STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF MARKETING MIX OF MAGGI AND PRIMA INSTANT NOODLES

Prepared By S.MALJINIE WITHANAGE

SLIM COLOMBO 3 BRANCH JULY 2011

PRELIMINARY CERTIFICATE IN MARKETING

SRI LANKA INSTITUTE OF MARKETING

Content

Page No

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Executive Summary .................................................................................................. 3 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 4 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 7 Analysis of the Marketing mix of Maggi and Prima instant noodles ........................ 8 Findings and conclusions ....................................................................................... 15 Recommendations................................................................................................... 16 Annexure ...................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Reference ................................................................................................................ 17

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1. Executive Summary
Maggie chicken flavored instant noodles, the premier consumer food company who talks about nutrition health and wellness, in the other hand Prima chicken flavored, instant noodles , one of the widely promoted products on TV by Prima group compete in the Sri Lankan consumer market shoulder to shoulder by enhancing the product image by the marketing strategies they exercise. The two products with unnoticeable differentiation, when it is consumed or from the outer appearance, attitude towards health or price, have noticeable differentiation how they market them. While Maggi wins the hearts of the children and their mothers by showing how easy, suitable it is to have it in their kitchen Prima is always in a fun mood on a party table with the young crowd. It is undoubtedly a nuisance or misleading for a conventional Sri Lankan family to sit in front of the television and watch Prima advertisements but indeed a pleasant one to watch the Maggi advertisements. Nevertheless both Prima and Maggi have the right product to the market with the right price. But in the future it will need product development with busier lives of the people. People will not like to go through the hassle of cooking them. Cooked food with a delivery system will be the ideal market.

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2.

Introduction

Objective of this analysis is to identify how Prima instant Chicken flavored Noodles and Maggi instant 2 minutes Chicken flavored Noodles, which are products from Prima Group and Nestle`` Lanka PLC have practice marketing mix in todays challenging business environment. 4.1 The Companies

Maggi Noodles is marketed by Nestle` Lanka PLC takes its history back to 1886, founder Henry Nestls from Switzerland who wanted to produce a supplementary for breast milk and substitutes at that time. Then it broadened their product range to drinks, breakfast cereals, chocolates, instant noodles etc with a range of flavors and widened their operations to India, South Africa, Brazil, Nepal, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines. They call themselves the worlds leading nutrition, health and wellness company with a mission good food good life. They are expecting to maintain high quality standards with intensive research and development which gives them a competitive advantage in the market. There are inherent links between great products and strong R&D, between the broadest geographic presence and an entrepreneurial spirit, between great people and strong values reflects their variety of the product portfolio, customer orientation through research, availability and corporate culture.

On the other hand Prima Chicken flavored instant noodles is a product of Prima Group founded in 1961 as the first flourmill in Singapore.15% of the stake is still owned by Prima Singapore Ltd. Their product line is mainly based on wheat flour and in Sri Lanka Prima Group has poultry products, Restaurants and work as a IT service provider to the group and across the globe. Prima Group consist of Prima Ceylon , Ceylon Grain Elevators , Ceylon
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Agro industries , Prima Land and Prima Management Services.Their corporate philosophy is based on their 3H principles; building a Healthy organization, being an Honorable winner, and making an Honest fortune to perpetuate a reputable image and success These reveal their concern on corporate culture and healthy competition. They are the fist flour mill to receive ISO 9002 certification.

4.2 The products Maggi noodles, the chicken flavored instant noodles is manufactured & distributed by Nestle` Lanka PLC. Its 85g in weight and Rs 39/= in price. The nutritional information is given in the table (table1). It mentions about the availability of Calcium which is an essential mineral for bones and teeth of children as well as adults. Just by the name of it you get to know that it only takes 2 minutes to prepare Maggi noodles.

Table 01: Nutritional Information Nutritional Information Average Composition Energy Fat Protein Carbohydrate Source : packaging Per Serving 384 Kcal 17 g 8.8 g 49 g

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Prima noodles is also 85g in weight and Rs 39/= in price. It comes with various certifications namely ISO 9001, SLS 420 and Halal certification. Cooking instructions with ingredients are given in the packaging. That too takes 2 minutes to have it cooked. Prima Noodles talks about the quick and easy meal while guaranteeing the quality of it by demonstrating that it is with SLS and Halal certification. This is mainly advertised targeting the young population. They carry the slogan so healthy so tasty

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3.

Methodology
This assignment was carried out by analyzing the two products, Maggi Chicken flavored 2

minutes noodles and Prima Chicken flavored instant noodles. Step 1 Selecting the two products which is to be discussed, analyzed with this report. Step 2 Searched the corporate web sites for more information on the two companies, Nestle` Lanka PLC and Prima Group, for additional information on the companies and to identify their Marketing strategies. Step 3 Analysis of Social and Cultural factors over marketing mix elements of both the products. Step 4 Evaluating the effectiveness of marketing mix elements of both the products in the current market.

Figure 1: Marketing Mix elements

Product

Promoti on

Marketing Mix

Price

Place

Step 5 Identified the position of the products in the market, how effective and improvements needed in marketing the products.

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4. Analysis of the Marketing mix of Maggi and Prima instant noodles

4.3 Impact on the marketing mix with respect to social cultural factors a) PLC. Maggie noodles 85g chicken flavored instant pack marketed by Nestle` Lanka

Marketing Mix element

Social Environment factor

The Impact

Product

Attitude towards health

The catchphrase Power of Calcium really demonstrates the health benefit of this product. People become more and more health conscious and when it comes to their children, they tend to be more cautious since obesity, child undernourishment and diseases like diabetes are common among young children.

