). In this, Chocosol will be required to find
interested entrepreneurs who would be interested in becoming the distributors and are willingly
expanding the operations of the business and be interested in purchasing the franchise agreement.
In this kind of a market entry strategy, the business would be successfully able to manage the
franchisee business in the new country and in a similar manner, reduce the overall costs of

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expansion by extending its operations. According to Morschett, Schramm-Klein and Zentes
(2015), the primary cost of the business can be stated to be the marketing cost will be incurred by
the business. The Franchising will be the most appropriate expansion strategy which can be
adopted by Chocosol. The Franchising cannot be considered to be an equal partnership due to the
fact that there exists a preponderance of the franchisor over the existent franchisee. However,
under specific circumstances like the maintenance of the transparency, favorable legal conditions
and financial benefits for both the parties, the franchising will prove to be a favorable condition
for both the parties (Homburg, Jozić and Kuehnl 2017).
5.0 Smart objectives
The SMART Objectives can be defined and understood as a set of objectives which a
business generally sets out for itself in order to ensure that it is able to achieve overall success in
the long run and to also ensure that it is able to attain sustained growth throughout its operations.
The SMART objectives which have been set out for the business, Chocosol in the new country
of United Kingdom can be understood to be as follows:
 To take over a market share of 10 percent in the coming two years in United Kingdom
 To engage into a sales of £1000000 in the first year of operations.
 To engage into a profit of £50000 in the first year of operations.
 To ensure that the number of customers to which the product has been sold turns out to
be approximately 500000
 To make use of social media platforms and reach out to the 50% of the targeted audience
by 1 year.

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6.0 Plan components
6.1 Marketing Mix
Product:
The product which is being offered by Chocosol can be stated to be the chocolate bars
and the drinking chocolates which are available within the scope of the firm (Gummesson 2017).
The chocolate is an extremely popular product of the country and with respect to this, they will
be able to ensure that, using this popularity they can make their expansion to the United
Kingdom a success. The products are available in various sizes which ensures that a large variety
is offered to the different customers (Fahy and Jobber 2015).
Price:
The pricing of the product will be done as per the rules of the penetration pricing method.
In this kind of a pricing system, the firm would be required to, set the pricing at a considerable
low in the beginning of their expansion plans and later on when they have achieved success, they
can increase the pricing of the product.
Place:
The product will be available in various cities of the United Kingdom and will be largely
available at the major supermarket stores and related convenience stores as present in the country
(Gummesson 2017). In this way, they firm will be successful in ensuring that it is able to capture
a large consumer base in the initial years which will assist in ensuring the overall success of the
firm.
Promotion:

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The different promotional tactics which will be adopted by the firm can be stated to be
the operational tactics like promoting using the online mediums, using the social media, using
traditional methods of expansion and in addition to this, making use of the local methods of
advertising in order to ensure a larger customer operations (Fill and Turnbull 2016).
6.2 Key Factors of the planning Schedule
In order to ensure that Chocosol is successfully able to expand its operations through the
procedure of Franchising in the long run, the firm would be required to chalk out a proper
planning procedure which will assist in ensuring that the firm is able to carry out the different
operations in the right manner and see to it that, there does not exist any loophole in the
particular system or that the overall operations are carried out effectively (Wagner and Eggert
2016). The key factors of the planning schedule can be understood to be as follows:
Sr. No Operations Activities Person
responsible
Budget Time
allocations
1 National
advertising
Banner
advertisements
Marketing
manager
Operations
Manager
£5000 2 months
2 Local
Advertising
Newspaper
In store
marketing
Advertisemen
t head
Manager
£12500 2 months
3 Public
relations
Public events
Sponsorships
Client events
Marketing
manager
Operations
Manager
£37000 3 months
4 Social media
advertising
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Pintrest
Social media
manager
Marketing
head
£60000 3 months
5 Traditional
advertising
Online
Print
Radio
advertising
Television
Marketing
manager
Operations
Manager
General
£53200 3 months

