Competitive Analysis
Discuss about the Standard Assay Technique And Interpretation.
Zeal Pet Treats are the packaged treats for the dogs as well as the pets. The range of the products is having 16 SKU that are all divided across the various category for the requirement. From the year 1999, the product is being sold within the 8 markets and they have recently launched in the Australian market. The organization is having 250 distribution point within the market. The product Zeal Pet Treats is entirely managed band by the Western Pet Suppliers. The service and the products of this brand are quite well for the pet all over the nation.
This section primarily identifies the competitors of the products and perform the analysis to understand the level of competition within the market.
Competitor Brand |
Features |
Price |
Strength |
Weakness |
Ziwi Pet Food |
Dogs and cats food is available |
Dog food price is starting from 34$ and cat food starting from 28$. |
Grain-free, natural, fresh as well as raw meat that is just air-dried or canned for the pets. |
The pet food is the raw products for the air-dried as well as for the freeze products. |
K9 Natural |
Bet pet food in New Zealand |
The starting price is 15$. |
Innovative products and high global image |
Small promotional budget |
Yummi Pet Products |
Leading supplier of fresh pet food product in Australia |
The starting price for the product is almost 20$. |
Leading brand and largest supplier of pet food in Australia |
Communication and limited stocks. |
DentaStix |
Maintain the tartar build-up for the pet |
The starting price is 12$. |
Best in the place of a brush |
Not suitable for all kind of dogs |
A macro-environment analysis is a process by which the identification of the external force that is affecting the organization is being analyzed. This analysis is vital for the organization to understand their market position to deal with the various factor in the market.
The organization has various products for their cats and dog all over the nation. The demographic environment of the company is separated in the form of cats and dogs food (Authority, 2015). The organization has introduced free shipping facility. The organization is also having the global distribution network for their products.
The cultural environment is vital for the pet food industry as in some of the culture the dogs and cats are considered as the food rather than a companion. The latest trend is that the online shopping for the pet products has increased (Cole, and Stewart, 2016). Another trend is that the culture of keeping dog and cats are also developing.
The natural environment of the world needs to be balanced with the animals and the human beings. The organization is providing organic food to the pet to maintain the natural balance (Buff et al., 2014). The organization is having the trend to provide environmental friendly consumer.
The economic environment of the organization and the country is developing as the pet food industry is having the profit of 1.6 billion dollars (Meeker, and Meisinger, 2015). The pet food industry is increasing in the market by almost 2.3% over the years to provide suitable food for the pets.
The pet food industry is getting direct impact from the various political view of the nations. It can be seen that in the nation where the dogs and cats are eatable government and the political parties are not performing any kind of steps (Jennings et al., 2016). The pet food industry is developing in most of the nation due to political support.
Macro-Environmental Factors
The various technology is being utilized for the preparation of the pet food within the market. The technology allows making the raw food in the air-dried and the conventional way to provide them for the pets (Pham et al., 2015). The usage of technology within the field is effective for the firm.
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
· Global distribution network with strong industry partnerships. · Agile Startup mentality provides an ability to respond quickly to market opportunities. · A product has high-quality ingredients. · Product benefits aligned with mainstream industry trends. · Healthy as well as nutritional food for dogs and cats · Maintain the positive image of the company in the market · High experience is selling the products to canine owner market |
· Resource constraints common to all SME, including a small lean workforce and SME budget. · Low brand awareness in the Australian market. · The organization is having limited varieties of pet food products · Storing the pet food in the warehouse with suitable validity. |
Opportunities |
Threats |
· Opportunity to invest in research and development to create new flavors or complementary products. · Capitalize on recent industry trends. · Develop distribution. · Pet owners are spending a huge amount to keep their pet healthy and fit · Air-dried and the frozen food is the highest requirement of the people all over the world for their pet |
· Recent trends may disrupt the industry. · Highly competitive market. · Low barriers to entry in e-commerce. · The 15-20% of the pet food products that are supplied within the market is the frozen food |
- 250 Distribution points (stockists/retailers)
- 30% growth Rolling 12 months
- Brand Preference within 40% of the target market in 12months
- Brand Awareness within 60% of the target market in 12 months
To achieve these first-year objectives, the marketing strategy must focus on developing brand awareness and brand preference in the category of Pet Treats. The Product ingredients and packaging, price point, distribution channel (access for customers), and promotional strategy all contribute to the success or failure of meeting objectives.
This 12-month strategy requires you to select the most suitable market segment for the Business to target their Pet Treats, with the most relevant positioning strategy and marketing mix.
STDP is the effective process that is being utilized by the organization to develop their marketing strategy. The role of STDP is to provide effective information regarding the segmentation, targeting, differentiation as well as the positioning of the organization within the market.
