Strengths and weaknesses of Mildura Fruit Company

Discuss about the Marketing Strategy for Engaging the Digital.

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).

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 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.

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).

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.

SWOT analysis of Mildura Fruit Company

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).

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).

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.

PESTLE analysis of Mildura Fruit Company

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

References and Bibliography

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