Background

Write an essay on “Sustainable Marketing and Management”.
 

Founded in the year 1915, Haigh’s chocolates are the oldest makers of chocolates in Australia owned by the Haigh family. The fourth generation of the Haigh legacy Simon and Alister, have been the joint managing directors since the year 1990 with John Haigh as the Chairman of the board of directors, manage the Company today. Haigh’s Chocolates is famous for their passion for the art of making chocolate. The company’s vision is to ensure a splendid chocolate experience every time a customer consumes one. The company understands the importance of being caring and compassionate towards its employees, the suppliers, customers, shareholders and everybody in the community whose trust and faith in the company has made Haigh’s chocolate what it is today. 

The company strives to work in a positive and friendly working environment to achieve the best for the business and the community.  Haigh’s chocolates have always paid a high regard to respecting everybody associated to the company.  There is a reason why the company is a legacy today. The people at the top positions have demonstrated the art of leadership by example, holding themselves responsible for each of their actions and working their best to maintain sustainable practices relating to the environment.

Headquartered in Adelaide, Australia, Haigh’s Chocolates is a confectionery company selling premium quality chocolates to its customers in Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The company has 14 stores across Australia with six stores in Adelaide, six in Melbourne and the rest two in Sydney(Devin 2016). The most recent one was opened in the Queen Victoria Building. Although the company has its stores only in Australia, it has strong international recognition. It recently received two stars out of three for the Haigh’s premium milk chocolate by the judges of the World Chocolate awards. This is a huge achievement for the company since only fifty-eight brands received these ratings worldwide and Haigh’s chocolates was the only one in Australia(Haighschocoloates.com.au 2016).

Haigh’s chocolates are mainly a family business, which has been into existence since the year 1915.Haigh’s comes under the category of Australia’s great medium sized business owned by the family, which has a turn over of about forty million dollars, earned from making chocolates from the scratch in their factory based in Adelaide(Devin 2016). The chocolates, as mentioned before are sold through the stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide  which are owned by the family.

Marketing Mix

The company understands its responsibility towards in making positive contribution towards the community and indulging in actions and practices which are environmentally sustainable in nature. Haigh’s chocolates are certified by the UTZ which means that a certain amount is paid on the market price to the farmers of the country which enables them to learn better and environmental friendly farming methods(Mountgambier.sa.gov.au 2016). Haigh’s chocolates are a part of the international partnership with the non-government and government organizations to enhance the life of the African cocoa farmers. The company is also a member of the World Cocoa Foundation which aims at improving the cocoa  farming communities worldwide. Greenpeace has given the company a green tick because they source their ingredients from origins which are not genetically modified. Its cardboard boxes and all the packaging materials are all 100 percent recyclable.

Haigh’s chocolates offer a category of chocolates which include loose chocolates as well as boxed chocolates. The company also manufactures a premium range  of chocolates called the Centenary collection. Chocolate bars are also made with perfection along with an array of chocolate novelties. These include well crafted chocolates in the shape of animals and teddies which are a huge favorite among its customers. The company also provides factory and store tours for the locals as well as the tourists so that they can experience a day in the life of the chocolate makers of Haigh’s premium chocolates(Mountgambier.sa.gov.au 2016).

Australia doesn’t have a strong cocoa industry hence it is supplied from regions like Africa and South America. The other required raw materials like milk, sugar and nuts are supplied by the local  Australian producers. The customers of Haigh’s chocolates are spread all around Australia regarding the brand as a premium one. The company enjoys more loyalty from the older age group from the customers compared to the younger age bars(Statedevelopment.sa.gov.au 2016).

Haigh’s Chocolates is the Australian confectionary business that sells high quality of chocolates to the people of South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. Chocolate helps the people to get relief from depression and thus help in making people happy. The marketing mix implies towards the high pricing strategy which also led the company to provide high quality towards the customers (Huang and Sarigöllü 2012). The pricing strategy effectively depends on the need of the customers towards the product and also the involvement of the customers towards purchasing behavior of the customers as well. The pricing strategy also depends on the economy of the country which influences the effective strategy within the organization as a whole.

Promotion Strategy

The pricing strategy that is effectively implemented within Haigh’s Chocolate includes three factors that help the business to attract more loyal customers towards the organizational products:

Product Branding Strategy – The product brand strategy helps Haigh’s Chocolate to improve the quality of the product which helps to gain more satisfied customers and also help the company to gain the competitive advantage as well. The branding strategy also helps the business to gain positive reputation and increase the profitability rate in the market (Czinkota and Ronkainen 2012).

