ITMK208 - International Marketing Plan: Pink Lady Apples in the UK

This report outlines an international marketing plan for Mildura Fruit Company's Pink Lady apples, focusing on expansion into the UK market. It includes a company profile, rationale for choosing the UK, and a strategic alliance entry mode. The report presents internal and external environmental analyses using SWOT and PESTLE frameworks, along with a target customer profile and rationale for segmentation. Product positioning strategies are discussed, emphasizing quality control and leveraging social media for brand awareness. The plan addresses challenges like high export costs and European market acceptance, highlighting the importance of innovation in apple quality and packaging. The report concludes by emphasizing the significance of market segmentation, quality testing, and adherence to food safety legislations for attracting foreign investors and ensuring business transparency.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REPORT
Business expansion plan for Australian Pink Lady apples of Mildura Fruit Company
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PLAN
Executive summary
There goes a saying that an apple a day keeps a doctor away. This can be the tagline for
companies like Mildura Fruit Company in terms of increasing the scope and arena of
business. Within this, awareness towards the need for expansion is vital in terms of achieving
positive outcomes. Marketing mix acts as an agent in terms of identifying the target market,
which can assist in increasing the sales revenue and the profit margin. Along with this,
information needs to be gathered about the country, into which the business is to be
expanded. This would enable the company to plan for proper placement of the Pink Lady
Apples in the target market.

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Table of contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Company profile.........................................................................................................3
Fruit............................................................................................................................3
Country choice...........................................................................................................4
Rationale and entry mode...............................................................................................4
Entry mode.................................................................................................................4
Rationale....................................................................................................................4
Environmental analysis..................................................................................................4
Internal.......................................................................................................................4
External......................................................................................................................5
Target customer profile..................................................................................................6
Rationale for target segmentation..................................................................................7
Product positioning........................................................................................................7
Conclusion......................................................................................................................8
References and Bibliography.........................................................................................9

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Introduction
Company profile
Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company has achieved accolades and glory by emerging
as the largest packer and exporter of fresh citrus fruits. Thirst of doing something innovative
has enabled the company to fulfil the identified goals and objectives. The skilled and efficient
workers possess the capability of packing 3000 cartons every day (Mfc.com.au 2018).
Dissemination of quality fruits to the neighbours enhances the brand image. The clients of the
company have reached the amount of 120 including Sunraysia, Riverland and Riverina.
Along with this, China, Japan, and North Asia is also the countries, where the fruits are
exported. As a matter of specification, the company exports fruits to more than 40 countries.
This is according to the standards and protocols of the importing legislations. The aim of the
company is to seek prospective investors for achieving customer satisfaction.
Emergence of bacteria in the harvested fruits of South America resulted in the
planning for global expansion. Reduction in the tariffs and stabilization of the Asian economy
has pressurized the company to think of business expansion (Abc.net.au 2018).
Fruit
The company deals with the packaging and export of numerous fruits ranging from
grapes to avocado. Freshness and quality of the fruits expands the supply chain network. The
fruits are packed and exported according to the weather conditions. For this, a varietal
calendar is maintained, which results in timely execution of the business activities. For
developing the marketing plan, Pink Lady Apples has been selected. April to December is the
time when the Pink Lady Apples are available. These apples originate from Cripps Pink

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Variety from Western Australia. Sweetness, juicy and tart like flavour enhances the taste and
quality of the fruit (Mfc.com.au 2018).
Size of the fruits sometimes fails to meet the expectations of the customers. This was
the result for unwillingness of the neighboring countries regarding investing in the services of
the company. Plans regarding high investment returns proved beneficial to some extent in
terms of the attracting the foreign investors.
Country choice
This marketing plan proposes the business expansion of Australian Pink Lady Apple
of Mildura Fruit Company to the markets of UK (Abc.net.au 2018).
Rationale and entry mode
Entry mode
The companies and organizations can enter into a foreign market through the
following modes- franchising, exporting, joint ventures, licensing among others. As exporting
is a part of Mildura Fruit Company, strategic alliance can be one of the entry modes into the
UK market.
Rationale
Strategic alliance would result in the exchange of technology, automatizing the
packaging of the apples and monitoring the process. Typical example of this can be thee
adoption of innovative software for communicating with the associate partners. Along with
this, strategic alliance would secure the market position of Mildura Fruit Company in the
competitive ambience of the Australian market (Mfc.com.au 2018).

