Week Two Online Discussion " Strategic Management"

Strengths

·  Infrastructure strengthening by hiring

experiences Sales managers

·  Market branding through celebrities and

news media leading to well recognized

public relations firm

·  Leader in socially responsible business

movements; Social Responsibility is central

to company’s identity

·  Product is branded as a healthy cultural

experience using actual tea leaves

·  Proprietary production process to meet

HACCP and Circle U certifications

·  Company’s culture is sustained through the

management of Honest Tea’s founders

Opportunities

·  Explosive growth in Ready-to-Drink (RTD)

tea and bottled water markets

·  The emergence of tea culture in the United

States

·  The natural foods boom & rise of Cultural

Creatives: large market of health-conscious

diet soda drinkers

·  Distribution to 10 supermarket chains with

over 900 outlets, East Coast

·  Popularity in a variety of food service and

retail accounts, North East Coast

·  Numerous natural food brokers to

represent product for the East Coast,

Midwest, West Coast and the South

·  Tea is the world’s second most popular

beverage

Weaknesses

·  Initial costly product development phase

·  Not as well-financed or as well-established

as competition

·  Relies on opportunistic ways to gain public

attention and promote trial of the product

·  Management team is one level deep

Threats

·  Unforeseen health-related issue might hurt

brand

·  TeJava

·  Malibu Teaz

·  The Republic of Tea

·  Tazo

·  Other entrants into the new beverage

category of natural & authentic tea beverage business