Assignment due ASAP!!!!

Professor Carolyn Green

January 21, 2018

Surprise Smoothie

The Company’s Name: Surprise Smoothie

The non alcoholic beverage company name is Surprise Smoothie. Surprise Smoothie offers a wide range of frozen drinks, including milkshakes as well as smoothies, produced using raw materials received directly from local farmers. These products are targeted at customers who are looking for smooth energy boosters rather than the strongly flavored energy drinks sold in the bars and restaurants. The name represents the comfort of smoothies because of the additional energy it offers and how the company stands out from other competitors’ brands.

Surprise Smoothie’s Mission Statement

The company’s mission statement is: Surprise Smoothie is a company that aspires to provide consumers with the necessary extra energy they require to complete their daily tasks, stay for long hours at work and get through the whole day with a smooth and comfortable taste that is very easy to drink. There is no doubt that consumers are conscious of medicinal flavored drinks that add more calories as well as strong tastes. Surprise Smoothie, on the contrary, is speaking to the average modern customer who needs some additional help to achieve his or her day to day needs.

Industry Trend: The Non-Alcohol Beverage

The non alcoholic beverage is, undeniably, one of the biggest industries in the United States. It offers a wide range of products and consumers are more likely to spend some of their hard earned money for the sake of refreshment. Hence, it is feasible to produce non alcoholic beverage products in the market. Most importantly, the universal appeal is driving the industry’s sales trend, as the non alcoholic beverage products continue to attract various audiences as well as subgroups. According to the Grandview Research, (2017) the global non-alcoholic beverage market value stood at 967.3 billion United States dollars in 2016. This market is anticipated to continue growing at a CAGR of at least 5.8 percent up to 2025 because of various factors like rising disposable income, changing lifestyle as well as population growth. Increasing concerns about obesity as well as health awareness will continue to trigger the growth of non-alcoholic beverage plus bottled water product industry, while at the same time decreasing the demand for carbonated products.

The increasing demand for energy drinks triggered by hectic working schedule, rising health concerns as well as urbanization are anticipated to drive the market growth. The United States Department of Economic and Social Affairs data of 2012 indicates that there are at least 1.5 million people, in the world, joining the urban population every week. By 2020, approximately 60 percent of the world population will live in urban areas, which is expected to drive the non alcoholic beverage industry growth (PR Newswire, 2015). Also, the increasing demand for takeaway products because of the busy lifestyle in addition to the rising urbanization will expand the market. Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa are expected to register huge tremendous growth by 2022 owing due to emerging economies, untapped markets as well as high disposable income (Grandview Research, 2015).

The Quickbite Magazine (2014) indicates that despite the harsh economic times, the non alcoholic beverage products have gained popularity in the marketplace. For instance, the value of non alcoholic beverage drinks sales rose by 4.3 between 2013 and 2012 and the market value stood at 4 billion pounds in 2013. However, the Grandview Research (2015) indicates that government policies and the rising awareness toward environment as well as energy conservation have led to the introduction of stringent emission as well as environmental protection policies. Some of the regulatory frameworks that the food and beverage companies in the United States must adhere to are the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act as well as the Clean Air Act. Despite the government policies and regulations, I have chosen smoothies and milkshakes because they have grown in popularity over the years and they are now important items on menus. The other reason is that it is considered as a healthy alternative to the medicinal flavored drinks. Finally, smoothies and beverages are better options for providing the much needed extra energy.

Strategic Position for Surprise Smoothie

Smoothie Surprise aspires to become the leading smoothie as well as frozen beverage firm in the Washington, DC, Maryland as well as Virginia region. To achieve its goal, the company must develop a strong strategic position of convenience that emphasizes: individualized selection options, products made using locally produced ingredients and healthy products. Keller, Parameswaran and Jacob (2011 advise companies to evaluate the industry trends, target market, the product environment as well as its strength for customer convenience,. There are several competitors in the region offering milkshakes and smoothies, thus it is important to achieve customer convenience. The consumers must choose the company’s offering over other brands. In order to differentiate it from other brands, the company will place its offering next to competitor’s offerings to harness consumer interests. Also, it will produce low calorie options to win over health conscious consumers.

The Distribution Channel

The company’s distribution channels will start with strategically located regional bottling plants which will distribute the products to different retailers like supermarkets as well as convenience markets within the regions. Also, the regional bottling plants will distribute other businesses apart from retail stores, including gyms, restaurants as well as clubs. This will allow Surprise Smoothie to focus on large scale production and bulk distribution to larger outlets for increased sales. In additional to regional distributions, the company will directly sell to its consumers through online ordering. The company will set up a website and an online order management portal to facilitate online ordering and delivery

The Most Probable Risks for Surprise Smoothie

Even though the non alcoholic beverage industrial trends are promising, the company still faces some risks. First is the regulatory alignment with various bottling plants as well as the need to secure water rights for production or bottling (De Kuijper, 2009). This could be costly thereby limiting the location options. The company will conduct proper vetting before it can secure the right location for the plant and narrow in on a suitable option once it has identified various options and their requirements. This will mitigate the risk. The second risk is about securing enough retail outlets to sell the products (De Kuijper, 2009). This will be mitigated through proper marketing strategies and establishment of strong relationship with retailers. The company must strive at securing business contracts with some of the largest retail outlets such as convenience stores and supermarkets to realize its sales objectives. Finally, there are numerous types of non alcoholic beverage brands in the market which may slice the organization’s market share. To avoid this, the company must invest in marketing to build its brand and capture the demand.

Surprise Smoothie SWOT Analysis Matrix

References

De Kuijper, M. (2009). Profit power economics: A new competitive strategy for creating sustainable wealth. (1st ed.). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.