Westland Milk Products: International Marketing Analysis & UK Entry

This report assesses Westland Milk Products' international marketing strategy, focusing on its potential entry into the UK market. It analyzes product policy decisions, including communication and product adaptation strategies, and evaluates channel decisions, pricing issues, and promotional challenges. The report suggests a product extension strategy, adapting products to British tastes and expanding the product line with European flavors. It also emphasizes the importance of a robust communication strategy and market research to ensure successful market entry and sustainability in the competitive UK dairy market. The analysis also covers channel management, pricing considerations like currency fluctuations and inflation, and promotional challenges within the UK market.

Running head: INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
International marketing
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note:

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................4
Product Policy Decisions.................................................................................................................5
Part i-Product (Communication Extension):...............................................................................5
Part ii-Product Extension (Communication Adaption):..............................................................6
Product iii-Product Adaption (Communication Extension):.......................................................7
Product iv-Product (Communication Adaption):.........................................................................8
Most appropriate strategy:...........................................................................................................8
Part v-Product (Invention):..........................................................................................................9
Channel Decisions...........................................................................................................................9
Specialized Trade Importers........................................................................................................9
Manufacturing Importers...........................................................................................................10
Retail Importers.........................................................................................................................10
Wholesalers................................................................................................................................10
Importers....................................................................................................................................10
Channels decisions appropriate to Westland:............................................................................11
Pricing Issues and Decisions.........................................................................................................11
Currency Fluctuations................................................................................................................11
Inflationary Environment...........................................................................................................12

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Government Controls.................................................................................................................12
Competitive Behavior................................................................................................................12
Promotional Challenges and Issues...............................................................................................12
Inflationary environment:..........................................................................................................14
Potential of Communication..........................................................................................................16
Communication mode................................................................................................................16
References......................................................................................................................................19
Appendices....................................................................................................................................23
Appendix 1.................................................................................................................................23
Appendix 2.................................................................................................................................24
Appendix 3.................................................................................................................................25
Appendix 4:...................................................................................................................................26
Figure 4.Diagram showing freight calculation..........................................................................26

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Executive Summary
The following report has been prepared to deduce the marketing strategy of a dairy organization
in New Zealand. The formulator of the report has considered Westland Milk Products as the
company and has assessed the different marketing strategies that are undertaken by the
management of the organization to ensure the success of the organization and also lead the
company to a large scale status from its present status of a medium scale industry. The
mentioned company is also known as the Westland Cooperative dairy products limited and is an
independent company that owned by 429 farmers who are basically the shareholders of the
organization(westland.com, 2018). Headquartered in Hokitika, New Zealand the company has
slowly risen up the ranks from a small scale enterprise to a medium scale enterprise through its
unique and successful marketing strategies. According to the annual reports of the company, it
has annual revenue of around NZD $600 million with employee strength of 500 people. Though
it is a medium sized enterprise, it shares the status of the third largest dairy company of New
Zealand. The company has a large range of products that includes the likes of Skim Milk
Powder, Whole Milk Powder, Buttermilk Powder, Butter, Anhydrous Milk Fat and many more
such different milk products.
The prediction of a faster growth in the sector and the robust domestic dairy industry is
the key market characteristics of the industry. The increase in the number of exports have been
one of the best changes in the recent years and the management of the organization have utilized
the opportunity to full extent to export the products to countries like UK. However the
management of the company has targeted UK as the target market both for exporting as well as
expanding the market.

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Product Policy Decisions
An effective communication strategy is extremely important for business companies in
order to create to position their products appropriately in the market. As far as Westland Co-
operative Dairy Company Limited is concerned, the company has presence in New Zealand, its
home country while China forms its only offshore market. It can be pointed that both New
Zealand and China are extremely competitive dairy market with both resident and international
competitors (Bai & Chang, 2015). For example, Nestle, the largest dairy company already has
strong presence in both New Zealand and China, thus competing with Westland Cooperative in
both its home and only existing host country respectively (nestle.co.nz, 2018). Again, on the
home front, Westland faces competition from the largest resident dairy company, Fonterra. This
discussion clearly shows the Westland needs to combine a formidable communication strategy
with its product policy decision:
Part i-Product (Communication Extension):
Kundu and Majumdar (2017), business organizations require to extend their present
communication strategy to the international markets as a part of their product strategies. This
enables them to create awareness about their products in the new markets. This communication
creates awareness about the company and its products among the different stakeholders like
government, suppliers and consumers in the new host market. The early entrants in the
international market always opt for this particular strategy. The management of Westland,
though one of the largest firms in New Zealand is actually a medium sized enterprise with
limited manpower and other resources. Thus in order to extend its operations into the United
Kingdom, Westland need to extend its communication channels into the country and promote its

