Global Business Marketing Nutrition and Beverage

Question: Discuss about the Global Business Marketing for Nutrition and Beverage. Answer: Introduction Marketing of new products by global companies is detrimental to the culture of the individuals in the host country. This paper discusses various aspects of marketing done by global brands with respect to their products. The brand considered for the purpose of this study is Coca-Cola and the host country selected is India as it is one of the most important consumer hubs of the world. The host country cultural analysis and impact on the culture of the country and its people, with the introduction of a new product by a global brand, has also been made in this study. The Coca-Cola Company- The Brand The Coca-Cola Company is most renowned and largest beverages company of the world. It serves the customers with more than 500 brands with more than 3800 choices. Brand Coca-Cola is one of the most prestigious and valued brands across the globe. Its portfolio comprises of brands worth more than 20 billion dollars. These brands include Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Dasani, Powerade, vitamin water, Del Valle, Minute Maid, Simply, Gold Peak and Georgia. The company offers both still and sparkling beverages to its customers. The brand is supplied to more than 200 countries and more than 1.9 billion servings are consumed by customers daily. The company is counted as one of the top ten private employers in the world. It also has dedicated focus on sustainability and reducing carbon footprints and has taken up several projects for environmental protection (Company, 2015). Coca-Cola India is a leading beverage provider of India. It offers a wide range of refreshing beverages to its consumers. The company re-entered Indian markets in the year 1993 with the liberalization of Indian economy. The product range of The Coca-Cola Company in India comprises of Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Fanta, Fanta Green Mango, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, VIO Flavored Milk, Maaza, Minute Maid, Georgia and Georgia, Kinley, Bonaqua, Kinley Club Soda and BURN. The company has a strong network of bottling partners with more than 2.6 million retail outlets. Brand Coca-Cola is among the most preferred brands of Indian consumers. In India, the company operates through its fully owned subsidiary namely Coca-Cola India private Limited. It produces and sells its concentrate, beverage bases, and beverage mix powder through this subsidiary. Whereas the company has its bottling plant named Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited. It also has thirteen licensed bo ttling partners in India. The distribution system consists of distributors, retailers and customers (Company, 2015). Global Brand While many brands have been considered to be global, there is no single concrete definition of a global brand. Various definitions of the global brand are used by scholars and practitioners. These definitions are often used interchangeably and are the reason to create confusion in the minds of marketers. The prime aspects of a global brand are its similarity across the globe, positioning, brand identity, product promotion, etc. A global brand should also be able to offer standardized products to customers across the globe. A global brand should have a strong brand presence across the globe and should be able to generate revenue from outside its country of origin. While some global brands market their standardized products, others may localize their products and packaging to meet local tastes and preferences. In short, the global brands are the brands which can be recognized throughout the world (Kim, 2004). Brand Coca-Cola is a global brand as it has operations across various parts of the world. The company is the supplier of beverages to about 200 countries under its brand name Coca-Cola and other brands. It generates a good amount of revenue from the countries in which it operates. The company has standardized packaging and brand identity worldwide with its red and white colored logo. It has positioned itself as a beverages manufacturing and supplying company across many countries (Company, 2015). Though the promotional activities undertaken by The Coca-Cola Company varies based upon local culture, it is recognized by consumers across the world. Hence, Coca-Cola can be said to be a significant global brand. The Host Country India: Culture Indian culture is considered to be the most ancient culture of the world and is popularly known as the mother of all cultures. It is also known as the human culture as it has been open to people irrespective of their religion, gender, race, and age. History has not been able to trace its beginning so far. Though it is oldest but it is a strong and lively culture which is bubbling with energy even in present times. The Indian culture has always accepted and grown with external factors, influences, and changes. It is on the path to its development (Atreya, 1949). The culture and beliefs of an individual determine the food they consume. This is created over years based upon the beliefs and customs of the society as well. The food and drinking habits also depend upon the physical geography of a country as it is influenced by weather and climate in the particular region. India is a vast country with the wide range of climate, culture, and religion. Its food and drinking culture has been heavily influenced by many generations who have based food and drinking habits depending upon the stage of the lifecycle (baby, adult, old, etc.) and nutritional needs of an individual. The holistic food consumption approach applied by Ayurveda is considered to be very significant by modern sciences. It helps in keeping balance in the mind, body, and soul of an individual (P Pushpangadan, 2012). The peer group is known to be a major influencing factor while consuming soft-drink, in India (Nair, 2013). Prior to the introduction of Coca-Cola, Indian consumers consumed natural fruit juices, tea, and coffee. The guests were served with fruit juices (fresh or packaged), buttermilk, lassi, squash, tea or coffee. The parties did not include aerated drinks as the ones available were considered uneconomical and difficult to handle (being bottled in a glass container). The hotels and restaurants were less in numbers and served natural drinks. There was more focus on healthy consumption habits which was fresh and made at home by the households or made as per order. This bought more personal aspect to the food served by households, restaurants, and hotels (P Pushpangadan, 2012). The majority of consumers led a low to medium lifestyle. Less was spent on consumer goods due to lesser per capita income and