Segmentation
Market Segment 1 Name: Geographic Characteristics: nation, cities, states and the regions |
Market Segment 2 Name: Demographic Characteristics: age, family size, gender, income, occupation, religion, race, and nationality |
· The entire market product for the pet suppliers depends on the geographic region (Maine et al., 2015). · The organization has selected Australia to sell their products due to rapid growth in a pet. |
· The entire production of the pet food directly depends on the income level of the people (Pirsich, and Theuvsen, 2017). · The food products are made in the way that they are easily available for the middle-class people also |
Market Segment 3 Name: Psychographic Characteristics: social class, socio-economic, personality, values, and lifestyle |
Market Segment 4 Name: Behavioural Characteristics: user status, occasions, loyalty status, types of benefits and attitude |
· The pet food is the representation of the high social class (Burke, and Nelles, 2018). · The packing and the food item are provided in that way to maintain the class of the people |
· The users are very much loyal regarding their pet food (Armani et al., 2015). · The organization has focused on the quality to maintain theirs. |
The Target Market |
Australian market |
Justification of the Target Market |
The market is suitable for selling the pet food products as most of the people are having pets and they care for their pets. |
Overall Targeting Strategy |
The people from middle-class family to the high-class family is their primary target to sell the products. |
1. Set of differentiating competitive advantages |
· Provide innovative products to the market to grab the attention of the customers · Valuable and quality products to the market · Increase the brand image with effective promotion |
2. Choosing the right competitive advantages |
To provide the innovative products to the customers so that they have a variety of option to provide to their pets regarding the food. All these to be done within the low price to attract the customers. |
3. Selecting an overall positioning strategy |
Provide quality of food that also at the low cost for the customers. |
To provide the best quality and low price pet food, Zeal pet Treat is the pet food provider of cats and dogs that offers varieties of pet food products with innovation to the customers all over the world.
This section provides the view on the decision of the adoption of new products along with the selling of the products within the market.
The attribute of the pet food product is that it is tangible and it provides suitable satisfaction to the pets and their owners. The present state of the products is that it provides suitable food quality for the dogs and the cats. The quality of the products and the tangibility of the products helps the customers to make their decision regarding the facts for buying this product (Balzer, 2015). The present offering of the pet food products need not be changed as this is one of the best product within the market and also it provide suitable taste facility to the pets.
The product Zeal Pet Treat is having the effecting branding facility in the market and for that, they have the suitable production facility for the market. It can be seen that the organization is providing quality products to their customers which help them to brand their image in the market and maintain the quality of the products (Hayek et al., 2014). The most essential factor for the brand of the product is that it is having a suitable image within the market but in Australia, this company need to develop their market and their brand image with the quality pet food products.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The packaging of the products needs to be good to catch the first impression of the customers (Okuma, and Hellberg, 2015). It is essential for the pet food to make their package in the most effective way so that pet owner has the clear decision for buying the products after seeing the package.
The pricing strategy for the pet food is suitable for the market and this does not require to be changed within the market. The entire product of the company is for the middle-class people and also for the high-class people which make the product price in the most suitable way for the people (White et al., 2018). The organization has presented their products to the world where they provide superior quality of dog and cat food that also at the low range so that pet owners have the chance to feed the best quality of food to their companion.
The place is one of the vital parts for the organization to promote and to distribute their products. In some part of the world, there are places where the people consider cats and dogs as their food rather than the companion. But in Australia, the pet is quite familiar with the people and they try to provide the best products to their pets (Aldrich, and Koppel, 2015). This is one of the best places for the organization to sell their products and get the most suitable working function within the market. Pet food in Australia is facing the rapid growth that will be beneficial for the organization.
Promotion Mix Tool |
Advertising |
Media |
The television and the pamphlet |
Vehicle |
Marketing, media presentation |
Timing |
The advertisement on television needs to show for a 2-3 minute. |
Justification |
The promotional tool for advertisement is effective for the firm to maintain their activity in the market and to improve the brand image. |
Promotion Mix Tool |
Sales promotion |
Media |
Social networking site, internet, and e-commerce |
Vehicle |
Marketing, media presentation |
Timing |
At the starting time of the products within the market |
Justification |
Sales promotion is required to maintain the product band image within the organization for the betterment of the firm. |
Promotion Mix Tool |
Direct marketing |
Media |
Magazine, email, catalog, online marketing and so on |
Vehicle |
Marketing, media presentation |
Timing |
This is done for the most of the time period of the products to increase the brand awareness |
Justification |
The organization needs to maintain the direct marketing within the firm for providing suitable and effective working function to the organization. |
The strategy will clearly follow the principle of IMC in the market by maintaining the consistency of the products and the brand image. Then the organization will maintain a strong relationship with the community by suitable survey and campaign. The organization will also require effective co-operation from the community regarding their products and service (Balasubramaniam et al., 2015). The vital part of IMC is the communication that is being utilized by the organization to maintain their activity in the market.