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Environmental analysis
Internal
Strengths
 Large supply chain network
 Skilled and qualified workers
 Latest and modern technology
 Varietal calendar
Weakness
 Food safety
Opportunities
 Eco-friendly packing
 Social media
 Joint venture start-ups
Threats
 Unpredictable weather conditions
 Emergence of chemicals and
pesticides
Table: SWOT analysis of Mildura Fruit Company
Utilization of latest and modern technologies expands the scope and arena of Mildura
Fruit Company. Maintenance of varietal calendar helps the personnel to tackle with the
varying weather conditions. Presence of skilled and qualified workforce results in quality
packaging of the fruits and exporting them into the neighboring countries. Alliance with the
statutory bodies proves beneficial in terms of assuring the quality and freshness of the fruits.
However, unpredictable weather conditions aggravate the complexities in terms of averting
the instances like perishability (Mfc.com.au 2018). Joint venture with the start-ups would act
as a promotion for the company in terms of expanding the customer base. Social media
marketing acts as a platform for the company in terms of increasing the sales revenue and the
profit margin. Consciousness is needed towards the emergence of chemical pesticides, which
might destroy the harvested fruits. Typical example of this can be the adoption of eco-
friendly packaging, which would reduce waste generation. This would preserve the
ecological biodiversity.
Once, lack of skilled and efficient workforce is a challenge in terms of fulfilling the
plans for global expansion. However, innovation assisted the company to emerge successful
in restoring the balance between the packaging and export of the fruits, especially Pink Lady
Apples (Mfc.com.au 2018).

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External
Political  Political unrests
 Governmental restrictions
Economic  Inflation
 High exchange rates
 Fluctuation in the prices of the raw
materials
Social  Changing needs of the customers
Technological  Adoption of latest and modern
systems
Legal  Food safety legislations
Environmental  Solid waste management
Table: PESTLE analysis of Mildura Fruit Company
Political unrest and governmental restrictions aggravate the complexities in terms of
exporting the fruits. Along with this, instances like inflation, high exchange rates and
fluctuation in the prices of the raw materials strains the financial parameter. Strategic alliance
with the neighbouring partners would be assistance in terms of tackling with the varying
needs of the customers. For this, latest and modern systems help the personnel in introducing
innovative packaging for the fruits. Complying with the food safety legislations aids Mildura
Fruit Company to avert the instances of complaints from the customers regarding the
provision of poor quality fruits (Papadopoulos and Heslop 2014). Mention can be made of
solid waste management, which reduces the generation of waste, assisting in preserving the
ecological diversity.
Target customer profile
Target segmentation has different types- demographic, psychographic, behavioural
and geographic. The following is the target segmentation for the Australian Pink Lady Apples
into the markets of US.

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Mildura Fruit Company can target specific areas of UK where the people love fruits.
Market survey regarding the fruit preferences of the customers would help the company to
execute psychological segmentation. Demographic segmentation would relate to the
segmentation of the people from the population preferring Pink Lady Apples. Conducting
marketing mix for the Pink Lady Apples would help the personnel to gain an insight into the
customer approaches (Rao-Nicholson and Khan 2017). Typical example of this is the
advertisements, which would reflect the impact on the customers.
Rationale for target segmentation
In the recent times, the scientists in UK have expressed their concern regarding the
ways and means of eating apple (Theguardian.com 2018). These concerns relate to washing,
peeling and chilling. Quality packaging of Mildura Fruit Company can act as an address for
the concerns of the UK people. Innovation within the packaging would attract the customers.
Along with this, labelling of the apples as well as the cartons would cater to the queries of the
customers regarding the health issues. Winters are the perfect time, when the inhabitants of
UK crave for apples in terms of keeping away the diseases. Herein lays the appropriateness of
variety calendar, which would help the company personnel to execute timely supplies of the
Pink Lady Apples.
Product positioning
Pink Lady is the leading apple brand in UK, occupying 8% of the total market share.
Quality control has provided the customers with a consistent eating experience, acting as a
solution for their health issues (Eteokleous, Leonidou and Katsikeas 2016). Brands like Jazz,
Cameo and Kanzi have compromised with the quality of the apples. Under such situation,
entrance of the brands like Mildura Fruit Company might act as a strategic alliance for Pink
Lady in terms of securing their market share in the UK. Advertising the packaging systems

