The Non-Alcoholic Beverage Industry in Nigeria

Honestly Juices is a manufacturer, marketer, and seller of fresh organic juice products that are aligned with the healthy living needs of the targeted consumers. Honestly Juices produces fresh fruit juices that are organically grown devoid of health hazards. A majority of the targeted customers for Honestly Juices products include children and adult juice lovers. As such, Honestly Juices is founded on the need of parents and caregivers to provide kids with purely natural and healthy fresh fruit juice. The name of the business (Honestly Juice) is inspired by the need to mainly focus on the welfare and health of the juice consumers. As a result, the company seeks to uphold the appropriate organizational culture that is manifested through core values such as integrity, transparency, and honesty, especially when it comes to pursuing the goal of the business via different dealings and strategic operations.

Mission Statement and Vision

Honesty Juices’ mission statement is to enthusiastically offer the beverage market with sustainable, non-GMO, pesticide-free and purely natural fruit juices that can be healthily enjoyed by the children and adult consumers. Honestly Juices is driven by the need to achieve a sustainable 100% customer satisfaction through the juice products. As a result, Honestly Juices seeks to build collaborative relationships with the consumers to become a reputable fresh beverage company that guarantees a positive transformation in the society by instilling a culture of healthy eating that creates a unique and desirable customer experience. With these strategic approaches, Honestly Juices is envisioned to be ranked among the top-selling and life-transforming non-alcoholic beverage businesses worldwide. To achieve these corporate goals and objectives, Honestly Juices is dedicated to carrying out routine strategic evaluation and reporting to highlight and address the strategic loopholes that potentially deter goal attainment in the business setting.

Trends in the Non-alcoholic Beverage Industry

The non-alcoholic beverage industry is one of the fast-growing entrepreneurial sectors in a majority of the world economies today. According to Modor Intelligence (2018), the industry has grown steadily in the recent past recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 4.71%. From this maths, the industry is anticipated to generate about USD 1200 billion by the year 2023 (Modor Intelligence, 2018). This is owing to the increase in volumes of sales amid the expanding array of consumption needs that paves the way for product innovations and improvements to address the interests and need preferences of the consumers (Popkin & Hawkes, 2016). Besides, governments and legal frameworks across the globe are adopting sugar-content-restricting rules and policies to encourage healthy production and consumption in the food and beverages industry (Cornelsen et al., 2017). Notably, the industry has transformed significantly owing to the advancements in technology and telecommunications, which make it easier for businesses to expand into e-commerce platforms that enable a more convenient and efficient mode of reaching out to potential buyers and imperative stakeholders that drive successful operations in these non-alcoholic beverage makers (Sundmaeker et al., 2016). The twenty-first century is characterized by advancements and improvements in the operational approaches in a majority of the global non-alcoholic beverage businesses.

Further, health awareness is one of the inevitably influential trends in the non-alcoholic beverage industry (Corbo et al., 2014). Its emergence is attributed to telecommunications industrial advances that make it relatively easier and more efficient to share relevant information across the various geographical and cultural boundaries (Corbo et al., 2014; Sundmaeker et al., 2016). It has, in the recent past, revolutionized consumer trends as a majority of the customers are opting for safe and healthy consumables depending on ingredients used and the perceived effects when consumed. For this reason, production companies are keen to offer the right products that befit the needs and expectations of the customers (Ashurst, 2016).

Honestly Juices’ Strategic Position

In response to the intense competition in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, Honestly Juices requires a well-established strategic position that can be protected through effective strategic management practices to sustain the competitiveness of the brand. In this perspective, Honesty Juices has to assume the position of a purely organic producer of quality fresh juices that befit the health requirements of kids and adult consumers. Indubitably, Honesty Juices needs to be on the forefront of technology adoption and effective research to inform better consumer behavior analysis, product designing, and consistent improvements to enable the manufacturing of a unique class of non-alcoholic beverage products that satisfactorily meet the needs and expectations of the buyers (Abrams, 2014). According to George et al. (2016), such unique selling strategies are necessary for sustaining a competitive position in the market through effective strategic adoption and implementation. For instance, Honesty Juices must concentrate on the effective use of business strategies to penetrate new market segments and adopt well-defined and evidence-based strategies that enable an outstanding quality of products as well as an organizational culture to ensure sustainability.