The budget for this marketing strategy is $15,000 over 12 months. This is the primary budget of the firm to perform their marketing strategy in Australia and to get the effective place within the field. With the help of this budget, the organization is spending their amount on the pet food products to supply the best to the pet owners for the betterment of the animals and to provide them effective food in quality. The budget of the firm is quite efficient to maintain their activity in the field and to provide a valuable working function within the market of Australia.
Segmentation, Targeting, Differentiation, and Positioning
The marketing controls are as follows:
- Number of sales by unit
- Number of distribution points
- Online engagement metrics
Conclusions
The paper concludes the facts that the organization is having suitable and effective working skill within the market for maintaining their product quality within the market. It is the pet food production company and for that, it is essential for the firm to maintain the quality of products to provide suitable food that also at the best price on the market. This help to maintain the activity of the organization to maintain various competitive advantages within the market.
References
Aldrich, G.C., and Koppel, K., 2015. Pet food palatability evaluation: a review of standard assay techniques and interpretation of results with a primary focus on limitations. Animals, 5(1), pp.43-55.
Armani, A., Tinacci, L., Xiong, X., Castigliego, L., Gianfaldoni, D. and Guidi, A., 2015. Fish species identification in canned pet food by BLAST and Forensically Informative Nucleotide Sequencing (FINS) analysis of short fragments of the mitochondrial 16s ribosomal RNA gene (16S rRNA). Food Control, 50, pp.821-830.
Authority, E.F.S., 2015. The European Union summary report on trends and sources of zoonoses, zoonotic agents and food-borne outbreaks in 2013. EFSa Journal, 13(1).
Balasubramaniam, V.M., Martínez-Monteagudo, S.I. and Gupta, R., 2015. Principles and application of high pressure-based technologies in the food industry. Annual Review of Food Science and Technology, 6, pp.435-462.
Balzer, M., 2015. Latest trends in the pet food industry.
Buff, P.R., Carter, R.A., Bauer, J.E. and Kersey, J.H., 2014. Natural pet food: A review of natural diets and their impact on canine and feline physiology. Journal of animal science, 92(9), pp.3781-3791.
Burke, M., and Nelles, L., Kemin Industries Inc, 2018. Pet food palatability with antimicrobial properties based on organic acids. U.S. Patent 9,924,734.
Cole, M. and Stewart, K., 2016. Our children and other animals: The cultural construction of human-animal relations in childhood. Routledge.
Hayek, M.G., Massimino, S.P. and Roth, G., Iams Co, 2014. Pet food compositions. U.S. Patent 8,663,729.
Jennings, S., Stentiford, G.D., Leocadio, A.M., Jeffery, K.R., Metcalfe, J.D., Katsiadaki, I., Auchterlonie, N.A., Mangi, S.C., Pinnegar, J.K., Ellis, T. and Peeler, E.J., 2016. Aquatic food security: insights into challenges and solutions from an analysis of interactions between fisheries, aquaculture, food safety, human health, fish and human welfare, economy and environment. Fish and Fisheries, 17(4), pp.893-938.
Maine, I.R., Atterbury, R. and Chang, K.C., 2015. An investigation into the animal species contents of popular wet pet foods. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 57(1), p.7.
Meeker, D.L. and Meisinger, J.L., 2015. COMPANION ANIMALS SYMPOSIUM: Rendered ingredients significantly influence sustainability, quality, and safety of pet food. Journal of animal science, 93(3), pp.835-847.
Okuma, T.A. and Hellberg, R.S., 2015. Identification of meat species in pet foods using a real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Food Control, 50, pp.9-17.
Pham, T.P.T., Kaushik, R., Parshetti, G.K., Mahmood, R. and Balasubramanian, R., 2015. Food waste-to-energy conversion technologies: current status and future directions. Waste Management, 38, pp.399-408.
Pirsich, W. and Theuvsen, L., 2017. The Pet Food Industry: An Innovative Distribution Channel for Animal Welfare Meat?. Proceedings of Food System Dynamics, pp.257-268.
White, B.L., Johnson, B.L., Morgan, R. and Shields, R.G., 2018. Changes in the Food Safety Landscape of Pet Foods in the United States. In Food and Feed Safety Systems and Analysis (pp. 3-23).