Mormor Magda's Ice Cream: Business Environment Analysis

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CRISTINA - BUSINESS ASSIGNMENT
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Executive Summary
Business environment is the specific environment that includes many different factors such as
internal and external factors surrounding the organization in which it conducts its business. In
this report, some strategies along with the evaluation of the core competences have been
provided to justify how the organization can sustains its competitive advantage over its rivals.
The organization also needs to further expand its strategy in order to gain popularity and
international success.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Main Body Analysis........................................................................................................................5
1) Analyzing the company’s external and internal environment.....................................................5
2) What are the core competences of the company and how they can sustain a competitive
advantage?.......................................................................................................................................9
3) What are your recommendations for the future expansion strategy of the company? Why?
Discuss...........................................................................................................................................10
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................11
Reference List................................................................................................................................12
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Introduction
Business environment is defined as the specific concept, which consists of many different factors
and dimensions that influences the business environment. These specific factors and dimensions
are dynamic in nature and the business organizations mainly depend on these various factors.
The purpose of the report is to provide the learner with the understanding of the different factors
that influence the business environment along with the core competencies of the organization. In
this report, the internal and external factors of the specified organization will be analyzed along
with the explanation of the core competencies of the firm.
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Main Body Analysis
1) Analyzing the company’s external and internal environment
It is very much important for a business organization to understand the internal and external
factors and their specific impacts on the growth and development of the firm. Mormor Magda’s
ice cream after acknowledging the different factors influencing the business environment will be
able to devise effective and appropriate strategies and plans in order to deal with any unexpected
situation or circumstances. Hence, the examination of the internal and external factors is
assumed as the most essential job for the ice cream organization before implementing any
marketing strategy. In the current years, the vegan trend is progressing from hand-to-hand with
strong and healthy environmental awareness among the potential consumers of Sweden and soon
it will reach the ice cream industry too (euromonitor.com, 2019).
SWOT analysis is defined as the framework or the model that is utilized in order to assess the
competitive situation of the organization by analyzing its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats.
Strengths Weaknesses
 A vertical take-off taken by the
organization during the opening of their
first factory in Taberg is one of the major
strengths of the organization. The factory
turned the organization’s business into a
overwhelming success resulting in
attracting a lot of potential consumers and
increased profitability (Arbuckle, 2013).
 The presence of Mormor Magda’s ice
cream in the social media including every
platforms and outlets helped to increase the
 The intense competition present in the
Sweden’s ice-cream industry is termed as
one of the major weakness of the
organization as it is facing constant
business pressure from international and
domestic ice cream firms. Hence, it will be
more difficult for the organization to
penetrate into other Swedish market.
 Mormor Magda’s ice cream is constantly
dealing with general problems and issues
such as load shedding issues, return of
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strength of the organization by engaging
with authentic and capable consumers. This
really helped the organization to develop
healthy and strong relationship with the
consumers.
damaged products and untimely delivery to
retailers and consumers. This is one of the
major problems that are standing as a
obstacle in front of the organization’s
business.
Opportunities Threats
 The expectations and demands of the
environment conscious consumers such as
the requests for products made with few
specific ingredients is a great opportunity
for the organization to create its position in
the market. Mormor Magda’s ice cream is
slowly addressing these demands resulting
in a great opportunity for the company to
excel in the industry.
 The collaboration of the organization with
the Swedish Employment Agency in order
to hire potential candidates and to take
stands on concernable issues such as racism
and sexuality also provides the
organization with the opportunity to be
included in the social responsibility
umbrella and to position their brand image
in the minds of the consumers.
 The factor of stagnation poses as a real
threat to the business of Mormor Magda’s
ice cream as because the markets are going
to be inundated with the entry of new
competitors and entrants. It will be harder
for the organization to deal with the
stagnation factor.
 The political transitions of Sweden and its
economic situation have been unfavorably
moving the business environment of the
country. Some other threat factors such as
labor unions and load shedding problems
have contributed to the rise of the threat
(mormormagdas.se, 2019).