Overview of the Supply and Distribution Channels

Honesty Juices is interested in ensuring the customers get the best fresh juices on the market. It is undoubted that efforts to sustain quality production that befits the needs and expectations of the consumers require the coordination of all the influential stakeholders according to the principles of stakeholder theory of management (Hörisch, Freeman, & Schaltegger, 2014). In this essence, Honesty Juices seeks to develop a sense of commonality among the key business associates such as suppliers and distributors when it comes to goal attainment for the business. Also, the core values such as honesty and integrity, which are purposely adopted to enhance a reputable organizational culture, must be upheld at all levels of production.

This is actionable through accurate strategic evaluations to determine and select the competent suppliers who are capable of ensuring availability and delivery of fresh and purely organic agricultural produce to Honesty Juices for juice production. An effective quality assessment must be carried out with the help of a dietician prior to approval of fresh farm fruits that are used for making Honesty Juices branded beverages (Hörisch et al., 2014). On the other hand, Honesty Juices makes use of its branded selling outlets that are evenly distributed across the targeted market area to address the consumption needs of fresh juice lovers. These distribution stores are managed and owned by Honesty Juices. This is critical for brand equity management as it is easier to regulate the dealings of the workforce according to a prior-defined organizational culture and strategies.

Risks and Honesty Juices’ Mitigation Plans

The nature of Honestly Juices business renders it highly susceptible to the quality compromise risks. As it is categorized under the food and beverages industry, the question of product quality in Honestly Juices is a top priority to address the underlying vulnerabilities (Ali & Abdullah, 2017). For instance, the management ensured effective quality assurance to ensure alignment of the external forces to the business such as quality of raw materials and the efficiency of the distribution channels prior to the selection of supplies and distribution networks (Barnoya & Nestle, 2015). In this case, technical knowledge and expertise are employed by consulting a professional dietician to verify the health benefits of the selected fresh fruits for making healthy and safe-to-consume juice products that give the customers a unique and desirable experience (Kitsios et al., 2015).

Further, the development of a well-established organizational culture is inspired by the need to align competencies with the corporate goals and objectives. Routine strategic analysis and related changes also help enhance the timely identification of risks and resiliency development whenever quality us compromised (Kitsios et al., 2015). It is core to the functioning of Honestly Juices as the unique quality of its beverage products enhances the company’s unique selling point and the resultant competitiveness on the market (Kitsios et al., 2015).

Honestly Juices’ SWOT Analysis

SWOT is a useful strategic analysis tool that helps business managers to plan accordingly. It shows a business' strengths and weaknesses as well as underlying threats and lurking opportunities (Wheelen et al., 2017). It is critical for informing decisions to countermeasure the constraining factors to a business in the future (Brooks, Heffner, & Henderson, 2014). In this case, Honestly Juices management stands a chance of optimally strategizing to make use of the prevalent business strengths and opportunities to alleviate the weaknesses and plan for threats to its goal attainment. Table 1 below shows a detailed summary of the SWOT analysis results for the Honestly Juices business.

Table 1: A Summary of Honestly Juices' SWOT analysis results

Internal Environmental Factors

External Environmental Factors

Strengths

Opportunities

i. The production of healthy 100% non-GMO fresh juice augurs well with the emerging consumption trends whereby food and beverage consumers prefer healthy meals for sustainability reasons (Robinson & Leonhardt, 2018).

ii. By producing healthy and fresh juices, Honestly Juices outstandingly ventures into an ethically-upright business that focuses on improving the living standards of people in host communities. This is expected to create a competitive effect by luring more potential buyers and stakeholders such as advertising companies, investors, and government-based sponsors.

iii. High technology adoption level enables Honestly Juices to spearhead relevant innovative research, product designing and improving, and accurate marketing research to inform feasible strategic decisions for the business.

