Introduction

The report will be based on detailed analysis of a food product based organization that operates in New Zealand and is planning to expand its operations in the international market. The organization that has been selected for analysis in the report is Hubbard Foods that operates in New Zealand. The external environment of the selected country which is the United States will be discussed along with the competitive environment that the organization will face in the country as well. The behavior of consumers in the selected country will be analyzed with respect to the market oriented approach that will be implemented by the organization (Hubbards.co.nz. 2020). The marketing mix of the organization will also be analyzed in the report in detail. The major objective of the report is related to analysis of the organization and the strategies that can be developed in the new country as well. The product that has been selected for analysis in the report is Thank Goodness Gluten Free Cornflakes.

3. Findings and analysis 

External environment

Political factors – The United States is the second biggest democracy in the entire world. The political climate in the country is considered to be quite stable in nature and the US has a major influence on political dynamics in various countries. The advanced levels of technology and infrastructure along with foreign direct investment are able to attract organizations from different parts of the world. Hubbard Foods will be able to enhance its revenue levels in an effective manner by expanding its operations in the US (Aguinis, Edwards & Bradley, 2017).

Economic factors – The US is considered to be the biggest economy in the world and the country is able to lead the socio-economic discussions in different countries. The recession that had taken place in the years 2008 and 2009 had a major impact on the employment rates in the United States. The outsourcing based operations are performed by organizations in the US due to availability of the cheap labor in the emerging countries. Hubbard Foods will be able to enhance its revenues with the support that is provided by its expansion in the US (Brannen, Piekkari & Tietze, 2017).

Social factors – The diversity levels in the US population are considered to be quite huge and this can have a major impact on the food products that are offered by an organization like Hubbard Foods. The health conscious population of the United States will be able to enhance the profitability and revenues of Hubbard Foods. The product that has been selected for expansion in the US will be able to attract the health conscious consumers of the country (Cantwell, 2017).

Legal factors – The legal scheme and government structure in various states of the United States is considered to be quite different in nature. Hubbard Foods will thereby need to develop its regulations and policies with respect to the regulatory environment of the state in which it operates. The legal system that is provided by the US to protect the Intellectual Property Rights of organizations can also be taken into consideration by Hubbard Foods in order to maintain its operations in the industry (Collinson, Narula & Rugman, 2016).

Competitive environment

Fonterra Co-operative Group Ltd. is considered to be a major competitor of Hubbard Foods in New Zealand as the organization aims at offering a wide range of food based products to the consumers in the country. Fonterra has been successful in creating a major consumer base in New Zealand and has also provided huge levels of competition to the products that are offered by an organization like Hubbard Foods. Woolworths New Zealand is another major firm that offers different food retail based products to the consumers and is able to enhance the levels of competitiveness in the industry (David & David, 2016). Walmart is also able to offer different types of food related products to the consumers in order to fulfil their demands and needs. Home Depot, Costco, Target, Aldi, Amazon and Kroger have further enhanced the competitive environment and provides different types of food based products. The highly competitive environment of food industry of the United States is able to affect the product portfolio that is offered to the consumers in the country. Hubbard Foods will be able to maintain its profitability in the food industry of the United States by offering different types of products that can be provided to the consumers in the country (Cravino & Levchenko, 2017).

Consumer behavior

The changes that have taken place in food related choices of consumers in the United States are able to influence the profitability levels that are gained by organizations in the country. The consumers have started eating more canned food in order to save time and levels of convenience as well. The rise in levels of discretionary income and positive sentiments of consumers can also have an impact on their behavior and the purchasing power levels as well (Demir, Wennberg & McKelvie, 2017). The improvement in financial situation of households have been able to enhance the purchasing power of consumers in a huge manner. Rising health consciousness is also considered to be a major trend that is able to influence the trends of positive demands and revenues gained by organizations in the industry as well. Although the demands are positive the revenue levels in the industry can decline in a huge manner (Engert, Rauter & Baumgartner, 2016).

Global marketing mix 

Product – Hubbard Foods offers different types of products to the consumers that can fulfil various needs and enhance revenues of the firm as well. Different breakfast based food products are offered by Hubbard Foods to the consumers in the country that mainly include Hubbards Crispy Crunchy Granola, Hubbards Pistachio and Millet Granola, Hubbards Branola and Hubbards Muesli. The products are able to cater to the health related needs of breakfast cereals that are offered to consumers in New Zealand. The high quality products of Hubbard Foods are considered to be useful for health conscious consumers (Hanson et al., 2016).

Price – The prices of the products offered by Hubbard Foods are quite high as the organization mainly provides attention towards the quality rather low prices. The premium pricing based strategy has been implemented by Hubbard Foods is mainly aimed at attracting consumers who are more concerned about the quality of food products in comparison to the prices. The health benefits of the products of Hubbard Foods are provided more importance by the consumers and the high prices are considered to be a barrier with respect to their choices and demands for the products as well. The business growth of Hubbard Foods is also maintained in an effective manner with the support that is mainly provided by high prices of the products (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

Place – The placement of distribution of the products of Hubbard Foods are considered to be a major factor that can have an impact on its reach towards the consumers. The products are mainly offered to the consumers with the help of different retail stores and this is able to influence their behavior and feedback that is provided by them. Hubbard Foods aims at interacting with the consumers in order to understand their needs and enhance profitability levels in an effective manner as well (Kolk, 2016). The stocking of various products of the organization aim at influencing the decisions that are made by the management of Hubbard Foods regarding types of products that are offered. Hubbard Foods also offers its products through the e-commerce websites that have played a major role in enhancing the reach of consumers. The partner agents of Hubbard Foods can also help the organization to offer its products to the customers (Kingsley, Noordewier & Bergh, 2017).

