Packaged Food: Instant Noodle/Cup Noodle Marketing Plan

INSTANT NOODLE/CUP NOODLE MARKETING PLAN
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Instant Noodle/Cup Noodle Marketing Plan
Macro-Environment Analysis
PESTLE Analysis
Political Factors
Introducing a new product compels an organization to comprehend political factors that can impede its success. For example, as Bedford (2022) writes, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is arguably responsible for the inflation that ultimately impedes food prices. Apart from the above, the success of the company is impeded by the taxation that primarily targets plastic packaging that compels the company to adhere to the set regulations, including the 30% recyclability introduced by the UK government (Pirlot, 2021, p. 415; Rhein and Schmid, 2020, p. 105063).
Economic Factors
The purchasing power of the consumer is a key consideration in economic factors. Importantly, factors such as inflation adversely affect consumer purchasing power. The target audience is barely exposed to considerable disposable income because of their academic commitment, which can be time-consuming. Regardless, the market demand for food products, including health and organic products, rises. This implies that consumer spending increases while, at the same time, market size expands (Wunsch, 2021). As such, new entrants can thrive in the industry. Social Factors
According to Clark (2021), health and organic products are the second largest category of consumer spending. For this reason, a new organization that wants to achieve notable brand identity and subsequent sales and market share needs to factor in the health consciousness among contemporary audiences. Launching healthy instant noodles because of lifestyle changes and health consciousness will yield notable results, especially among university students (Yun et al. 2018, p. 56).
Technological Factors
Contemporary society thrives on rapid technological advancement that facilitates and improves various sectors, including food production and storage. Since the focus of the new company would include noodles that can be packaged, frozen and preservation technology would be influential in maintaining the nutritional value and functional ingredients that the company would embrace in the new product (Pongpichaiudom and Songsermpong, 2018, p. 22).
Legal Factors
Legal factors often include government regulations that can affect the successful introduction of a new product. It is important to note that the UK government has introduced a tax on plastic packaging containing less than 30% recycled content (Pirlot, 2021, p. 416). The other focus is on the increasing demand for food labeling, which implies that the company has to outline the ingredients used in the production to reach an informed decision (Kanter et al. 2018, p. 1399). However, this does not negatively affect the noodle product because it observes the theory of consumption values, including a social value that includes the production of healthy, carbon-neutral, sustainable, and plant-based food. Safety standards are an increasing priority in the food industry that the company must adhere to achieve notable success.
Environmental Factors
The other aspect of the Pestle Analysis that would influence the new company's success is environmental. Based on findings by (Rhein and Schmid, 2020, p. 105063), single-use plastic packaging is an environmental hazard, which implies that the company must prioritize reducing plastic packaging and disposable forks. In other words, there is a need to adhere to the set guidelines, including the 2021 Finance Act that covers the plastic packaging tax (Pirlot, 2021, p. 416). The focus should be on recyclable packaging, which is one of the ways to minimize the environmental impacts of plastic pollution.
Opportunities and Threats
According to Obadi (2021), the advancement of ‘frozening’ technology guarantees adequate storage or preservation of nutritional attributes. Also, the market expansion, including a primary focus on health and organic products, implies that potential customers are available (Clark, 2021). The focus further extends to technological advancements, including digital platforms that can be exploited as product promotion avenues. However, according to Ceballos (2017), the success of the company is impeded by the rising cost of raw materials, which has a direct impact on suppliers and consumers. The competition also threatens its success in the industry since entry barriers are non-existent and substitute products are available. This can be tied to economic factors, which Wunsch (2021) indicates due to the demand rising, the market size is expected to expand, thus inviting competition. Collectively, technology and social factors, including launching healthy and organic products, will influence notable outcomes because the contemporary consumer is health conscious, and their spending revolves around the aforementioned category.
Micro-Environmental Analysis
Porter’s Five Forces
The competitive nature of the business environment compels firms to embrace Porter’s five forces analysis to achieve notable success. The focus of the new company will be on packaged food.
The threat of New Entrants
The food industry lacks considerable barriers of entry, and economies of scale, among others, that would impede the existence of new entrants that ultimately impede profitability as they compete for the same market segment. In the case of Instant Noodle, the threat of new entrants is moderate because of low technical and financial barriers (Keith, 2021). The author adds that the food industry is barely characterized by notable brand loyalty. In this case, new brands can easily develop and seize the market quickly, provided their strategy, including pricing, among other factors, meets the consumers’ preferences, interests, and needs. Also, the industry thrives on multiple distribution channels and low cost. According to Somuyiwa (2021, p. 1), this can attract new entrants seeking to make profits, thus destabilizing the market position of the existing firm.