iv. Honestly Juices makes a point of effectively engaging the customers through interactive and inclusion programs such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities that aim to create a rapport with the community on a goodwill reputation account (Schwartz, 2017). This makes up the unique selling point (USP) for Honestly Juices.

i. Technology and telecommunications sectors of the economy continually transform toward betterment (Sundmaeker et al., 2016). Therefore, through innovate research, Honestly Juices has the potentiality to grow and expand its market share and volumes of sales through improved marketing communication and more accurate consumer information.

ii. Strategic management techniques pave the way for proper analysis, planning, and monitoring to inform business improvement decisions based on feasibility.

iii. Currently, there is a growing need to embrace sustainable development in a bid to protect the environment and sustain desirable health standards. Health awareness and healthy eating habits are expected to open more opportunities for Honestly Juices whose business operations are aligned with the sustainability goals of the twenty-first-century society.

Weaknesses

Threats

i. Honestly Juices is a market entrant in the food and beverages industry. Therefore, it requires more resources to penetrate the targeted market compared to globally established corporates such Coca-Cola. Further, it is challenging in terms of gathering the necessary resources for effective strategic planning, execution, and improvement to achieve the set corporate goals.

ii. Healthy eating is still a new trend in the industry. As a result, it requires Honestly Juices to reach out to the target customers to develop positive brand perceptions based on acceptability and embrace of the new trends at the societal level.

i. Potentially intensifying competition from Coca-Cola and Nestle, which are offering a wider range of healthy and synthetic beverage products ad this capable of meeting a wide spectrum of consumer needs and expectations.

ii. Political and legal frameworks are bound to inevitably change with time. It is necessary for Honestly Juices to remain alert to these changes, which involuntarily influence business operations and goal attainment. Strategic changes can help deal with the projected threats for the Honestly Juices business.

Questionnaire: Marketing Strategy

To ensure effective engagement of the customers so as to generate feedback that could be used to inform sound strategic decisions, there is a need for adopting a feasible marketing communications strategy to reach out to the potential customers and influential stakeholders (Baker, 2014). Through exploiting this opportunity, Honestly Juices stands an opportunity of understanding the needs and expectations of the people to offer healthy juice beverages that are in line with the needs of the customers. Moreover, it is essential to ensure brand protection whilst popularizing Honestly Juices whose market strength entirely depends on an ethical reputation (Baker, 2014).

Target Market

As Honestly Juices’ product offering befit the healthy eating needs of children and adult consumers, the marketing strategy will be directed toads the interest of young families and the youth within a 10-45 years age bracket across the world. They include both genders. The reason for focusing on these groups of customers is that they encompass almost the entire child-bearing and family raising fraternity in a modern societal setting. Also, children about ten years old are capable of making purchase decisions based on taste and preference (Serrat, 2017). As a result, it is necessary to address their interests while adopting attention-seeking strategies that pave the way for talking potential buyers and stakeholders into buying from Honestly Juices and associating with its business, respectively.

This information is necessary for aligning the pricing and sales strategies with the overall corporate goals (Baker, 2014). For example, the Honestly Juices sales team is entrusted to collect the relevant feedback about product specifications to gauge the customer satisfaction level and highlight areas that need improvement in order to reach the desired standards of a healthy business entity that is dedicated to transforming lives through high quality healthy and fresh juice varieties. It is critical for the sales representatives to remain conservative of the brand equity amid the bargaining and discounting practices that are used to attract more potential customers (Baker, 2014).

Marketing Strategy

Through a fulltime social media management approach, Honestly Juices will be capable of reaching out and sustaining the connection with the people. This is critical for developing a competitive advantage against the market rival; Coca-Cola, which employs almost similar marketing strategies (Baker, 2014). Most of Honestly Juices’ social media posts entail healthy eating tips and information about the pricing, offerings, discounts, and distribution channels for its fresh juice products. The choice of the social media marketing approach is prompted by the efficiency and convenience of interactive internet-based communication platforms (Serrat, 2017). If optimally used, social media marketing remains an outstandingly effective marketing strategy that befits Honestly Juices’ marketing communication needs (Ashley & Tuten, 2015).