Table 1: SWOT analysis of Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company
(Source: Created by the Learner)
PESTLE analysis is specifically defined as the model or framework that is implemented by the
marketers of the organization in order to assess the external factors or macro-environmental
factors that influence the business of the organization.
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Factors Analysis
Political factors The constitutional monarchy and legislations
of Sweden have a influence on the business
organizations of the country in every individual
aspect. The three constitutional laws of the
country i.e. Act of Royal Succession, Freedom
of Press Act and the Fundamental Law on
Freedom of Expression all these laws have a
impact on the ice cream industry resulting in
both positive and negative influences. Magnum
is one of the leading ice cream players in the
Sweden market (TheGlobalEconomy.com, 2019).
Economical factor The gross domestic product (GDP) of the
country is known be the highest value in the
whole of the European Union (EU) along with
a low inflation and strong business system. The
undertaking of courageous and inventive
reforms has helped the country to convert its
economical position influencing the business
organizations in a great and positive way. Due
to this, Mormor Magda had a stable business
productivity and profitability (sweden.se, 2013).
Social factor Sweden provided solid assistance and support
for free trade and mostly comparatively well-
built and steady property rights. The country is
known to have one of the most highly
urbanized wellbeing states in the whole world.
The country has contributed to promote the
ice-cream industry by bringing in a new policy.
This helped the organization to improve its
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distribution system largely (foreignpolicy.com,
2018).
Technological factor The innovation and customization of the
various social media platforms and outlets has
helped the organization to transform their
business largely resulting in improved
productivity and profitability. The
technological advancements of the country
have enhanced the business system of various
organizations by setting a worldwide standard
(sweden.se, 2018).
Legal factors The Swedish Law provides assistance and
sufficient enforcement of contracts and
safeguarding of every individual asset rights
such as asset property and intellectual property.
Due to the law rate of corruption, majority of
the business organizations are able to operate
in a smooth way without any difficulties and
obstacles.
Environmental factors The potential sources are associated with the
environmental advantage of the specific
country in which the organization operates its
business. Flexible packaging is being currently
adopted in the Swedish ice cream market in
order to provide the environment conscious
consumers with top-quality products and
services.
Table 2: PESTLE analysis of Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company
(Source: Created by the Learner)
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2) What are the core competences of the company and how they can sustain a competitive
advantage?
Core competences is known as the organization’s defining strengths, forming the foundation or
the base from which the organization’s business will develop, grab upon the new benefits and
opportunities and provide exceptional value and service to potential consumers and clients. The
organization’s core competences are not easily simulated by other business firms whether new or
present competitors penetrates into the operating market.
The core competences of Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company encompass innovation and
creativity, marketing, top-quality and exceptional consumer services. These core competences
eventually lead to the development of the most successful and well-organized business growth
plans. The organization launched an innovative ice cream product that was dairy-free and was
completely based on specific natural and authentic ingredients with no nuts and cashews. They
evolved as the first ice-cream organization on the Swedish market to come up with such an
innovative and creative product and the idea was to motivate and inspire other business firms.
This created a major difference to the Swedish market and slowly translated into a profitable
growth and development (fundedbyme, 2019). The owner of the organization started a blog that
eventually resulted in mega articles in both the national and domestic media. The organization
has also maintained its presence in the sector of social media by posting its products descriptions
on various social media outlets and platforms. These marketing and promotional strategies
helped the organization to attract a large volume of potential consumers resulting in higher brand
awareness.
A campaign was started by the organization in collaboration with Fundedbyme i.e. a
Scandinavian equity crowdfunding platform that turned out to be a major success and a
wholesome amount of SEK1.4m was raised via the campaign (case study). The products of the
organization are unique and innovative in comparison with the products of the competitors and
that is the reason it has become difficult for the competitors to imitate the products. Mormor
Magda’s Ice-Cream Company can sustain its competitive advantage by producing products that
are less in cost and are affordable for every level of consumer to purchase or by effectively
conducting major activities and decisions. They need to eliminate their weaknesses by
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acknowledging and addressing to the new requirements and demands of the consumer faster than
the international and domestic competitors
3) What are your recommendations for the future expansion strategy of the company?