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manager
6 Sales
Campaign
4 sales
campaign
Marketing
manager
Operations
Manager
£21900 4 months
7 Online
Mediums
Blog
Website
Mobile
applications
Email
newsletters
Marketing
manager
Operations
Manager
Influencers
and Bloggers
£10400 6 months
6.3 The Marketing Budget
CAMPAIGN TYPE QTY PROJECTED
COST PER
UNIT
PROJECTED SUBTOTAL
National Marketing SUBTOTA
L
£
5,000.00
Banner Ads 10 £
500.00
£ 5,000.00
£ -
£ -
Local Marketing SUBTOTA
L
£
12,500.00
Newspaper 10 £
1,000.00
£ 10,000.00
In-Store Marketing 5 £
500.00
£ 2,500.00
£ -
Public Relations SUBTOTA
L
£
37,000.00
Public Events 5 £
5,000.00
£ 25,000.00
Sponsorships 5 £
2,000.00
£ 10,000.00
Client Events 5 £
400.00
£ 2,000.00
£ -
£ -
Social Media SUBTOTA £

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L 60,000.00
Twitter 30 £
500.00
£ 15,000.00
Facebook 30 £
500.00
£ 15,000.00
Pinterest 30 £
500.00
£ 15,000.00
Instagram 30 £
500.00
£ 15,000.00
Online SUBTOTA
L
£
10,400.00
Blog 5 £
700.00
£ 3,500.00
Website 4 £
500.00
£ 2,000.00
Mobile App 4 £
300.00
£ 1,200.00
Mobile Alerts 5 £
500.00
£ 2,500.00
Email Newsletter 3 £
400.00
£ 1,200.00
£ -
Advertising SUBTOTA
L
£
53,200.00
Online 5 £
2,500.00
£ 12,500.00
Print 10 £
1,000.00
£ 10,000.00
Outdoor 10 £
2,000.00
£ 20,000.00
Radio 7 £
100.00
£ 700.00
Television 10 £
1,000.00
£ 10,000.00
£ -
£ -
Sales Campaigns SUBTOTA
L
£
21,900.00
Campaign A 1 £
6,000.00
£ 6,000.00
Campaign B 1 £
6,000.00
£ 6,000.00
Campaign C 1 £
6,000.00
£ 6,000.00

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Campaign D 1 £
3,900.00
£ 3,900.00
TOTAL £ 200,000.00
7.0 Organization challenges
In the implementation of the market entry strategy and the different marketing ix tactics
which the firm aims to apply, it can be stated to be quite obvious, that Chocosol may face certain
issues when they are carrying out their operations with respect to the same. The different issues
which might be faced by the Chocosol when they are planning to expand their operations into the
United Kingdom can be defined as follows:
 The taste of the Target market: The Target market of the firm can be stated to be the
individuals who have a sweet tooth or are young in age. However, it is not necessary that
this target market may like to have the particular product. There may be a scenario
whereby the particular target market may not enjoy having the specific chocolate or there
may be a scenario where they may not feel acquainted to the taste of the produce the
existent competition ct.
 Competition: Another issue which might be faced by the Chocosol in case they plan to
expand the operations to United Kingdom may be related to the issues of the existent
competition as present in the country (Bagozzi et al. 2018). There are several chocolate
brands as present in the country and they may prove to be a strict competition to
Chocosol.
 Cultural adaptation: Very often, there may be a scenario with respect to which it can be
largely understood that, the brand may not be able to culturally adapt to the overall
setting of the country and with respect to this, it may face large number of issues. Legal