Notably, the message in marketed relates Honestly Juices’ products to nutritional and health wellness of the children and adult lovers of freshly blended juice. Also, 100% non-GMO fruits are organically produced rendering them chemical-free and safe for human consumption. Further, they provide the required natural nourishment to the body, which is necessary for the growth of newborns and the immunity of adults and the aged (Robinson & Leonhardt, 2018). Therefore, these products are recommended for a better health such as the capacity to fight diseases by acquiring the right vitamins (Robinson & Leonhardt, 2018).

Assignment 2: Marketing Plan

Demographic Description

Honestly Juices aims to address the health eating needs of newborns and adults across the entire world by providing non-GMO fresh fruit juice blends of kinds depending on the needs of the customers. It makes professional use of dietary expertise to guide the standardization of the purely organic fresh fruit juices according to the globally accepted nutritional health requirements. In this marketing plan, social media platforms, corporate social responsibility initiatives, and experiential online events will be used to broadcast a message of ‘better health with Honestly Juices’ to develop brand popularity and lure customers and other critically supplemental stakeholders. It is necessary to note that most non-alcoholic businesses find marketing crucial to attracting customers and other necessary stakeholders as a majority of the cola drinks, juices, bottled water, and soft drinks are undifferentiated. In this case, Honestly Juices seeks to differentiate its business from competitors like Coca-Cola by adopting a feasible and effective marketing strategy that enables reaching out and interactive engagement with the people. Honestly Juices is founded in Charlotte city, North Carolina and seeks to expand into other American state markets and overseas within five fiscal years. It requires a rapid growth strategy to achieve this expansion goal into a global top-selling fresh juice provider.

Charlotte is one of the populous urban centers in the United States. The 2017 census estimations reveal that about 859,030 people are inhabited in this area (United States Census, 2018). This provides a potentially ready market for Honestly Juices’ product offerings. The Charlotte city population comprises 52% females, about 24% of young people below 18 years, 9% aged people above 65 (United States Census Bureau, 2018). From these figures, it is evident that a bigger assortment of the population includes adults between 18 and 65 years. Further, about 88% of Charlotte city residents are high school graduates while at least 42% of the people have a Bachelor's degree (United States Census Bureau, 2018). This translates into a high level of literacy whereby a majority of the people are learned and considered eligible for a variety of employment opportunities in the public and private sectors. In terms of employment, about 72% of the population is hired in the civilian labor force including 66% of the women (United States Census Bureau, 2018). The high employment rate shows the peoples capacity to afford basic and luxurious needs. Honestly Juices’ products meet the needs of a majority of these Charlotte people through health protection and effective nourishment of the body.

Notably, in the American culture, women are entitled to enduring that her families are well-fed according to the necessary nutritional standards and preferences. Therefore, it is logical that they make purchase decisions for the family most of the time. As a result, women make the most influential market segment to focus on for the sake of optimizing sales and increasing the market share. Through engagement, Honestly Juices is capable of realizing the needs of such customers through feedback generation and evaluation system that informs decisions about production, marketing, distribution, and he appropriate after-sale services that could help lure more potential purchasers and stakeholders.

Marketing Message (Five F’s Model)

In light of the Five F’s (functions, future, freedoms, finances, & feelings) principle, Honestly Juices’ marketing strategy aims to convey a message of “Better health with Honestly Juices.” The company website entails critical marketing and sales sections such as customer care, e-commerce, and an online information desk. The Five F’s model allows marketing managers to redesign their marketing communications message according to the essentialities of the business.

Competition Analysis

For Honestly Juices to achieve its mission, competition must be addressed accordingly. In this case, it is necessary to develop an in-depth understanding of the competition status in the industry. Honestly Juices faces stiff competition from established and entrant firms. Some of them are Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper Snapple, Nestle, and PepsiCo. Table 2 below shows a summative analysis of the competition offered by these big market performers.