Price

Changes in social attitude towards credit

Even though this non essential item the purchasing of it will not be an issue because of credit such as credit cards, debit cards, shopping cards etc. Purchasing decision has been changed from husband to wife since women too contribute to the income of the family since wealth concentration is increasing in families. More and more working women in families. Instant food items have become a relief as well as alternative for mothers.

Place

Role of society

women

in

Promotion

Socio- Cultural factors

Gender roles such as cooking are a part of womens day to day work. Targeting the product at mothers

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b)

Prima noodles 85g chicken flavored instant pack marketed by Prima Group

Marketing Mix element

Social Environment factor

The Impact

Product

Attitude towards health

The catchphrase So healthy so tasty really demonstrates the health benefit of this product. SLS, ISO certifications give a health impression towards the products.

Price

Changes in social attitude towards credit

Even though this non essential item the purchasing of it will not be an issue because of credit such as credit cards, debit cards, shopping cards etc.

Role of women in society Place

Purchasing decision has been changed from husband to wife since women too contribute to the income of the family since wealth concentration is increasing in families. More and more working women in families. Instant food items have become a relief as well as alternative for mothers.

Promotion

Demographic factors

Different ethnic groups prefer certain certification such as Halal certification etc.

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4.4 Do their marketing mixes give a Strategic advantage for the two brands?

Figure 2: Key characteristics of an effective marketing mix

Matches Customer Needs

Effective Matches corporate resources Marketing Mix Characteristics Creates competitive advantage

Well blended

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c)

Maggi chicken flavored instant noodles 85g pack

Marketing Mix Element

Description

Effectiveness

Brand

- Maggi In line with the needs of the target market. Brand of a globally accepted manufacturer. Thats a competitive advantage

Quality - Halal Sri Lanka Packaging - well packed noticeable Size Product - 85 g

Variety - Chicken flavored Features - Power of Calcium Warranty notice - Nestle` consumer service

Psychological pricing Price Retail price Rs. 39/strategy. Economies of scale strategy. Well blended. Highly available. Effective Place Key Accounts - All super markets Retail outlets distribution strategies are being used.Matches corporate resources. Sales promotions - Tikiri pack , Double Matched customer needs pack , Special family pack and buy 5 get 1 free Promotions Advertising 2 minutes advertisement of Promotions done carefully a typical incident in a kitchen, a mother with her children. with strategic intention to keep TOMA

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CSR Activities :

Healthcare professions will have a positive image about

Nestle` Nutrition Institute held Scientific Symposium in Colombo to Healthcare professions

the products since Nestle` has shown their interest towards healthcare of general public.

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d)

Prima chicken flavored instant noodles 85g pack

Marketing Mix Element

Description

Effectiveness

Brand

- Prima

Quality - Halal Sri Lanka ,SLS ,ISO Packaging - well packed noticeable Product Size - 85 g

In line with the needs of the target market, healthy instant noodles. SLS & ISO certification is more beneficial to have a competitive advantage

Variety - Chicken flavored Features - with vegetable sachet

On par with competitor products. The income of population of SL is Price Retail price Rs. 39/spread unbalanced that the majority are middle class families with lower income levels. This is a good pricing strategy for SL. Matches customer needs.

Highly available. Well balanced Place Key Accounts - All super markets Retail outlets , Prima restaurants distribution. Available in their restaurants as well. Matches their corporate resources

Promotions

Buy 5 get 1 free promotion Extensive TV advertising

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Promotions

done

extensively

with strategic intention to keep

A single theme to background songs TOMA.(Top of Mind Awareness) of all the TV commercials. Although promotions match

New TV commercial launched for corporate resources the lengthy ICC world cup with Bhathiya & TV commercials might not be a Santhush very good strategy with busy youngsters. CSR Activities :  Prima 25th Anniversary To assist education of the children Scholarship fund of their employees and motivate the employees in their work place.This has successfully provided them word of mouth publicity and enhanced the corporate image of the Company. Daniyagama Training Centre Computer For children as well as for young adults providing IT training has shown their concerns towards the new generation and their prosperity. Well blended marketing mix.

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5.

Findings and conclusions

The socio-cultural impact on the marketing mix of Maggi chicken flavored 85 g instant

noodles pack had bees carefully considered and the positioning of the product in he Sri Lankan market is well balanced. It is not just the product, price and place promotion also matters in marketing a product. In that case Prima has to think of the quality and the effectiveness of their marketing campaigns. But when it comes to CSR activities Prima leads market with its initiative to grant scholarships to the children of their own staff members. Not just the conventional marketing mixes the people in the organization also matter have a healthy organization.

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6. Recommendations
It is recommended Prima to have an effective promotion campaign when it comes to TV commercials. The uniqueness of Maggi advertising in Sri Lanka or in India or a European country is all the same. It takes atypical mother and kids in her kitchen. Since Prima says of the health benefit of the product they can either to a Sportsmens breakfast table or target at the elderly people since the population of elders is gradually increasing. Occasionally both Maggi and Prima should introduce a new promotion strategy during festival season. It should ideally be able to develop the product to an extend that it could be presented as a gift during festival season. Although the Halal certification is with both the products they have not used the products as an item that can be presented as a gift.

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7.

Reference
1) Corporate website for Unilever www.unilever.com.lk. 2) Corporate website for Prima Ceylon Ltd www.prima.com.lk. 3) Maggi 85g chicken flavored instant noodles packaging. 4) Maggi 85g chicken flavored instant noodles packaging. 5) PCM study kit issued by Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. 6) Prima 85g chicken flavored instant noodles packaging. 7) TV advertisements of Prima instant noodles and Maggi instant noodles.

**End of Document**

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