Why? Discuss.
The most commonly utilized closure type in the ice-cream industry of Sweden tends to be the
prize off as because the consumers of the Sweden market favor to opt for products that are value
for money in nature. The Swedish Ice Cream industry is likely to record the highest rise in the
enlargement of Off-Trade sales compared to the On-Trade sales considering the future aspect
(statista.com, 2019). Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company needs to cover all the sales and
marketing or promotional activities in order to grow and develop the brand on an international
scale. Some recommendations are recommended to the organization for considering the plan for
the future expansion of their specific strategy and they are as follows:
 Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company needs to understand that the organization is all about
the consumers and providing them with exceptional service by addressing their needs and
demands. The organization needs to increase their distribution system in order to stretch their
reach to over 200 food outlets but they have to face a little difficulty in this as the outlets and
stores demand maximum level of sales and productivity.
 The organization needs to operate their things in a little different way in the upcoming future
due to the intense competition rising in the Swedish ice-cream market. The various
challenges that exist in the market are concerned with the fluctuating and dynamic market
situations. The current success of the Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company will not be able
to change the capable challenges and difficulties of the new entrants and competitors. Hence,
this means that Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company needs to operate their business in a
different and structured way in the future in order to attain international popularity and
success.
 The organization needs to innovate other packaging systems and methods such as flexible
packaging for the environment and health conscious consumers. Flexible packaging is one
such packaging method that is commonly used in the Sweden market and it assures the aware
consumers regarding the level of quality of the products.
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Conclusion
The organization in order to attain international success has continued to develop many effective
strategies and important investments. The purpose of the report was to explore the core
competences of the specified organization and ideas for the future expansion of their strategies.
In this report with reference to the organization “Mormor Magda’s Ice-Cream Company”, the
internal and external factors of the business environment has been identified and analyzed. It can
be concluded from the report that the organization still needs to adapt to different methods and
strategies in order to gain competitive edge over its major rivals.
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Reference List
Arbuckle, W.S., 2013. Ice cream. Springer.
Esaiasson, P. and Holmberg, S., 2017. Representation from above: Members of parliament and
representative democracy in Sweden. Routledge.
Euromonitor.com (2019). Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts in Sweden. [online] Euromonitor.com.
Available at: https://www.euromonitor.com/ice-cream-and-frozen-desserts-in-sweden/report
[Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
foreignpolicy.com (2018). So Long, Swedish Welfare State?. [online] Foreign Policy. Available
at: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/05/so-long-swedish-welfare-state/ [Accessed 16 Jan.
2019].
fundedbyme (2019). Mormor Magdas Glass / Mormor Magdas Ice Cream. [online]
FundedByMe. Available at: https://www.fundedbyme.com/en/campaign/5367/mormor-magda-
ice-cream/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
mormormagdas.se (2019). [online] Available at: http://mormormagdas.se/blogg/ [Accessed 16
Jan. 2019].
Statista.com (2019). Ice Cream - Sweden | Statista Market Forecast. [online] Statista. Available
at: https://www.statista.com/outlook/40100400/154/ice-cream/sweden [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
sweden.se. (2013). How Sweden created a model economy. [online] Available at:
https://sweden.se/business/how-sweden-created-a-model-economy/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
sweden.se. (2018). Innovation in Sweden. [online] Available at:
https://sweden.se/business/innovation-in-sweden/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
TheGlobalEconomy.com. (2019). Sweden Political stability - data, chart |
TheGlobalEconomy.com. [online] Available at:
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/Sweden/wb_political_stability/ [Accessed 16 Jan. 2019].
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