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products. It being a premium dairy products manufacturer and marketer should promote its
products in visual and digital media(Koeman & Bialkowski, 2015).The company should promote
its products, its profitability and its capability of causing profit to the suppliers. The
communication strategy of Westland Cooperative in the United Kingdom should adverstise its
products in the business magazines and websites. It should promote its entry into the British
market in its official websites. This would help the company to attract suppliers in the UK which
would provide it with high quality raw materials and enable it to manufacture products adapted
to the local tastes. The communication strategy should consists also communicate to the
customers in the United Kingdom that Westland would be adjusting its products to match to the
British tastes. Thus, the communication strategy of Westland should be an extension of its
central communication strategy and aim to create all-round business opportunities for the firm in
the market of the United Kingdom(westland.com, 2018). A proper and uniform product policy
along with that of a uniform communications strategy is utmost essential for the business to
produce the economies of scale.
Part ii-Product Extension (Communication Adaption):
Notta and Vlachvei (2015) mention that the product extension strategy of Westland
should be a part of core product strategy adapted to adapt to market conditions of the United
Kingdom. The extended product line should have influences of the characteristic high quality
dairy products which form the unique selling proposition of the Westland. The company should
retain its core high quality and add new characteristics like fresh cream and English style dairy
products. In most of the cases the organizations seem to offer the same kind of products to the
customers that are already present in the market and offers similar kind characteristics. This kind
of marketing strategy is taken up by the firms generally in cases of different cultures and a

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different kind of competitive environment (Bai & Chang, 2015). The management of the
mentioned company have decided to use the following strategy in order to capture the market of
UK and ensure the success of the dairy products in the targeted country. The main strategy that
will be adapted by the4 organization in such a case will be the creation of customized
advertisements for the global market and most importantly customized local advertisements for
the market of United Kingdom.
Product iii-Product Adaption (Communication Extension):
The different firms of the UK market can adapt the products and market them using
standardized communication policies. However the company has chosen the expansion strategy
for completing the process of the adaption of different kind of products for the business(Lyons et
al. 2016). Many companies add brands to their product portfolio through the acquisitions of
different small local companies. However, given the absence of huge resources and less
manpower. The target of the Westland is to start their business in UK and the firm should use
localization as the appropriate product strategy. The new products should be adapted to the
English tastes and preferences. The company at a later stage can extend its product line to adapt
to the tastes of the European countries like France and Belgium. This would drive the
establishment of Westland in the United Kingdom in two ways. The introduction of flavours
reflecting the tastes of England, France and Belgium would enable Westland to establish itself as
dairy product manufacturer capable of catering to the needs of a multicultural consumer base.
This outcome this strategy would be generation of immense revenue which would enable the
dairy firm to make its British operations sustainable financially. The firm after attaining success
and earning considerable market share in the United Kingdomshould target to acquire smaller
companies and increase their geographical presence in United Kingdom.

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Product iv-Product (Communication Adaption):
The management of Westland Dairy Products limited have quite a clear idea of the cultural
and physical profile of both the countries and thus they have targeted to adapt a dual mode
strategy that is considered to be a more viable option for the company (Kundu & Majumdar,
2017). The target of the company is to bring a prominent celebrity of United Kingdom on board
and launch the marketing campaign accordingly. The communication strategy should be adapted
to match the market conditions of the United Kingdom which is one of the richest markets in the
world. The communication strategy of Westland in the market should keep the preferences of the
customers in the United Kingdom. The company should identify ways to gain, expand and
manage its customer base in its new market like capturing maximum possible data while
interacting customers. The firm should then use this customer information to bring about
necessary adaptation in its products and introduce new variants, thus aligning it more to the
British conditions.
Most appropriate strategy:
The most appropriate strategy which Westland should use its product extension strategy
comprising of adapting its present products to the tastes of the British customers. The company
should then extend its product line to incorporate flavours of other European cultures like France
and Belgium. There are several reasons which would necessitate Westland to adopt this product
expansion strategy. The first reason is adapting the preferences of the customers residing in the
United Kingdom is that it would enable the firm to attract more customers and earn high
immense revenue. The second reason is that Westland can give its investors more returns on its
investments and attract more revenue. The third reason of the product expansion strategy would
be thus boosting the revenue and capital generation, thus boosting the overall competitive