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on the social media would enhance the company to increase the trafficking of the audience
towards the brand image.
The southern hemisphere of Australian threshold experiences high cost for the
products exported. Herein lays the appropriateness of strategic alliance with the trade union
members, which would help in dealing with the high exchange rates. Acceptance of European
market might act as a challenge for Mildura Fruit Company in terms of expanding their
business (Mfc.com.au 2018). Therefore, innovation would be crucial in the quality of the
apples and packaging.
Conclusion
This assignment develops a marketing plan for Mildura Fruit Company in terms of
expanding their business into the UK markets. The product chosen for this expansion is Pink
Lady apples. Possession of latest technology is assistance in terms of providing quality apples
to the customers with innovative packaging. Quality tests helps in catering to the health
issues of the customers. Herein lays the appropriateness of the Food safety legislations, which
reflects the transparency and fairness in the business activities. This transparency and fairness
is the key towards attracting the foreign investors towards the brand image. Legislations is
also assistance in terms of averting the illegal issues and scandals. Market segmentation is
crucial for the company in terms of identifying the target audience. This is in terms of
improving the focus in the business activities. Evaluation needs to be done in terms of
assessing the effectiveness, appropriateness and feasibility of the undertaken steps.
Maintenance of consistency in the execution of evaluation would help in upgrading the
standards and quality of the Pink Lady Apples.

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References and Bibliography
Abc.net.au (2018). Global boom for Australian citrus. Available at:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-01/global-boom-for-australian-citrus/8856850
[Accessed on: 23rd May 2018]
Boso, N., Debrah, Y.A. and Amankwah-Amoah, J., 2018. International marketing strategies
of emerging market firms: Nature, boundary conditions, antecedents, and
outcomes. International Marketing Review, 35(2), pp.202-214.
Eteokleous, P.P., Leonidou, L.C. and Katsikeas, C.S., 2016. Corporate social responsibility in
international marketing: review, assessment, and future research. International Marketing
Review, 33(4), pp.580-624.
Gillespie, K. and Riddle, L., 2015. Global marketing. Routledge.
Mfc.com.au (2018). Our story. Available at: http://www.mfc.com.au/en/our-story/ [Accessed
on: 23rd May 2018]
Ottman, J., 2017. The new rules of green marketing: Strategies, tools, and inspiration for
sustainable branding. Routledge.
Papadopoulos, N. and Heslop, L.A., 2014. Product-country images: Impact and role in
international marketing. Routledge.
Rao-Nicholson, R. and Khan, Z., 2017. Standardization versus adaptation of global marketing
strategies in emerging market cross-border acquisitions. International Marketing
Review, 34(1), pp.138-158.
Ryan, D., 2016. Understanding digital marketing: marketing strategies for engaging the
digital generation. Kogan Page Publishers.

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Samaha, S.A., Beck, J.T. and Palmatier, R.W., 2014. The role of culture in international
relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 78(5), pp.78-98.
Samiee, S., Chabowski, B.R. and Hult, G.T.M., 2015. International relationship marketing:
Intellectual foundations and avenues for further research. Journal of International
Marketing, 23(4), pp.1-21.
Theguardian.com (2018). How to eat Apples. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/sep/25/how-to-eat-apples [Accessed on 23rd
May 2018]

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