Essay on KEFIR Milk Position and Marketing Strategy

According to the current operations and sales of milk in supermarkets in Spain, the total expenses for this KEFIR probiotics milk may cost the sum of $29 million for small-scale farmers who are focused to achieve their set goals and objectives. All customers want the best and quality milk. This is because the research showed that there is an increasing demand for kefir probiotics milk in the market. To initiate and realize this project, the following tabulations must be put into considerations.

Transportation May cost roughly $2 million

Supplies/OTC Medicine - $12 million

Labor - $8 million

Milk purchases - $2 million

Milk Services: Package & boarding - $5million

The above tabulations show the high demand for milk currently in Spain; customers believe that milk is healthy and takes more of it on a daily basis. KEFIR milk being a unique brand is likely to attract a bigger population of consumers, unlike other milk.

KEFIR Probiotics Milk Position

KEFIR is a very organized industry with the aim of selling milk to the population in Spain. Spain supermarkets are the ideal market for KEFIR milk. The population in these areas love milk and are willing and ready to spend money on milk. A section of the population takes milk as a health measure, therefore, they must take it every day for their wellbeing. KEFIR market research showed that 90% of the people in Spain value and use milk bought from the supermarkets. They would prefer huge orders of milk on a daily basis to cater for future needs should there be shortage. Notably, they forecast for their future consumption.

Competition

Notably, there are several firms selling milk to the supermarkets, in fact, some are distributers who buy from the farmers and distribute to the supermarkets. However, these distributors and farmers do not package their products properly, and none is ready to take responsibilities of their poor services. This makes the market ready to welcome our product as we have put structures in place to package it properly while taking into considerations its health aspects. Below are some of the major competitor's kefir is likely to face;

Fresh Made Inc.

Groupe Danone

Helios Ingredients

Lifeway Foods Inc

Currently, no company is dominating the market, and this gives us a good platform to sell our products and reach a bigger population. This is because the majority of milk supplies do not take their businesses seriously due to low competition. It's important to note that the few existing milk industries tend to control some sections of the market and this may be a challenge to our entry into the market.

Opportunity, our company, can capitalize on

KEFIR milk marketing strategy will focus on emphasizing the quality of milk we will provide. We have settled on a very powerful slogan, "Quality service you deserve" that will propel majority of the customers to yearn for more of our products. This will be achieved using highly trained personnel in the areas of marketing, distribution and customer relations. Emphasis on the quality and personalized services that we will offer will take place in all aspects of our operations during marketing. This will persuade clients and other distributors to look for our products in the supermarkets and treat them as their preferred products.

New Business Market Opportunity

KEFIR milk marketing strategy will basically rotate on the service quality and health care remedies. Unique services will also be offered, for instance, our team of professionals will dedicate certain days to be visiting the supermarkets and consumers to gather information on the new market demands and how the customers view and treat our milk products. We believe this will be a good platform for identifying our weaknesses and strengthening them accordingly. We will organize functions where we will invite all milk consumers to participate in some sports activities and after that offer free milk and educate them on the necessity of using our products as they are healthy for their hygiene. This will further strengthen our relationship with customers.

Marketing Plan

Product Overview

Kefir is known to be a unique cultured dairy product categorized as one of the probiotic-rich foods (Hertzler SR, 2003). This product is viewed to be having incredible medicinal benefits that heal some diseases such as leaky gut. Over centuries, kefir has been used in Asia and Europe folk medicine because of the many poor health conditions it's known to cure. The majority of people take kefir as their favorite drink more so when it's made correctly. This product is also known to fight cancer and is therefore considered to be very useful in the society and Spain as a whole.

Target Market

Originally, kefir is a probiotic drink fermented in Russia. Today it's gaining tremendous popularity because it gives functional benefits that are directly linked to people's health. In this project, our target market will be customers in Spain supermarkets. As mentioned above, the market will be reached through our team of professionals who will conduct advertisements on various social media platforms. This will be run on the slogan "Quality service you deserve."