Table 2: Honestly Juices' competition analysis

Factor

Max points (1-10)

Honestly Juices

Dr. Pepper Snapple

Coca-Cola

PepsiCo

Nestle

Purchasing price

7

7

8

6

7

Product/service specifications

9

6

7

6

7

Peripheral costs

9

7

6

5

7

Location

8

6

9

5

6

Customer relations

9

6

8

6

5

Perceived value

9

7

8

6

7

Image

8

6

8

7

6

Brand recognition

7

7

9

6

5

Delivery time

8

7

7

5

6

Quality

9

7

9

7

7

Durability

9

6

4

7

8

Convenience of use

9

6

7

6

5

Customer Service

9

5

8

6

6

Social consciousness

9

4

9

5

4

Credit policies

9

6

8

7

6

Total Points

128

93

115

97

92

Comment

Generally, Honestly Juices faces tough competition from Coca-Cola. This is due to the fact that the rival is a long-established beverage producer that deals in diverse products across entirely the whole globe. However, its outstanding class of healthy products (fresh non-GMO fruit juice) guarantee a competitive advantage through fully satisfying the needs of fruit lovers in the Charlotte neighborhood and eventually across the globe. With this differentiation, it is difficult for the market rivals to operate on the same competitive level as Honestly Juices.

Competition and Market Share Distribution

Some of the top-selling non-alcoholic beverage businesses include Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Arizona Beverage Company, Ltd., Nestle S.A, and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group (Modor Intelligence, 2018). According to the expectations of the business, Honestly Juices is in a position to penetrate the healthy non-alcoholic beverages market if it can employ effective strategic management to take the position of a top-selling fresh juice business by creating an unchallengeable level of competitive advantage against Coca-Cola and other industry dominating businesses (Barnoya & Nestle, 2015). In this convention, Honestly Juices makes a point of effectively engaging the customers through inclusion programs that aim to create a customer-attracting rapport with the public community, essential stakeholders, and other supplemental businesses to discern their needs, which can be addressed via product designing, marketing, pricing, and discounted sales that befit their needs and expectations (George, Henthorne, & Williams, 2016). Further, a unique selling point (USP) for the Honestly Juices business will help lure buyers on account of customer satisfaction and extreme loyalty. This way, Honestly Juices can get these stakeholders and other associates to help with popularity development through brand ambassadorship (George et al., 2016).

Coca-Cola has registered a remarkably high growth rate over time. This growth is attributed to its dedication to transformative ideas that merge with socio-political dynamics of the market population. It is one of the most popular beverage firms that operate in almost all countries across the world. Honestly Juices’ products are unique such that they are carefully prepared from fresh and high-quality far fruits that are further appraised for use by an external dietician agency. This quality verification process is necessary for protecting the wellness and health of targeted consumers (kids and adult fresh juice lovers). Notably, Honestly Juices needs to grow to Coca-Cola’s international level. An internationalization strategy will be specially formulated to ensure sustainable venture into a profitable and society-transforming business for the sake of competitively dealing with Coca-Cola’s market rivalry.

As one of the most popular businesses in this industry, Coca-Cola has made significant growth milestones due to the selling of healthy beverages such as Coke Diet and Coke Zero. Similarly, Nestle has grown more competitive in the industry owing to the introduction of green tea and other organic products that are safe for human consumption as they are free of harmful food components such as synthetic sugars, chemicals, and inorganic preservatives (Nestle, 2016). According to one of the corporate reports, Coca-Cola registered a faster growth rate between 2015 and 2017 owing to the introduction of healthy beverage products (Sheth, 2017). Therefore, Honestly Juices’ business idea is relevant to the current needs and can be optimized through effective strategic planning, evaluation, and routinely enacted changes and improvements so as to stay competitive amid the fast-changing industrial needs (Abrams, 2014). Therefore, Honestly Juices’ products augur well with the current market consumption needs and thus guarantee a growth opportunity for the business at large.