Promotion – The marketing and promotional strategy implemented by Hubbard Foods can help the organization to interact with the customers and enhancing awareness of the presence as well. The digital marketing related aspects of the organizational operations can enhance the profitability levels and revenues gained by Hubbard Foods as well. The corporate website of Hubbard Foods will also support its operations and the relationships that have been formed with the consumers as well (Engert, Rauter & Baumgartner, 2016). The reward programs have also attracted the consumers and are able to maintain their loyalty levels in an effective manner. The community influencers and brand ambassadors can affect the product portfolio that is offered to the consumers in the country. The conventional marketing related activities that are developed and implemented by Hubbard Foods can enhance the visibility of the organization in the highly competitive food products based industry (Schilling & Shankar, 2019).

Social responsibility and ethics 

Community investments made by Hubbard Foods are considered to be most important aspect related to the ways by which the organization aimed at fulfilling its social responsibilities in the food industry. The increased expectations of consumers has further been able to enhance the pressure on Hubbard Foods to make investments in life improvement of the community. The development of a positive story of the business is considered to be a major aspect that is able to influence the loyalty of consumers towards the brand. After the establishment of the operations of Hubbard Foods in the year 1988 the organization has aimed at increasing the levels of investments that can be made in improvement of lives of individuals who are a part of the local community (Witt, 2019).

The company has also tried to make a difference in improving the lives of people and enhancing their quality of living as well. The proper involvement and engagement of employees in the organizational operations is able to influence the focus that Hubbard Foods has on formation of the community investment strategies. The improvement of the lives of staff or employees in the organization can influence the levels of resources that have been gained by Hubbard Foods (Aguinis, Edwards & Bradley, 2017). The ethical sourcing of raw materials for manufacture of the products of Hubbard Foods have also been able to play a major role in enhancing the community relationships. A major commitment that has been made by Hubbard Foods is named as “South Auckland Breakfast Club” that aims at offering free breakfast to the under privileged children. The commitment that the organization is able to provide to the enhancement of community activities can affect the operations of Hubbard Foods in the industry (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2016).

4. Conclusion 

The report can be concluded by stating that an organization like Hubbard Foods that operates in the highly competitive food industry needs to offer products to the consumers in such a manner so that their demands can be fulfilled in an effective manner. The marketing mix of products that are offered to the consumers have a major impact on the profitability levels that can be gained by organizations and enhance their loyalty levels as well. The behavior of consumers have also been able to improve the revenues that the organization is able to gain in the industry and maintain its position in an effective manner as well.

5. Recommendations

The major recommendations that can be provided to Hubbard Foods to enhance its revenues and position in the industry are as follows,

• Hubbard Foods can aim at increasing the products that are offered to the consumers as a part of the product portfolio that is provided by the company in New Zealand.
• Hubbard Foods can enhance its revenues and profitability in the food product based industry with the improvement of promotional activities of the organization that include digital and traditional marketing techniques.
• Hubbard Foods needs to understand the needs and demands of the consumers who are a part of the food industry of US by gaining their feedback through the website of the organization.

6. References 

Aguinis, H., Edwards, J. R., & Bradley, K. J. (2017). Improving our understanding of moderation and mediation in strategic management research. Organizational Research Methods, 20(4), 665-685.

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Cantwell, J. (2017). Innovation and international business. Industry and Innovation, 24(1), 41-60.

Collinson, S., Narula, R., & Rugman, A. M. (2016). International business. Pearson.

Cravino, J., & Levchenko, A. A. (2017). Multinational firms and international business cycle transmission. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2), 921-962.

David, F., & David, F. R. (2016). Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases. Pearson–Prentice Hall.

Demir, R., Wennberg, K., & McKelvie, A. (2017). The strategic management of high-growth firms: a review and theoretical conceptualization. Long Range Planning, 50(4), 431-456.

Engert, S., Rauter, R., & Baumgartner, R. J. (2016). Exploring the integration of corporate sustainability into strategic management: a literature review. Journal of cleaner production, 112, 2833-2850.

Hanson, D., Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalisation. Cengage AU.

Hitt, M. A., Ireland, R. D., & Hoskisson, R. E. (2016). Strategic management: Concepts and cases: Competitiveness and globalization. Cengage Learning.

Hubbards.co.nz. (2020). Hubbards – We’ll be home for breakfast. Retrieved 18 June 2020, from https://hubbards.co.nz/

Kingsley, A. F., Noordewier, T. G., & Bergh, R. G. V. (2017). Overstating and understating interaction results in international business research. Journal of World Business, 52(2), 286-295.

Kolk, A. (2016). The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the environment to CSR and sustainable development. Journal of World Business, 51(1), 23-34.

Schilling, M. A., & Shankar, R. (2019). Strategic management of technological innovation. McGraw-Hill Education.

Witt, M. A. (2019). De-globalization: Theories, predictions, and opportunities for international business research. Journal of International Business Studies, 50(7), 1053-1077.