Mineral Water
Deerside is a mineral water firm that is marketing a premium mineral water from the Republic of Georgia that has minerals known to contribute to colon and intestinal health. The high cost of bringing this water from Georgia to the United States, combined with its curative properties, necessitates a premium position in the market, so that that the high cost of shipping the water can be recouped in the market. There is a unique challenge in marketing this water in that FDA approval is required for any food or beverage product that is deemed to be a dietary supplement. Thus, if Deerside wishes to make claims with regards to the health benefits of the water, it must apply for FDA approval as a supplement. The company can market the water without this approval, but must tread carefully with the wording of its promotions.
There are a number of elements to the implementation plan for Deerside. The first is to set a number of objectives. There are a few different objectives that the company should set. The first is to acquire FDA approval for the health claims associated with the water. From a medical perspective, the minerals that the water contains have already been conclusively proven to deliver the benefits that are claimed, so there is not much that needs to be done with respect to product testing in order to win approval. The second objective that should be set is to identify a distribution strategy for the product. Because Deerfield is going to target the natural foods market with the water as a niche product, the company will need to investigate the best channels to reach this market. The third objective will be to determine an appropriate price point. It is known that the price will be at the high end, but pricing strategy needs to take into account a number of different factors such as cost of production, market penetration, brand perception and the price points of comparable products.
The functional tactics that flow from these objectives are as follows. The first objective can be met by identifying what needs to be done to satisfy the FDA and undertaking those steps. It is important to determine if this is a practical element of the strategy cost-wise. There must be a cost-benefit analysis on this option before its pursuit is decided. If it is, then the steps will be laid out by the FDA. The second objective requires an investigation of the channels that are available. There are a couple of different streams that need to be investigated. The natural foods stream can be used to move the product into natural food stores ranging from the neighborhood shops to Whole Foods. The other stream is through mainstream beverage distributors, often major players that primarily deal in products from major soft drink makers. There may be smaller beverage distributors as well than can make up a more specialized component of this stream. Again, a cost-benefit analysis on the different options in this stream will need to be conducted in order for a decision to be made. The third objective will require visits to natural food shops in addition to online research, in order to determine the state of the competitive landscape. Not only must competing healthful mineral waters be analyzed, but any alternative methods of delivering the specific minerals must also be considered as part of the competitive landscape.
There are action items within these objectives -- points of research, interviews with people in the industry, Internet searches, questions that need to be answered. A trip to Georgia to address that part of the supply chain will need to be made, as will chemical analysis of the water so that the claim with the FDA can be backed with solid evidence. There are dozens if not hundreds of individual action items within the functional tactics that will need to be addressed...
Strategic Plan The mineral water market is highly competitive, so Deerside will require a comprehensive strategy in order to excel in the marketplace. There are a number of different theoretical approaches that can be taken in order to understand the strategy that the firm should undertake in order to carve out its niche in this market. Before working with these approaches, Deerfield management needs to understand its product and the consumer
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now