Dolphin energy is a NAB company that produces energy drinks. The soft drink is an inspirational product and often time consumers want to drink and be seen with it across town. The main importance of the beverage applies to the sports personalities since it provides an additional boost in energy, maintains their level of alertness and at the same time offer cognitive and enhanced mood. On the same note, the drink is an essential dietary enhancement with ergogenic value on the minds and performance among school going children. The company is expected to provide a variety of quantity to the consumers to ensure larger market share and manage the increased competition in the energy drink sector. At the same time, schools and sports academies will be targeted where the drink can be used as a substitute for water or juice.
Develop your revised companys Mission Statement and provide a rationale for its components.
The companys mission is to provide high-quality energy drink which is alcohol-free for its consumers. This is expected to refresh their body and mind while participating in various sporting and academic activities. The company also aims at inspiring moments of optimism and joy among their consumers through their products. This is expected to the achieved through the creation of flavored drinks including fresh fruits, milk and a variety of sizes. Creating a variety of sizes packed with various flavors will help ensure all consumers are satisfied, and a larger market share is covered. The organization aims at promoting their brand to the locals though sensitization on the benefits of energy drinks and organize road shows and other marketing strategies that are expected to be implemented over time. Dolphin Energy aims at becoming a regionally known business entity as the best option for the sports activities and for achieving best mental performance.
Our goal focuses on engaging everywhere and establishing the high-level potential for the products created. We see a future where the world will see us as the most trusted company with the end objective of making the world a better place to live in through our products.
Describe the trends in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, especially the particular type of beverage category you have chosen. Justify at least three (3) reasons why you have chosen this type of non-alcoholic beverage.
Energy drinks have over the years changed from niche products to one of the fastest growing product categories in the beverage industry (Plunkett, 2009). The shift has resulted due to the increasing consumer focus on health and fitness linked to sporting activities. Additionally, with a reduced volume in consumption of aerated drinks, it is time for energy drinks to make significant increase both in sales and revenue. The energy drinks are no longer preserved for the sportspersons and athletes alone, but there currently exist new consumers moving into folds of the world energy drink markets. This factor has helped realize a significant increase of energy drink hence the reason for the analysis.
Even though the energy drink sector comprises of a smaller portion of the entire non-alcoholic beverage market, the sector has achieved significant growth. About 60% sales increase was achieved between 2010-2014 with the U.S alone realizing a sale increase of $12.5 billion in 2013. Further analysis indicates that the health and wellness products have seen an increased consumer penetration while classical products such as coals are seeking consumer attrition. In essence, the functional ready to drink beverages such as energy drinks have achieved an increased consumer penetration. The sales volume of energy drinks is expected to increase to a value of over $21.5 billion in 2017 due to the greater economic recovery and new product development("Energy Drinks and Shots: U.S. Market Trends: Market Research Report", 2017).
The retailing of energy drinks has also expanded over the years making the products accessible at nearly all retails from groceries, smoothie shops to dollar stores. Statistics further indicates that convenience stores hold a significant share of sales of about 60%, then mass merchandisers (12%), supermarkets contributes to about 10% while drug stores 2%. The entire growth of energy drinks has been influenced by the introduction of new products into the market and the expanded retail distribution. Moreover, prevailing economic factors and shifts in the U.S population related to age and race have also contributed to the market growth.
Choose one (1) strategic position from the course text (pp. 142143) that you believe is the best strategic position for your company. Explain the approach you will use to implement this strategic position in order to distinguish your beverage from other non-alcoholic beverages.
There exist prospective consumers across all demographic categories, and this call for an intelligent marketing and branding of Dolphin energy drinks to help achieve the set goals and market objectives. With many consumers currently cutting down on the usage of sugar drinks due to increased diabetic cases, there is a need for the energy drink companies to capitalize on this and achieve high sales volume (McIntosh, 2012). The strategic option chosen to achieve the market objective is packaging since this will help fight for space on retail shelves and influence the consumers on their choices. On the same note, an appropriate packaging will contribute to fighting against negative publicity that is linked to harmful ingredients in the energy drinks.
The product targets consumers in athletes who often targets to maintain their concentration and control their energy levels while undertaking field activities. Since there are numerous competing energy drink companies, we will package our products in a unique way to fulfill the need of our market and help consumers distinguish between other non-alcoholic products.
Provide an overview of your companys distribution channels. Explain the manner in which your product will reach end users. Provide a rationale for your chosen method.
It is essential for Dolphin energy to create an effective distribution channel that will ensure products reach the consumers at the right time and condition. With the existing competition, it can be tough for the products to get to the consumers especially when the distributor does not understand the tricks for navigating the beverage industry. For this reason, convenience channel is the best way of distributing Dolphin energy products to the athletes and sportsmen and women. This will help create awareness and get the consumers try the product. Additionally, consumers often visit convenience channels to buy single serve drinks more than other retail channels. This is expected to increase sales and market share over time for the product.
Outline at least three (3) types of risks (including any regulatory risks) that your business faces. Describe your companys plan to mitigate such risk.
Risks linked to the energy drink business include product safety, regulation, and increasing competition. Product safety is essential and will determine the success or failure of the business operation. The ensure compliance with applicable rules in order to ensure products meet the expected quality demands. Some regulations apply to many aspects of the business covering packaging, transport, and marketing of energy drinks. Failure to conform with these regulations can lead to sanctions and incurrence of other legal costs. There is a need, therefore, to comply with all the regulations for a smooth operation. In regards to competitive risks, other companies can use other strategies to achieve higher market share and increased sales volume. For this reason, Dolphin energy drink stakeholder should undertake a comprehensive market research and develop marketing options that can win against the competitors.
Develop a SWOT analysis for your NAB company using the SWOT matrix worksheet in the course text (p. 153 | SWOT: Strengths / Weaknesses / Opportunities / Threats)
Internal Strengths
Strong brand identity in the market
Innovative design of the packaging
Weaknesses
Limited market research hence ineffective marketing strategies
Lack of innovation
Lack of patent on the recipe which means competitors can copy
Prevailing cases of heart diseases linked to energy drinks
External Opportunities
Emerging market and expanding market share
Achieve substantial market share Threats
Intense competition
Government regulation on energy drinks
Aging market with more people becoming more health conscious
References
Energy Drinks and Shots: U.S. Market Trends: Market Research Report. (2017). Packagedfacts.com. Retrieved 12 January 2017, from http://www.packagedfacts.com/Energy-Drinks-Shots-7124908/McIntosh, T. J. (2012). The sector strategist: Using new asset allocation techniques to reduce risk and improve investment returns. (Sector strategist.) Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.
Miles, D. A. (2011). Risk factors and business models: Understanding the five forces of entrepreneurial risk and the causes of business failure. Boca Raton: Dissertation.com.
Plunkett, J. (2009). Plunkett's Food Industry Almanac 2009 (1st ed.). Houston, TX: Plunkett Research Ltd.
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