GR#13-090923399

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Hot pockets

Student’s Name

Institutional affiliation

Introduction

Hot pockets is an American brand of microwavable sandwiches and turnovers that are made of different types of meat, cheese and vegetables. The brand was introduced 39 years ago and the initial owner of the brand was Chef America Inc. but the brand is currently owned by Nestle Inc. The brand was developed by Paul Merage and his brother through Chef America Inc. which was their company. The idea behind the brand was to come up with calzone-like sandwiches that will be crunchy when microwaved. Chef America Inc. was later sold to Nestle in 2002 and Nestle has continued selling this brand up to date. They are around 50 varieties of the hot pockets and include breakfast, lunch and dinner varieties. Despite the popularity of the brand it has had some major setbacks where the products were recalled. In 2014, the brand had allegations of using contaminated meat and in 2020 it faced allegations of having glass fragments in its products.

Cultural relevance questions

1. Does hot pockets support community activities and social events?

The community has various needs and wants and the brand needs to make sure that it participates in the events and has significance contribution in the events. This question addresses whether the brand is concerned about the needs of the community.

2. Does the brand use ingredients that are healthy and that guarantee to protect the wellbeing of the customers?

There are various ingredients that are no acceptable in different cultures. For instance, pork could be unacceptable in Islamic culture. The business needs to make sure that it considers every individual in selection of its ingredients.

3. Does Hot pockets align well with cultural events?

The business needs to align its activities with significant cultural events. This question will address how supportive the brand is towards the different events, for instance whether it offers discounts during cultural holidays (Khamis, 2020).

4. Do you believe that the brand puts the interests of the customers first?

The company needs to make sure that its brand puts the welfare of its customers first. This question looks at how the brand has achieved that and if it has not how it can achieve that.

5. Is the brand inclusive of the different cultures and beliefs of where it operates?

The brand employs a range of employees and staff in its organization. This question addresses how diversity is included in the company (Khamis, 2020).

6. Does Hot pockets acknowledge the core values of the different cultures in America and beyond in regions where it sells its products?

America is known for some unique cultural core values. Some of the unique values include freedom and equality and these values should be portrayed in the brand.

7. Does Hot pockets connect well with the people in its commercials and do the adverts represent the American culture?

This question focuses on the message that the brand communicates in its advertising and commercials. It will address the elements of advertising and the choice of the channels of advertising.

8. Does the brand integrate culture influencers in its marketing efforts?

Cultural relevance can be increased through the use of influencers who represent different cultures in its product promotions. The more inclusive the brand is in its promotions the more culturally relevant it is.

9. Does the packaging and the appearance of the brand have a positive impact on the culture of the community around?

Hot pocket needs to make sure that its packaging and appearance is acceptable to different cultures. This question addresses whether the packaging and the outward appearance of the product makes sure it is not offensive to different individuals (Wilson, 2020).

10. Is the brand culturally appropriate for the different cultures?

It is important to understand whether a brand is accommodating of the different cultures in their brand delivery. This question addresses whether different people will have the same experience consuming the brand regardless of their cultural differences.

References

Khamis, S. (2020). Branding diversity: New advertising and cultural strategies. Routledge.

Singh, A., & Alazmi, F. K. (2019, October). A Case Study on Nestle. In Journal of

International Conference Proceedings (JICP) (Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 80-85).

Wilson, J. A. (2020). Understanding branding is demanding…. Journal of Marketing

Management, 36(13-14), 1178-1189.