Brief background of Hubbard Foods Ltd

Hubbard Foods Ltd which is presently known as Hubbard’s is a well-known cereal manufacturing brand which was established in the year 1988. The former name of the company was Winner Foods which changed to Hubbard in the year 1990. The company is one of the most reputed brands that manufactures cereals of different flavours and names and estimates about 21% of the share in the cereal market of New Zealand in the year 2008 (Hubbards, 2018). According to the case study, the company started the venture with NZ$38 and 128 employees and has reached great heights due to the goodwill and reputation of the brand. The brand has three major competitors in the cereal market namely Sanatarium, Uncle Toby’s and Kellogg’s.

The company operates in the fast moving consumer goods market also known as the FMGC market which is one of the highly competitive markets in the global circuit (Upamannyu & Mathur, 2013, January). The market in which the company operates is one of the major markets that is prone to entry of new entrants on a major basis making the industries already present striving for innovation and improvement in the extensive period. The sector demanded Hubbard Foods Ltd to be competitive due to the competition levels in the present times (Sacks et al., 2015).

The major objectives of the study can be seen as follows –

• To analyse the external environment in which Hubbard Foods Ltd operates in the province of New Zealand.
• To review and state the internal environment in which Hubbard Foods Ltd operates in the province of New Zealand
• To state the competitor analysis for the company along with recommendations for the future.

The analysis is expected to address the external, internal and competitive analysis factor of the company and recommend various means for the betterment in the future. The analysis is also expected to shed light on the various challenges that the company has faced due to high competition and also the recommendations for overcoming the same.

External analysis of a company is a strategic technique that is used to identify and access all the factors that is needed for affecting the performance of the organization (Capps III &Glissmeyer, 2012). The analysis of the external analysis is dependent on the tools like PESTLE analysis to have an idea about the strategies of the firms along the environment in which it operates.

Demographic – The demography of Hubbard’s Foods is situated at a favourable place of New Zealand where the demand for cereals and the types is extensive (Rothaermel, 2015). The demography is suitable for the company as a whole.

Economic –The country is economically stable providing ample scope for the company to succeed and establish in the forefront (Rothaermel, 2015). According to the case study, the company is also economically stable with the required amount of customer base and innovative products that are there in the company for the majority of the time. The economic stage of the country is basically fulfilling for all the necessities of the company and provides the basic economic stabilities for the overall company portfolio.

Brief overview of the FMGC sector in which the company operates

Political –The political situation of New Zealand is stable which gives the company the required background for the establishment and success of the company. The inclusion of the owner into the political election also affected the working of the company in the major times.

Sociocultural –The socio cultural aspect of the company is very practical and provides ample scope for the betterment of the company due to the interest and family-like environment of the company. The company works in a environmental structure that is affirmative for the company in every social and cultural prospect and calls for the food company and the products that they manufacture which makes sure that all the employees as well as the authorities are there in the given structure with utmost regards and responsibility (De Charms, 2013). The unemployment and educated sector in which the company has the factories makes sure to reach the audience and extract the best of work capabilities from them.

Technological –The technological aspect of New Zealand is very advanced given the fact that it belongs to the first world country with a stable economic design made for the proper technological advantage. Proper technical assistance is to be measured to make sure that the company has the required technical assistance.

Global –The global reach of the company makes sure that the company is reached to the maximum number of people in the cereal manufacturing sector and also to have the detailed analysis of the scenario which is for the better working (Dobbs, 2014).

Physical – The physical environment of the country calls for the basic amenities of the technology and the political affirmative scenario to make the whole company operate in a proper manner (Dobbs, 2014). As stated in the case study, the workers as well as the management are cordial and proactive in doing the task and assigning required statements to the company.

The political inclusion of the owner of Hubbard’s Food had a major effect on the external analysis of the company and therefore had the most effect on the company. Other than that, the major competition from all the companies had tremendous effect on the company.

The reason for the internal analysis of the company is to explore the position of the company in terms of cost, competitive vitality as well as the competency of the company in the market in which the company is operating (De Charms, 2013). The internal analysis of the company checks the ability of the company to have their own policies and priorities sorted.