Promotion – The promotion of the product also helps in influencing the pricing strategy within the business. The promotional activities thus help the business to advertise the quality which further helps in satisfying the need of the customers more towards Haigh’s Chocolate as well.

Product Line – The product line of the food product also help Haigh’s Chocolate to increase the sales rate (Wilson and Gilligan 2012). The product that ensures the well-being of the customers helps to gain loyal customers. This helps the corporate to influence the pricing strategy as well.

Product and Target Market Strategies – The product always aims towards the targeted customers who help the business to gain competitive advantage. The target customers help the business to increase the profit rate and also help in implementing effective pricing strategy within the workplace.

The effective promotional strategy by Haigh’s Chocolate helps to attract more loyal customers within the workplace. The promotional strategy helps the business to promote the product and helps in gaining customer satisfaction as well.

Segmentation – The segmentation of the product help Haigh’s chocolate to divide the various products by the market need which helps the business as a whole to satisfy the need of the customers (Ferrell and Hartline 2012). The segmentation of the product also helps the corporate to attract more loyal customers through the quality of products.

Targeting – The business increases the sales rate through targeting the acute customers who help the business to increase the profit margin. The effective promotional strategy of Haigh’s chocolate helps the business to attract more customers through advertisement and thus helps to get exposure in the market.

Positioning – The positioning of the products refers to the branding of the products towards the target customers. The positioning also helps Haigh’s chocolate to increase the brand value which further help the business to get the positive response and help in gaining increased profitability in the market as well (Fifield 2012). The positioning also helps the business to create a corporate identity which helps to have the positive impact towards the customers and thus help in promotion as well.

Advertisement – The advertisement of the product also help Haigh’s chocolate to gain more customers and thus help in getting more exposure towards the market. The advertisement thus helps the business to analyze the need of the customers and thus implements the strategy accordingly. Thus, it helps to attract more customers and helps in profitability of the business in the market.

The Distribution Strategy helps Haigh’s Chocolate to provide the products around the country and thus attract customers in accordance to their need (Gilligan and Hird 2012). The distribution strategy thus includes the various ways towards the supply of goods or services towards the customers. The strategy thus includes:

Business to business (B2B) distribution – The B2B distribution helps Haigh’s chocolate to connect with the different suppliers and distributers which help the company towards development as well.

Business to Customer (B2C) distribution – The B2C distribution helps the business to develop a relation with the customers and thus manufactures the product according to the need of customers (Fifield 2012). This helps the business to gain more loyal customers and thus help in profitability of the business as a whole.

The distribution channel thus helps the business directly as well as indirectly which helps the business to gain increased loyal employees as well. Thus, it also helps the company to increase the profit sales and helps in competitive scenario a well. Thus, it also helps the business to get positive impact towards the customers and help in retaining productivity as well. 

SWOT Analysis

Strength

Haigh’s chocolate has a robust branding legacy and has been operating since 1915.

The quality of the product is high, and the brand equity is also strong

The product has a consistent presence in the many parts of Australia- Victoria, new South Wales and South Australia.

The company offers a wide range of chocolates. They are reputed Chocolate manufacturers in Australia, and their packages add to their brand recognition and acceptance among the customers. The variety of chocolates provided by the company is dark chocolate, milk chocolate, liquor chocolate, etc.

The pinnacle of success was the alternative provided by the company for Easter Bunny was “Easter Bilby”.

To publicize the company, a tour is conducted year for the public of the factory to show them the making of the chocolate (Hollensen 2015).

Weakness

The company faces the issue of low market share due to the inability to expand the business.

The company’s failed to acquire the certification from the Fair Trade Foundation.

The company has a weak brand portfolio.

The future debts are disturbing issue faced by the company(Ayub 2013)

Threat

The increase in health consciousness might restrict the sales of the company.

Another threat might be the maintenance of the good quality as inadequate storage condition, and discoloring of the chocolate would hamper the brand image.

Strong competition by the other strong brands poses a threat to the company as the profitability of the company to restrict too.

The change in tax regulations is critical to the growth of the company.

The cash flow of the company is low.

The cost of the raw materials is rising in the rising inflation.

The labor cost in Australia was high and now rising exponentially.

The increase in interest rates of the banks and the debts of the company are limiting the growth of the company.