Bargaining power of the Buyers and Suppliers
This can include buyers' influence or power on the brand, including their ability to affect pricing. Even though the target market would be relatively large, it is expected that the customers will have a strong bargaining power championed by the fact that they can easily switch from one brand to another because of the presence of multiple competitors offering a substitute or similar healthy products (Leader and Brown, 2021). Unlike customers, the suppliers have weak bargaining power. Suppliers’ bargaining power becomes strong when they can influence pricing, causing a steady rise. However, since noodles are made from flour, the suppliers are not guaranteed considerable product uniqueness. Based on an analysis by Richard (2012), flour producers have no plans for forward consolidation, including mergers and acquisitions towards instant noodle industries, further weakening their bargaining power. Also, the cost of switching suppliers would not adversely affect the company, which justifies the claim that its bargaining power is weak.
Threats of Substitutes
Substitutes are products that can replace the noodles product introduced by the new firm. Since other firms also produce flour products, the threat of substitutes is relatively high. According to Mikolaj (2022), the low switching costs imply that substitutes can be many. They include the instant ramen restaurant, instant pasta, and to-go healthy McDonald’s set that can be consumed in place of the company’s noodles. The focus further extends to the low cost-performance ratio of many substitutes, including the pre-prepared meals that can be treated as substitutes and arguably threaten the company’s market base.
Competition
The market attractiveness automatically decreases when it is characterized by the presence of multiple players offering similar or substitute products. Undifferentiated products imply that customers have a wide range to choose from, thus affecting the objective of achieving notable market share. The company loses power because more competitors compete in the same market (Worthington, 2022). The authors establish that more than 25 instant noodles brands in the UK target the same market, often young adults and students tight on time and money. In fact, some brands embrace different toppings, spicing and flavor, and favorable prep time, which are meant to edge rival competitors.
Positioning, Segmentation, and Targeting
According to Worthington (2022), a significant number of the UK population struggle with money and time, which impedes their decision to embrace fresh noodles in restaurants against the packaging. The author indicates that college professionals and students can be the target market because of their tight budgets. The focus extends to the fact that students can choose from multiple varieties of instant noodles. The products, alongside healthier alternatives such as vegetables, can be treated as wholesome meals, which is arguably better than relying on beverages (Worthington, 2022). Additionally, Yun et al. (2018, p. 56) indicate that students generally have a busy schedule from schoolwork and are also prone to low-nutrition snacks and low intakes of fruits and vegetables. In this regard, instant noodles are the perfect replacement that would yield significant results or impacts among students. Also, the targeting will cover the accessibility and the probability of making profits. Based on findings by Wunsch (2021), the demand for instant noodles maintains at a high level, with over 350 million sales every year. The target audience, especially young adults, is barely financially stable and does not constantly enjoy substantial healthy meals (Worthington, 2022). As such, the company’s products should be low-cost and nutritious to intentionally attract a considerable client base.
The market segmentation is geographic and demographic. The demographic segmentation covers aspects such as age, income, and education level, which are easily accessible to the marketer and the organization (Goyat, 2011, p. 45; Gajanova et al., 2019, p. 65). The aforementioned factors influence decision to embrace a product. As noted above, the instant noodle products target young adults in learning institutions who barely have considerable income and time to prepare substantial meals. The focus is on observable people-based differences (Gajanova et al., 2019, p. 66). Geographic segmentation is location-based, which implies that the targeting and positioning will be around learning institutions, such as campus joints, where students frequent. The objective is to tap into the market of college students that barely have time to cook and have a low budget for meals while at the same time striving to achieve a healthy meal. The location-based segmentation ensures the company meets specific needs. In this regard, the specific need is access to healthy and affordable meals, which implies that the cafeteria bundle will meet the demand for food among learners, hence notable success through improved sales. Collectively, the reliance on segmentation, targeting, and positioning exposes the company to influential customer segments and the marketing mix that would influence customer attraction and retention.
Consumer Behavior
The demographic segmentation covers young adults, in this case, students. The focus is on their busy schedule and the fact that they barely embrace highly nutritious snacks and fruits and vegetables, which makes the product a viable...