lower disposable income of people. The families were mainly joint families with a number of family members. Buying habits of younger generation did not depend on much upon credit facilities (Si ngh, 2013). Changes in Indian Culture Marketing of new products by Coca-Cola is found to be detrimental to the culture of the individuals in India. The changes with the introduction of Coca-Cola have had, on India and people of India have been slow and gradual. The changes include the increase in unhealthy eating and drinking habits, dining out, consuming more unhealthy food and drinks while shopping or at movies, laziness, packaged food consumption, health problems, party culture, etc. (Foundations, 2013). Unhealthy Food Habits Indian consumers are exposed to unhealthy food habits by the advent of Coca-Cola and other packaged food and drinks. The consumers who are able to afford nutritious food are moving to packaged food and drinks habit due to fast paced work life which has been caused due to the arrival of multinationals like Coca-Cola Company. Whereas those who cannot afford nutritious meal consume packaged food which are more energy dense and can cause ill health (obesity, diabetics, etc.) (Foundations, 2013). Adoption of Western Dietary Culture With more population making rural-urban migration there are changes in dietary profile which is impacted by increased dependence on external forces. Such people are adopting western dietary profile which is known to be unhealthy (Foundations, 2013). Dining Out Though the majority of Indian population prefers to dine at home with freshly prepared home food, dining out culture is growing at a rapid pace. This comprises on restaurants, street stalls, stand-alone food counters, Dhabas (roadside food shops). The total value spent on food service included 13% which was spent on fast food (Foundations, 2013). Dining out culture is growing at such a pace due to the strategic promotion and pricing activities of global brands like Coca-Cola. Packaged Food Consumption The packaged food consumption is on an increase in urban areas where there are more working women. Such areas show the inclination to consumption of packaged and processed food products (Foundations, 2013). Consuming Unhealthy Food/Drinks while Shopping /Movies The consumption of unhealthy drinks has shown an increase especially while shopping or at movies. There has been 70% rise in consumption of soft-drinks during the period between 2007- 2012. It was noted to be highest in India (Foundations, 2013) Laziness Leading to Quick Services Restaurants The laziness to prepare food that comes as a side-effect of availability of packaged food has placed a high inclination towards availing services from quick restaurants. There is a slow and gradual shift in consumption from home-made food to ready-made food. This has been the outcome of products like packaged beverages and food (Sivanandham, 2002). Coca-Cola: Marketing in India By the time Coca-Cola entered the Indian market, in 1993, its competitor Pepsi was already operating in India. Due to the predominance of Pepsi, Coca-Cola failed to make the expected impact. However, Pepsi had created demand for aerated drinks among India consumers which had a positive impact on the sales figures of Coca-Cola. The brand then shifted its focus from global promotion to localized promotion or marketing. The brand adopted different marketing strategies, for rural and urban Indian consumers, based upon diverse Indian context. The brand localization marketing strategies included the strategies "Life ho to Aisi", meaning life as it should be; "Thanda matlab Coca-Cola", signifying Coke means refreshment; Regional campaigns; and Coke and food combo meals (Kaye, 2004). Life Ho To Aisi Campaign This marketing strategy meant life as it should be. It was focused on 4% of the Indian population (in metros and large towns). The inspirational message reached loud and clears to the target audience and it impacted the growth and sales of Coca-Cola in India positively (Kaye, 2004). Source: https://www.google.co.in/search?q=life+ho+to+aisi+coke+adespv=2biw=1455 bih=705site=webhpsource=lnmstbm=ischsa=Xved=0ahUKEwi_hLfl0ujOAhXBvo8KHZfAACEQ_AUIBygC#imgrc=QVfM2KfaYgpJXM%3A Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola Campaign This campaign signified "Coke means refreshment." the main aim was to target consumers across small towns and rural market. This comprised 96% of Indian population. For this purpose, Coke introduced a Rs. 10 bottles as well so that low-income group could afford it (Kaye, 2004). Source:(Kadri, 2006) Regional Campaigns In order to reach larger rural consumers, Coca-Cola recruited regional teams and set up regional network system. Local managers and advertising teams were recruited to reach local customers and improve their responsiveness. Due to India's linguistic diversity, the ads were published in local languages. Below is an example of sign writing in Gujarati language (Kadri, 2006). Source:(Kadri, 2006) Source:(Kadri, 2006) Coke and Food Combo Meals Campaign The promotional activities in South Indian states are done in a different manner due to the difference in language and food habits. Coca-Cola promoted Coke in southern states by providing South Indian food combo offers. This was also followed by television commercials and print ads. Below is an example of promotion done by South Indian meal combo offer (Kadri, 2006) The visual communication by Coca-Cola in India reached both rural and urban masses of India. The local specific cultural mediation doubled the penetration of Coca-Cola between 2001-2003. It pushed Coke ahead of its largest competitor, Pepsi, in the minds of Indian consumers. Indian consumers could relate to the ads by Coca-Cola as it was conveyed locally with the help of vernacular language (Kadri, 2006). References Atreya, B. L. (1949). Indian Culture. Paris: UNESCO. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0015/001550/155065eb.pdf Company, T. C.-C. (2015). Our Company. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://www.coca-colaindia.com/: https://www.coca-colaindia.com/our-company/coca-cola-worldwide-and-in-india/ Foundations, R. (2013). Unhealthy developing world food markets. Rockefelle Foundations. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/app/uploads/Unhealthy-Developing-World-Food-Markets.pdf Kadri, M. (2006). Glocal Cola. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://randomspecific.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/glocal_cola.pdf Kaye, J. (2004). Coca-Cola India. Tuck School of Business. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://mba.tuck.dartmouth.edu/pdf/2004-1-0085.pdf Kim, E. S. (2004). 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