Marketing management assignment on: Leatherhead food

PEST AnalysisTechnological Factor: Technology has played a big role in the growing take-up of ready meals. A report by the research body Leatherhead Food International described how new techniques have allowed companies to develop ready meals which preserve taste and texture, while still making them easy to use by the consumer. Furthermore, great advances in distribution management, in particular the use of information technology to control inventories, has allowed fresh, chilled ready meals to be quickly, effectively and efficiently distributed without the need for freezing or added preservatives.Social Factor: The structure and values of society have contributed to the growth of the UK ready meal market, and may explain why growth here is greater than in France or Germany. Ready meals particularly appealed to single households, and those ‘cellular’ families in which individual family members tend to eat at different times. Mintel reported that the tradition of family meals together remains stronger in many continental European countries than in the UK, which may help to explain the greater popularity of individual ready meals in the UK. Some social commentators have reported that young people have lost the ability to cook creatively, as cookery has been reduced in importance in the school curriculum. Furthermore, many UK consumers no longer feel a social stigma attached to eating a ready meal, something which would be anathema to many people in France a country which takes great pride in its national cuisine. Any remaining stigma has been reduced by the number of ‘celebrity chefs’ who have endorsed ready meals with their own brand image.

Economic Factor: The impact of the economic environment on sales of ready meals is slightly more ambiguous. As individuals grow richer, they can afford to buy ready prepared foods, rather than spend time and effort preparing it themselves. With a tempting range of ready meals now available, from duck á l’orange to beef bourguignon, the consumer with money in his or her pocket will be tempted to splash out on a ready meal, rather than stay at home with a ‘quick’ jacket potato or pizza. Although rising incomes have been associated with rising consumption of ready meals, increased sales have also been attributed to a deteriorating economic environment. As recession bit in the UK in 2008. The manufacturer Northern Foods – a major supplier of ready prepared meals to Marks & Spencer – reported resilient sales. It seemed that consumers were trading down from expensive restaurant meals to the alternative of relatively cheap, gourmet ready prepared meals

Political Factor: In a market that is in its maturity stage, more attention will need to be paid to competitive differentiation, and understanding the way in which customers attribute value to a product. Many consumers have become increasingly concerned about the health implications of the food they eat, and ready meal manufacturers will need to continue responding to such concerns. For example, they have responded with a range of low calorie meals, and addressed specific, sometimes transient, health fads, for example with respect to trans-fatty acids and Omega 3 supplements. Many consumers have also become concerned about the ecological environment, and some suppliers, such as Marks & Spencer, have incorporated sustainability agendas into their ready meals, for example by reducing packaging and sourcing supplies from sustainable sources.

Discuss the factors that might affect sales of ready meals in your country over the next five years.Stakeholder Analysis

Changing consumer lifestyles are driving the market for ready meals in Europe and the USA; consumers are working longer hours, spending more time commuting and have a growing desire to maximize their increasingly limited leisure time. As a result, the trend towards convenience has strengthened over the last five years as consumers purchase more products and services to ease and support their hectic, changing lifestyles and attitudes. These trends also mean that consumers are now fitting mealtimes around their lifestyles resulting in the fragmentation of the ‘traditional mealtime. Finally, rising health concerns mean that consumers are more aware of the influence of their diet on their health and are changing their mealtime occasions accordingly.Meanwhile, consumers in emerging markets are adopting Western lifestyles, which tend to be fast-paced, generating enormous demand for convenience foods, such as ready meals, and canned and packaged produce. The trend towards convenience-oriented, Western-style lifestyles is exemplified by the growth of fast-food outlets in emerging markets. In April 2010, McDonald’s said that China was the company’s fastest-growing global market. The company said that the country’s US$300 billion-a-year “informal eating out” market was expanding at an annual rate of 10%, compared with 2–3% in the United States. McDonald’s had 1,000 outlets by April 2010 and planned to open 2,000 outlets in the following three to five years.

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