Introduction The American soft drink market has been gradually shrinking over the last two decades due to health concerns. Many health experts are warning against sugary and carbonated drinks, so the sales have naturally reduced. And several reports are showing that those who are no longer taking sugary and carbonated drinks are turning to alternative drinks such as teas, natural juices, water, and so on. This has resulted in the steady growth of healthier non-carbonated drinks (Al-Shaar et al., 2017). Among the many alternative drinks recording, steady growth in energy drinks.

The energy drink market has seen steady growth since its launch in the United States in the year 1997. According to Kunst (2019), since energy drinks were launched in the United States in 1997, the market or segment has grown steadily at an annual rate of about 20 percent every year. The market is now valued at over 53 billion U.S. dollars in sales every year and has recently overtaken the soft drinks market (Kunst, 2019). More and more energy drinks are being sold every year for increased energy. The popularity of energy drinks is also increasing because of their association with different sports disciplines and with the alcoholic beverages industry.

The Lemon Thirst Beverage Company is one of the latest entrants into the energy drinks segment of the beverages industry. The Company is based in Ogden City in the State of Utah. Its flagship beverage will be the Lemon Thirst energy drink. The drink is targeting the rapidly expanding energy drinks segment and is different from other energy drink products in the sense that it is healthier. This paper outlines the strategic marketing plan for the drink in the United States energy drinks market.

Mission Statement

The mission statement of the Lemon Thirst Beverage Company is to produce products that satisfy the needs of the consumer and enhance the community and the society at the same time via the use of eco-friendly production and marketing methods.

Vision:

The vision of the Lemon Thirst Beverage Company is to become a leader in the manufacturing of healthy and nutritious drinks in the United States.

Values:

The Lemon Thirst Beverage Company has the following values: integrity, honesty, uniqueness, respect, collaboration, leadership, sustainable growth, and productivity. These values were adopted by the Company since they are the same values upheld by many people across the State of Utah.

Situation Analysis

An energy drink is a special beverage that is formulated to provide an increase in physical and mental energy. Most energy drinks on the market provide energy because they are formulated with special active ingredients such as caffeine, guarana, sugars, creatine, herbal supplements, Taurine, and vitamins (Mahajan, 2020). The main ingredient is usually caffeine. This is because caffeine provides an almost instant spike in physical and mental energy when consumed.

Examples of popular energy drinks already in the market include NOS, Monster, Red Bull, and Rockstar.

While the Lemon Thirst Company has some serious competition, it intends to become a serious competitor in the energy drinks segment by positioning its energy drink as a healthier product. According to the Company, Lemon Thirst is a healthier product because it is made of natural ingredients such as guarana, green tea extract, and ginseng as opposed to most of the popular energy drinks on the market that are made of artificial ingredients and carbonated sugars.

In addition to being made of natural ingredients, Lemon Thirst is superior in the sense that it has artificial sweeteners instead of real sugar. This means it has a very low-calorie count.

In short, Lemon Thirst can provide the same kind of mental and...

This makes it healthier in two ways. First, because it is made of natural ingredients. Second, because it does not deliver too many calories (Mahajan, 2020).
Industry Overview

As of 2018, the international energy drinks segment was estimated to be worth at least $53 billion. The segment or market is expected to grow at 7.2 percent annually over the next couple of years and reach 86 billion by the year 2026 (Roy & Deshmukh, 2019). An energy drink is any beverage that is formulated with stimulants such as guarana, ginseng, Taurine, or caffeine to enhance physical energy and mental alertness.

As of 2019, there were more than 200 energy drink brands in the United States alone. The brands include reputable companies such as Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, and Coca-Cola. Table 1 below shows the market shares of the major energy drink brands as of 2019.

Table 1. U.S. Energy Drink Market Share (adopted from Mahajan, 2020; Roy & Deshmukh, 2019).

Advertising Strategy

Advertising is perhaps the most important marketing tool. The Company will develop advertisements for Ogden and Utah newspapers, magazines, T.V. stations, and radio stations. These advertisements will reach many people.

Moreover, the Company intends to use branded vehicles, posters, and billboards to reach even more people in Ogden and across Utah. The Company also wants to create fun and creative advertisements for its social media company. The Company hopes to target the youth to build a massive fan base among them (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2012).

The Company will recruit an athlete for an advertisement. This celebrity endorsement is hoped to appeal to sportsmen and women and gym-goers and motivate them to buy the drink for workouts and general consumption (Hitt et al., 2012).

Lastly, the Company will recruit salespeople to sell the product directly to companies, schools, drug stores, pharmacies, hospitals, and so on. The people will explain the product and distribute booklets to spread more information and awareness about Lemon Thirst and its benefits (Ahmed et al., 2016; Kotler & Armstrong, 2010).

Implementation

The Company will need to hire people to work in distribution and marketing (Barney & Hesterly, 2010). These are the people who will be very crucial for the implementation of the marketing plan.

The Company will also need to hire specialist marketing agencies to refine and drive their marketing objectives. The agencies, including marketing agencies, research agencies, and management consultants.

The directors of the Company or employees in charge of marketing will need to undergo training to manage better or implement the Company’s marketing plan or schedule. Lemon Thirst’s limited financial resources will be a challenge for the implementation of the plan, but through proper planning, the Company can manage.

The company marketing director should create a marketing program that will begin with the launch of the product, the marketing of the product in the media, and then the distribution of the product.

Control

The Company should establish controls to evaluate its performance. The controls should include output controls, process controls, input controls, cost controls, price controls, and so on.

The Company should also constantly evaluate its revenue, market share, and profitability performance, and other expectations.

Evaluation

The Company will evaluate its actual performance using its set objectives and plans. After evaluating itself, the Company’s directors will utilize the information to redesign its marketing plans and goals.