Objectives of case study

Table 1: Hubbard Food Internal analysis using strength, weakness and competences

(Source – As created by the author)

The reason for competitor analysis is to find the strength and weakness of the competitor to have the better marketing decisions for their own brand (Jobber & Ellis-Chadwick, 2012). The SWOT analysis of the competitor brand is to make sure to have their own strength and weakness in the brand focus.

The Five Forces of Porter Analysis are as follows–

Figure 1: Porters Model

(Source: Dobbs, 2014)

According to the detailed case study and analysis, the following analysis of the Porters Model can be done –

Bargaining power of Buyers –The bargaining power of buyer is high in the case of Hubbard’s Food as the buyers can choose to buy the products or choose to opt for other breakfast options in the meantime (Nestle, 2013).

Bargaining power of Sellers –The bargaining capacity of the sellers in Hubbard’s Food is low in comparison as the company has to attract the customers and retain them in order to maintain their sales and profits in the longer period of time.

Threat of Substitution –The threat of substitution in the Hubbard’s Food is high as there are already a number of competitors like Kellogg’s and Uncle Toby’s that can substitute their sales at any point of time (Nestle, 2013). In addition, according to the case study, the introduction of the new kind of products by them like Special K by Kellogg’s for the diet-conscious people make the substitution rate high for the company.

Entry of New Companies –The entry of new companies is moderately chanced as there are certain legal and financial formalities needed by the law and order of the country that are needed for the new companies which is not achieved by new companies majorly.

Competitive Rivalry –The competitive rivalry of the Hubbard’s Food is high as there are a number of companies in the realm that provide steep competition to Hubbard’s Food such as Uncle Toby’s and Kellogg’s.

The attractiveness of the industry which is the food and beverage industry in which Hubbard’s Food operates is high as the sales of the products under the cereal brands are high when compared to the other breakfast options (Nestle, 2013). These brands and their products are a daily requirement for most of the people in the world which make the brand as well as their products very highly demanded in the realm. The Hubbard’s Food makes sure that the attractiveness of the company is high in comparison to the other industries in the arena.

The future strategies of Hubbard’s Food is to maintain the position of the company and give steep competition to the major rival companies in the country. In addition, the company is to make sure that their profit and sales are not affected by the other brands that are being introduced or already in the competitive market. The company is there to maintain the level of products and has to maintain the same in future by innovation and introduction of new flavours and products into the market. The future strategies have to be in compliance with the present strategies of the brand and also to be in accordance to the needs and requirements of the customers.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be said that with the required strategies and competitor perspectives that has been mentioned in the previous paragraphs and which make the whole strategy of the company eligible for the development of the company in terms of the different tools of analysis like SWOT, PESTLE and Porter. the company Hubbard’s Food is to be successful in the longer run. The company with the internal, external and competitor analysis is to make great changes to the brand which is being analysed in the following terms and develop the brand according to the needs of the company.

References

Capps III, C. J., &Glissmeyer, M. D. (2012). Extending the competitive profile matrix using internal factor evaluation and external factor evaluation matrix concepts. Journal of Applied Business Research, 28(5), 1059.

De Charms, R. (2013). Personal causation: The internal affective determinants of behavior. Routledge.

E. Dobbs, M. (2014). Guidelines for applying Porter’s five forces framework: a set of industry analysis templates. Competitiveness Review, 24(1), 32-45.

Hubbards. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.hubbards.co.nz/

Jobber, D., & Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012). Principles and practice of marketing (No. 7th). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Nestle, M. (2013). Food politics: How the food industry influences nutrition and health (Vol. 3). Univ of California Press.

Rothaermel, F. T. (2015). Strategic management. McGraw-Hill Education.

Sacks, G., Mialon, M., Vandevijvere, S., Trevena, H., Snowdon, W., Crino, M., &Swinburn, B. (2015). Comparison of food industry policies and commitments on marketing to children and product (re) formulation in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. Critical Public Health, 25(3), 299-319.

Upamannyu, N. K., &Mathur, G. (2013, January). Effect of brand trust, brand affect and brand image on customer brand loyalty and consumer brand extension attitude in FMCG sector. In PRIMA (Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 1). Publishing India Group.