17CHOCOSOL
issues: The last kind of issues which may be faced by the company can be stated to be the
issues related to the legal regulations of the country (Gummesson 2017). Due to the
Brexit, various scenarios have changed and hence, Chocosol may face issues while
establishing their base in the country.
8.0 Conclusion
Therefore, from the given analysis, it can be rightfully stated that in order to expand its
operations in the long run, any business would be required to ensure that they are able to make
the selection of the right kind of market. In lieu of this, they will be able to ensure that, once they
are successful in choosing the right market for themselves, then they will be able to carry out its
expansion plan successfully. The given report was based on the expansion and marketing report
of Chocosol, a company based in Canada. The company had chosen France and the United
Kingdom as the final countries, where they were required to expand in and then a PESTLE
analysis was carried out to understand the overall suitability. The country of United Kingdom
was chosen and this was followed by the different strategies as well as the plans which are
required to be adopted by Chocosol in order to ensure successful expansion in the United
Kingdom. The budget, planning template and the challenges which can be faced by the firm have
also been provided.
9.0 Recommendations
The given recommendations can be provided to the company in order to ensure that they
are able to carry out their expansion successfully.

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1. The firm needs to adapt to the culture of the United Kingdom. This means that, in order
to ensure success in the long run, it can be considered to be very important for the firm to
come up with offerings that may prove to be suitable for the different members of the UK
Society (Baker 2016).
2. Secondly, it can be considered very important for the Chocosol to ensure that, they are
successfully able to set the pricing of the different chocolate products accordingly. This
means that, in order to see to it that the firm is able to attain success in the long run, the
pricing of the product is required to be made competitive in nature.
10.0 References
Ansoff, H.I., Kipley, D., Lewis, A.O., Helm-Stevens, R. and Ansoff, R., 2019. Implanting
strategic management. Springer.
Bagozzi, R.P., Rosa, J.A., Celly, K.S. and Coronel, F., 2018. Marketing-Management. Walter de
Gruyter GmbH & Co KG.
Baker, M.J., 2016. What is marketing?. In The Marketing Book(pp. 25-42). Routledge.
Chernev, A., 2018. Strategic marketing management. Cerebellum Press.
Chocosoltraders.com 2019. Bean-to-Bar + Stone-Ground Dark Chocolate [online]. Available at:
https://chocosoltraders.com/ (Retrieved on: 13 April. 2019).
David, F.R. and David, F.R., 2016. Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach,
concepts and cases. Pearson.
Fahy, J. and Jobber, D., 2015. Foundations of marketing.

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Fill, C. and Turnbull, S.L., 2016. Marketing communications: brands, experiences and
participation. Pearson.
Ginter, P.M., Duncan, W.J. and Swayne, L.E., 2018. The strategic management of health care
organizations. John Wiley & Sons.
Gummesson, E., 2017. From relationship marketing to total relationship marketing and
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Hill, T., 2017. Manufacturing strategy: the strategic management of the manufacturing function.
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Homburg, C., Jozić, D. and Kuehnl, C., 2017. Customer experience management: toward
implementing an evolving marketing concept. Journal of the Academy of Marketing
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Lasserre, P., 2017. Global strategic management. Macmillan International Higher Education.
Lovelock, C. and Patterson, P., 2015. Services marketing. Pearson Australia.
Meyer, G.D., Neck, H.M. and Meeks, M.D., 2017. The entrepreneurship‐strategic management
interface. Strategic entrepreneurship: Creating a new mindset, pp.17-44.
Morschett, D., Schramm-Klein, H. and Zentes, J., 2015. Strategic international management (pp.
978-3658078836). Springer.
Noe, R.A., Hollenbeck, J.R., Gerhart, B. and Wright, P.M., 2017. Human resource management:
Gaining a competitive advantage. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education.

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Olson, E.M., Slater, S.F., Hult, G.T.M. and Olson, K.M., 2018. The application of human
resource management policies within the marketing organization: The impact on business and
marketing strategy implementation. Industrial Marketing Management, 69, pp.62-73.
Rowley, J., 2016. Information marketing. Routledge.
Wagner, S.M. and Eggert, A., 2016. Co-management of purchasing and marketing: Why, when
and how?. Industrial Marketing Management, 52, pp.27-36.
Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., Hoffman, A.N. and Bamford, C.E., 2017. Strategic management
and business policy (p. 55). Boston: pearson.