Growing market for natural products

SWOT

SWOT:

Strengths:

1. Natural ingredients: This is the first major strength of my brand. It uses all natural ingredients and no artificial additives for taste or color.
2. Varying flavors: the chocolate will be available in a variety of flavors to choose from.
3. Health benefits: Another major strength is that the chocolate is completely free of side effects and is good for health. It is going to be loved by the customers for this.
4. Colorful and lovely packaging: the brand aims to attract the kids mainly and so it will be pack aged in lovely and colourful packs. Stylish home packs and gift packs will also be available.

Weaknesses:

1. New and small brand: It is a new brand with low market presence. It will take time and significant investment to create a brand image and market the brand.
2. Low budget: the budget constraints are the other major weakness. This will create a pressure on marketing and manufacturing activities.
3. Supply chain management: Lack of a large and well managed supply chain initially will be a bit troublesome. This weakness, however can be overcome as the market presence of the brand and its sales increase.

Opportunities:

1. Growing market for natural products: From edible products to cosmetics everywhere customers are looking for healthy and natural products. This creates significant opportunities for my brand.
2. Investors: investors are always ready to invest in brands that are producing healthy products. This provides an opportunity to generate enough cash to start my business.
3. Growing online market: the growing online market for gift products and chocolates also creates significant opportunities for the sales and marketing of my brand.

Threats:

1. Competition: The main threat comes from competition. A large number of big brand are already there in the market which can make the competition very intense.
2. Huge costs: the huge costs involved with production and operation are also a major threat. However, this threat can be tackled if I am able to generate enough investment.

Pricing:

Other major concerns are pricing and distribution. However, to create a competitive advantage, the prices shall have to be kept strategically low with $5 for the bars. The natural flavour, natural ingredients and low prices can provide the chocolate brand an advantage in the US chocolate market. A low price strategy can also help to penetrate the market and gain initial ground. The main factor that influences pricing in his case is competition and to gain an advantage it is necessary to keep prices low. (Wallace, 2012)

Distribution:

The company opts to sell through the intermediaries including the wholesalers and retailers. The chocolate will be produced in the US plant and then shipped to the distributors and retailers. A major portion of the chocolate sales in US are achieved through the confectionary suppliers, who supply to supermarkets, specialty stores, convenience stores and even the discount stores. So, the confectionary stores are the most important link in the whole supply chain. The product will especially be launched in the areas where its consumption is highest through its distributors. (Holland, n.d.)

References:

Wallace, S. (2012). MARABOU. In Finding Sasha. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from https://findingsasha.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/marabou-plan-final.pdf

Holland, T. (n.d.). How to Create a Distribution Strategy …. In Thomholland. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://www.thomholland.com/distribution-strategy/