Strategic Analysis of Whittaker's Chocolate: MGMT101 Assignment

This case study analyzes the New Zealand chocolate company Whittaker's, examining its business strategies, including its differentiation and customer-driven approaches. The analysis explores key activities like store openings and digital marketing, along with a SWOT analysis highlighting strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The study identifies challenges such as supply chain issues due to global warming and the need for innovation. Recommendations include a contingency plan utilizing jackfruit seeds as a cocoa bean alternative. The paper concludes by summarizing the strategic position, key activities, and challenges faced by Whittaker's, providing insights for budding entrepreneurs and professionals. References to relevant online articles and lectures are provided.

Running head: WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author Note

1WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
Table of Contents
ntrodu tionI c .................................................................................................................................................2
Current trategS y..........................................................................................................................................2
e ti itiesK y Ac v ...............................................................................................................................................3
i eli ood to su essL k h cc ...................................................................................................................................5
C allengesh ................................................................................................................................................... 6
e o endationsR c mm .......................................................................................................................................6
Con lusionc ...................................................................................................................................................7

2WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
Introduction
The respective paper is a business analysis of the chocolate and dairy company Whittaker
which functions in New Zealand and Australia. A business analysis is carried out in order to
explore the respective business and understand where the business might be standing. A business
analysis is important as it provides an insight to the business trends and current business
positions for the budding entrepreneurs and professionals. The respective paper has discussed
about the current strategy, the key activities, SWOT analysis and challenges of Whittaker
chocolate company thereafter.
Current Strategy
Differentiation strategy is the current strategy of the Whittaker chocolate company of
New Zealand. Differentiation strategy can also be defined as an approach a business takes up to
develop a unique product or service that the customers would find better than any other products
of the same market served by other competitors. Whittaker has always been the best dairy
producer and seller in NZ. Now, the company has also introduced other unique products such as
honey bubble crunch chocolate which has the potential to influence the mind and behavior of the
customers who are chocolate and dairy product savvy (Nzherald.co.nz, 2019). Apart from the
differentiation strategy, the company has also taken up the “customer driven strategy” of opening
a brick and mortar store, a physically presentable outlet in order to influence the customers to
come and purchase the goods. Customer driven strategy can be defined as meeting the needs of
the organization’s potential and functional customers, and delivering the objectives of the
organization, such as profit or service in a public service organization. The Whittaker has opened
its first store at the Auckland International airport after more than 120 years of its business

3WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
through franchisee. The marketing manager of the company, Miss Carrie said that the opening of
the store would be perfect for the destination travelers who need immediate gifts from Kiwi by
travelling via airlines (Nzherald.co.nz., 2018). The brand value of Whittaker has always been on
the upper side in the Australian and New Zealand society. Therefore, opening a store of its own
would provide them with a special leverage regarding their products by instilling an interest in
the mind of the consumers and compelling them to purchase from the respective outlet. Another
strategy that the company might be taking up is collaborating with boutique New Zealand Diary
Company in order to sell its products to the people, where they specialized on creamy milk and
dairy products for the lactose consuming mainstream Australian population (Nzherald.co.nz,
2019). The merging with the respective company provided Whittaker with special leverage of
reaching to the maximum customers within a limited period of time. Had the respective
collaboration not have occurred between the company and Whittaker, it would have been
impossible for Whittaker to cope up with the competition of producing more than 1,000 liters of
milk per week with very less employees working in the company. Therefore, the collaboration
has been carried out which is a part of strategic business planning. Collaboration strategy is also
defined as synergy between the strategy of a business and the strategy of its partners to realize
the objectives through collaboration.
Key Activities
The key activities that the brand Whittaker has taken up to carry out the respective above
mentioned strategies fall under the adaptive strategies, where the activities loosely fall on the
“prospector strategy”, which means pursuing innovation and new opportunities with prospects
for growth. The company has taken up certain basic activities such as building its first ever
brick- and- mortar physically available store at the Auckland International airport in order to lure

4WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
and compel the customers to come into the store and purchase goods and products from there.
The company has also taken up different social media and digital media campaigns keeping in
mind the elements that would attract the attention of the customers and popularized them to
promote their products. The activities are highly customer centric in its approach. A customer
centric strategy approach of a business understands the demand, needs and preferences of the
customers, understands the consumer behavior and then try to deduce certain formulae that
would be a massive success for the customers. Whittaker has a history of loyal customers and its
business operations are also carried out since 120 years. Therefore, the company has a goodwill
and reputation of its own and can also act as a monopoly in the business world of chocolates and
candies in New Zealand and Australia after the brand Cadbury. Therefore, providing a physically
tangible Whittaker chocolate store would add to the expectations of the customers and also
increase the brand value and customer satisfaction. Another activity that the company might be
taking up is collaborating with boutique New Zealand Diary Company in order to sell its
products to the people, where they specialized on creamy milk and dairy products for the lactose
consuming mainstream Australian population (Qz.com., 2014). The merging with the respective
company provided Whittaker with special leverage of reaching to the maximum customers
within a limited period of time. Had the respective collaboration not have occurred between the
company and Whittaker, it would have been impossible for Whittaker to cope up with the
competition of producing more than 1,000 liters of milk per week with very less employees
working in the company. Therefore, the collaboration has been carried out which is a part of
strategic business planning. Collaboration strategy is also defined as synergy between the
strategy of a business and the strategy of its partners to realize the objectives through
collaboration.

5WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
Likelihood to success
Over the next five to ten years, there is a high chance that the company Whittaker would
gain significant leverage as it is combining with boutique New Zealand Diary Company as the
respective company would provide Whittaker a broader market and platform to showcase its
high quality products. Whittaker, which specializes in creamy and dairy products, has also
remained the best dairy producer of New Zealand and Australia. The collaborations and different
strategies taken up by the chocolate company Whittaker has proved that Whittaker is a game
changer when it comes to advertising, promoting and selling chocolate and dairy products in the
countries of New Zealand and Australia. However, it also has to be remembered that Whittaker
has a plethora of local competitors who can pose threat to the salability of the respective
business. The pricing strategy that has been taken up by the company, which is value based
pricing strategy, is perfect because it would help the company recover the cost of production it
has already incurred and the sales would also not go down due to the immediate effect of cost
increase. Apart from that, the customer oriented business strategy of putting its first store near
Auckland international airport would leave the customers (both functional and potential) at awe
and thereby, influencing customer behavior to encourage purchase.
SWOT Analysis of Whittaker chocolate company is provided hereafter.
Strength
1. Legacy
2. Premium quality products
3. Loyal customers
4. Premium pricing strategies
Weakness
1. Low operational ideas
2. Low tangible expansion
3. Conventional attitude
Opportunities Threats

6WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
1. Bigger market in Australia and New
Zealand and also Asian and American
market.
2. Digital media strategies
1. Local competitors
2. Lack of innovation
Challenges
The biggest challenge the chocolate company Whittaker has been facing is the obstacle
the company is facing due to a standstill in the supply of cocoa seeds due to the excessive global
warming in the Sub- Saharan Africa. As the pollution is rising unprecedentedly, the ecosystem is
getting depleted in the African continent and with drastic climatic change, vegetation is also
depleting. Cocoa plants have become scarce because of climate change which is hampering the
company in its growth and expansion (Foodlive.com., 2018). Whittaker has become a legacy for
the Australians and the New Zealanders similar to what Cadbury was for the customers in the
past. However, as Cadbury left the scenario and Whittaker took up the empty space, Whittaker
has been having its business bloom but it is also “not expanding” as it should do. The speed of
execution due to lack in resources and raw materials for making chocolates is the biggest
challenge faced by Whittaker chocolate company. More plans for product development that suits
the millennial population also need to be carried out by Whittaker (Adnews.com.au., 2018).
Recommendations
As global warming and climate change is in vogue in today’s world, Whittaker can take
up a contingency plan in case of any casualties formed by natural calamities occur that has the

7WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
potential to hamper their organization, such as decrease in cultivation of cocoa beans due to
climate change. The contingency plan (or Plan B) of the company would be utilization of
Jackfruit seeds instead of cocoa beans to make chocolate. It has been found out that Jackfruit
beans (a tropical fruit) has all the ingredients similar to Cocoa beans and can be utilized as raw
materials for making chocolate (Foodlive.com., 2018). Therefore, to keep its production going,
the company can utilize the respective alternative.
Conclusion
The respective paper concludes to be a business analysis of the chocolate and dairy
company Whittaker which functions in New Zealand and Australia. A business analysis is
carried out in order to explore the respective business and understand where the business might
be standing. A business analysis is important as it provides an insight to the business trends and
current business positions for the budding entrepreneurs and professionals. The respective paper
concludes by discussing about the current strategy, the key activities, SWOT analysis and
challenges of Whittaker chocolate company thereafter.

8WHITTAKER: CASE STUDY
References:
Adnews.com.au.,(2018). Available at: http://www.adnews.com.au/news/remaining-sweet-for-a-
century-behind-whittaker-s-marketing-strategy
Foodlive.com.,(2018). Available at: https://www.fooddive.com/news/is-climate-change-a-threat-
to-worlds-cocoa-supply/531670/
Nzherald.co.nz,(2019). Available at: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?
c_id=1&objectid=12258657
Nzherald.co.nz.,(2018). Available at: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?
c_id=3&objectid=12107987
Qz.com.,(2014). Available at: https://qz.com/289507/how-one-small-creamery-sparked-a-
chocolate-milk-craze-in-new-zealand/