Opportunity

Online sales and home delivery are new trends that would expand their periphery in the virtual world.

Incorporation of the dissemination of gift vouchers to the corporate and reward programs are avenues in which the company should invest more.

The expansion of the company in other regions of Australia and gradually escalate to the global platform.

The company should bring in some new and varied types of new products and flavors in their chocolates.

The demand for the chocolate products is rising and in particular, the brand acceptability is growing sturdily.

The company is a family owned business that focuses on the quality of the product rather the expansion of the company. The pricing placed for the chocolate products are very high; almost equivalent to the pricing range of the global premium chocolate brands like Belgium chocolates (Birchall 2013). The company has positioned themselves as a premium brand that produces handmade fine quality chocolate that would change the experience of the customers about chocolate. Nestle falls into the low price and low quality products. Mayfield falls into the same category as Nestle. However, it falls into the lower range of the category. Cadbury produces varied kind of products from very high range of price and quality to very low range of price and quality. Thus, on an average, the company fall into the lower range of the high price and high quality product category. Haigh’s chocolate falls into the high quality and high price category (Figure 2). Thus, the positioning map of the four companies clearly defines the marketing segment they are targeting, and the comprehension of the positioning of the companies within the market is made definite by the positioning chart (Cheung and Jansen 2014).

Haigh’s chocolate faces major competition from Cadbury, Nestle and Mayfield Chocolates in Australia. Cadbury and Nestle are global brands that have major shares in the Australian market. Mayfield Chocolates are comparatively new brand. However, the expansion model adopted by the company might pose serious problems for Haigh’s chocolate. Cadbury is the strongest competitor for the Haigh’s chocolate as Cadbury is a global brand and has the capability to offer a varied range of products and with a wide range pricing. Whereas, Haigh’s chocolate offers high quality products with high pricing. This factor is instrumental in restricting the market segment that Haigh’s chocolate is targeting. Consequently, this clearly explains the restricted growth of the company in comparison to the other companies (Wilson and Gilligan 2012).

Haigh’s Chocolates is a company which is perceived by the customers as one which makes premium chocolates and are the masters of the art of chocolate making. The company, however, seems hesitant to expand its business beyond the boundaries of Australia due to low market share. It enjoys more loyalty from its older customers compared to the young ones who often chose its competitors over the company. Therefore, Haigh’s chocolates must indulge in intelligent and effective marketing strategies to make a strong customer base. The company also has a weak brand portfolio. Hence, the company owners must give a try to introduce more types of products other than chocolates.  The company must also make adequate strategies to make its business a global one, for a lot of opportunities wait for Haigh’s chocolates if they cross the boundaries of its origin country.

Conclusions:

Haigh’s is well known for its chocolate manufacturing across the country and thus gain satisfied customers around the country. The business thus effectively implements strategies that help the business to attract more customers and thus help in gaining competitive advantage as well. The business thus implements effective pricing and promotional strategies which further help the company to increase the profit sales of the company as well. The business also incorporates the distribution strategy which helps to satisfy the need of the customers and thus help in increasing the quality of products as well. The company faces various challenges in the expansion as Australian companies face high labor cost which also affects the economic structure of the company. The company also faces the threat from competitors regarding low cost flow and thus stands as a constraint on the expansion of the market as well. The effective strategies and positioning of the company help Haigh’s Chocolate to gain sustainability and also helps in retaining loyal customers towards the business.  

References

Australian food history timeline. (1910). Australian food history timeline-Haigh’s Chocolates founded.

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Birchall, A., 2013. Niche working a treat. Management Today, (July 2013), p.30.

Cheung, M. and Jansen, M.L., 2014. Positioning map views to show more optimal route information. U.S. Patent 8,676,489.

Czinkota, M. and Ronkainen, I., 2012. International marketing. Cengage Learning, 22(1), pp.32-38.

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Hartley, S., 2013. Darrell Lea’s rocky road.

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Hollensen, S., 2015. Marketing management: A relationship approach. Pearson Education.

Huang, R. and Sarigöllü, E., 2012. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. Journal of Business Research, 65(1), pp.92-99.

Uhlenbruck, K.N., 2014. BMGT 604.60: Competitive Strategy.

Wilson, R.M. and Gilligan, C., 2012. Strategic marketing management. Routledge.

Wilson, R.M. and Gilligan, C., 2012. Strategic marketing management. Routledge, 32(2), pp.48-54.