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strength of Westland compared to its biggest domestic rival, Fonterra. Fourthly, this strategy
would enable Westland make its British division financially sustainable. The fifth reason to
adopt this product expansion strategy is that establishing itself strongly in the UK would also
pave ways for future expansion of Westland into other European markets, thus boosting its
competitive position in the international market.
Part v-Product (Invention):
The Company must organize a proper research and development strategy to invent new
products that suits the different demands of the customers accordingly. Product Invention
strategy is one of the many strategies that can be adapted by the mentioned dairy firm to ensure
success for the business organization.
Considering all the given options, the most viable and adaptable marketing strategy is the
communication adaption and invention strategy.
Channel Decisions
Channel Management is mainly used in different types of Sales marketing parlance. It is
generally defined as the process where the management of the company develops different types
of marketing strategies as well as sales strategies to reach out to a large base of
customers(Bauman, McFadden & Jablonski, 2018).
Specialized Trade Importers
The specialized trade importers are those firms that deliver specialized goods and
services to an overseas company in exchange of a considerable amount.

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Manufacturing Importers
Manufacturing importers are those types of importers who depends upon the imports of
different types of goods and services from the foreign companies.
Retail Importers
Retail Importers can be divided into a number of different types which are as follows;
Wholesalers
Wholesalers are a firm that typically buys goods from the manufacturers and resells them
to the retailers. The typical task of the resellers is to stack goods from different manufacturers.
Distributors
Distributors are those type of retail importers that serves a number of different roles.
They perform in a proper manner which is quite similar to that of the independent representative
in that they try to solicit the orders for their products.
Importers
Importers on the other hand are referred to as the firm that serves as an exclusive
distributor for a company in the overseas territory. The firms of these types help the receiver to
clear the customs and transport and deliver the products to the warehouse and also complete
effective marketing for the organization.
The management of the organization will choose the retail importers as the source for
their marketing campaign.

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Channels decisions appropriate to Westland:
The appropriate channel decision which Westland Cooperative must undertake would be
retail importers. As discussed above the retail importer channel consist of wholesalers, retailers
and distributors. The company should use distributors to target specific markets with Britain
where it can acquire a large market share. The wholesalers would enable it to promote its
products in areas where the customer bases are large and consume dairy products from multiple
marketers. The retailers consisting of small shops would enable the firm to sell its products in
towns and villages where big wholesalers and distributors do not have access. Westland should
also enter into contracts with retail chains like Aldi to sell its products at their outlets. This would
enable the firm to shorten a portion of its distribution chain and earn higher revenue by excluding
wholesalers and distributors.
Pricing Issues and Decisions
Currency Fluctuations
Currency Fluctuations is one of the main considerations of the management of Westland
to establish the business in United Kingdom. The large value of Pound in comparison of New
Zealand Dollar is one of the main challenges that need to be solved (Shadbolt et al. 2017). The
company can mitigate the challenge by introducing the products of high value which can be
beneficial for bringing stability in the business and also start the business by acquiring a small
firm that has a substantial presence in the market of United Kingdom.

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Inflationary Environment
According to, Foote, Joy & Death (2015) inflation is one of the main causes which have
led to a stagnant market and a loss for most of the companies. Global inflation has been one of
the most potent forces that has changed the way of the companies thinking. The most important
criterion of the business is to ensure the market of United Kingdom and adapt strategies that will
suit the most.
Government Controls
BREXIT is one of the most important considerations for the management of the
organization and the organization has to ensure the new rules and government policies to
determine the strategies of the business. As of now the organization must make sure to study the
different types of policies and put forward the next step accordingly (Koeman & Bialkowski,
2015).
Competitive Behaviour
The presence of large scale competitors is the main challenge for the expansion of the
business in United Kingdom. However the organization has to ensure a competitive strategy to
ensure the success of the business in the mentioned market.
Promotional Challenges and Issues
Westland Milk Products is a renowned co-operative dairy company in New Zealand. UK is their
target company where they are trying to expand their business with suitable advertising
strategies. The advertising industry work within strict centralized regulations and there are
specific higher authorities to monitor the issues. Although there are strict and stern advertising
laws in place, but the advertisers always find their way to violate the laws. As Westland Milk