Further, Honestly Juices is dedicated to addressing the needs and expectations of the consumers so as to define and adopt feasible strategic operations that guarantee an unbeatable competitive advantage in the non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing industry. It intends to engage the consumers in order to determine their preferences and need requirements as the business focuses on 100% customer satisfaction. The corporate motto is ‘No juice lover left behind.’ Notably, one of the essential requirements in the corporate functionality is determination and adoption of a culture of healthy living through advocacy for purely natural supplies and by engaging with the consumers through knowledge development and information sharing to pave the way for a positive embrace of the healthy eating culture. This is necessary for mobilizing and luring the targeted customers into considering buying Honestly Juices’ product offerings.

Honestly Juices’ Marketing Vehicles

As a market entrant and young business, Honestly Juices managers realize the dire need for effective marketing communication to present a message of good health through the consumption of Honestly Juices beverages. The company uses social media marketing to reach out to targeted customers across international boundaries (Abrams, 2014). Notably, Honestly Juices is a global business entity that seeks to capture the interests of diversified buyers. Also, it focuses on a larger pool of customers, which can be segmented into children, young families, regional, male, and female consumers. Therefore, juice preparation reflects the different needs of this extended customer base. Similarly, it required a convenient and effective marketing communication initiative to reach out to this diversified group of consumers (Abrams, 2014). Social media marketing, corporate social responsibility, and online events are the main marketing communications tools that are used to spread the advocacy for healthy eating through Honestly Juices’ products. Platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Twitter will be used to advertise the products and related offerings as well as collect feedback on the influence of Honestly Juices on people's perceptions and consumer behavioral decisions.

According to Schneider (2016), Coca-Cola uses event sponsorships (Olympics and African Cup of Nations-AFCON), corporate social responsibility initiatives (Copa Coca-Cola football tournament and Coke Studios Africa), and social media marketing (Taste the feeling campaign on YouTube). Evidently, Honestly Juices has to diversify its approach to marketing owing to the cross-cultural differences of the target customers (Schneider, 2016). It has to establish and sustain a reputable high effectiveness in marketing and brand image protection to outdo Coca-Cola and other industrial rivals (Johns & Wellhausen, 2018). This marketing strategy follows the differentiation principles to sustain an unbeatable competitive advantage (Woodley, Fernandes, & Madison, 2014).

Importantly, these online communication platforms provide a reliable way of compiling feedback from different dimensions through monitoring performance metrics such as the number of likes, followers, the nature and number of comments on posts (negative or positive), and variations in the overall social media influence on sales and business growth (Johns & Wellhausen, 2018). The figure 1 below shows a detailed marketing budget representing the necessary resources required to facilitate the brand awareness activities as stipulated bin the strategy.

Table 3: Honesty Juices' Marketing budget (Nov 2018- Nov 2019)

Marketing Activity/Item

Quantity

Cost ($ 100 m)

Social media platform management and setup

4

160

Website development and management

1

30

Experiential online campaigns with dieticians

12

60

Branding (t-shirts) and packages

500

1,500

Television & radio advertisement

5

25

High-speed internet

_

200

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system

1

3,000

Social Corporate Responsibility/community engagement programs

30

250

Miscellaneous

_

78

Grand Total

5,303

Assignment 3 Part 1: Operation, Technology, and Management Plan

Operations Plan

Honestly Juices' functioning and presence in the non-beverage production inducts relies on the efficiency of the operations plan adopted. The company continues to uphold the differentiation strategy throughout various sectors such as; supply, product designing, marketing, selling, and information sharing. The major operations at Honestly Juices include sourcing, assessing, manufacturing, packaging, and distributing fresh juice products for sale. In this case, the business has to engage the workforce through effective communication to access information on strategic requirements and duties & responsibilities that are delegated to those who actually do the operationalization of goals and objectives.

Honestly Juices’ management is responsible for providing disseminating information regarding the decisions made for execution. Internal memos, emails, private messaging, and letters are commonly used to communicate with the workforce, especially when it comes to adopting strategic change initiatives. Through employee training and motivational approaches, Honestly Juices is capable of employing excellent inclusive transformational leadership styles that aim to bring together stronger teams that are equipped with the right skills and knowledge to spearhead goal attainment (Collings, Wood, & Szamosi, 2018). Farmers and other external stakeholders are also engaged through inclusive su