Positioning (Differentiation)

Kefir will conduct its market differentiation by pointing out the unique health tips it offers, unlike the competitors. Kefir milk contains additional omega oils and vitamin C. This means that it contains the products of the milk from other competitors but packages it with the added omega oils and vitamin C (Chen HL, 2014). It is therefore organic. We will also provide Niche offers as a differentiation strategy. This will be done by identifying a special niche that is totally different from the ones known in the market. We will position kefir milk as a very attractive product that is important for use in all camping sites in the world and homes during holidays. We will also offer additional services to market. Kefir will provide free transportation to the supermarkets and advertise on their behalf. This will enable the product reach a bigger population and increase demand.

Value (Customer Problem)

Customer value will be captured in the unique features kefir will offer in the market. All kefir customers will not only benefit from the milk as a drink but will also be taking care of their health status as the product is enriched with omega oils and vitamin C that are essential in ensuring good health (St-Onge MP, 2002). Customers will achieve value for their money through consumption of a unique cultured dairy product that is rich in probiotic foods (Anderson, 2006).

Product / Service Characteristics (4p's)

Kefir Probiotics Milk will apply the use of the 4p's, that is, product, promotion, place, and price. These factors are vital in ensuring the success of the business. Since kefir will be selling to supermarkets, it will have to package its product in a more appealing way to attract the customers in large numbers. Product must be complete and rich in ingredients that fight cancer, unlike other milk products. This will provide a platform for effective competition in the market. Promotion of kefir milk will be conducted in the whole of Spain through organizing road shows and enlightening the public on the benefits of using kefir milk. At this stage, the presence of probiotic foods will be mentioned. Customers will be encouraged to get value for their money. This will definitely attract new customers. Place as one of the 4p's is very critical being that the product will be hitting the market for the first time. Identification of supermarkets as the place to get the kefir products is strategic. Supermarkets are viewed to contain genuine products. Kefir milk will, therefore, be categorized as genuine thus inspiring the confidence of consumers. Finally, the price of kefir milk will be well thought of. Prices must be well researched to take care of the market forces. The price should be fair for all markets. Markets contain mixed people with different capabilities whose interests must be taken care of for smooth operations (Guzel-Seydim, 2011).

Marketing & Communications Strategy

Marketing and communication are very critical in introducing a new product into the market. Today, consumers dictate the way they want to be communicated with. This is because majority makes decisions based on word of mouth, relationships and personal opinions more than in the past when the ads shaped their decisions. Kefir will engage consumers using social media, public relations, and geolocation platforms. This will take into consideration the branding where kefir probiotic milk logo will be well defined and conspicuous. The logo will be well articulated, elevated and shared worldwide. Kefir brand will be designed in a way that it's superior to other brands thus visible to all consumers. The company will use key performance indicators (KPIs) which will be followed by checks and balances to ensure all aspects of sales, marketing and distribution are well coordinated and revised in cases of loopholes. In conclusion, Kefir brand will drive new content that is unique and attractive.

References

Anderson, J. C., Narus, J. A., & Rossum, W. v. (2006) v84(3), p. 90-99. Customer Value Propositions in Business Markets. Harvard Business Review

Guzel-Seydim ZB, et al. Review: functional properties of kefir. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2011 Mar; 51(3):261-8.

St-Onge MP, et al. Kefir consumption does not alter plasma lipid levels or cholesterol fractional synthesis rates relative to milk in hyperlipidemic men: a randomized controlled trial BMC Complement Altern Med. 2002;2:1. Epub 2002 Jan 22.

de Moreno de Leblanc A, et al. Study of immune cells involved in the antitumor effect of kefir in a murine breast cancer model. J Dairy Sci 2007; 90(4):1920-8.

Guzel-Seydim ZB, Kok-Tas T, Greene AK, Seydim AC. Review: functional properties of kefir. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 2011; 51(3):261-8.

Chen HL, et. al. kefir improves bone mass and micro architecture in an ovarectomized rat model of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Osteoporosis International 2014; PMID 25278298.

Hertzler SR, Clancy SM. Kefir improves lactose digestion and tolerance in adults with lactose maldigestion. J Am Diet Assoc 2003; 103(5):582-7.