1. Introduction
Having strong roots within Australia Byron Bay competitive position is driven by its long-standing roots and effective connection with the consumers. The sense of value in relation to the price has been strongly set up within the home country. However, the dynamics change due to internationalization of the brand as, China may be connected to Australia via business relationships, but cultural dynamics are clearly different hence the marketing process in international domain would differ completely. According to the insight of Hapsari, Stoffers, and Gunawan (2017) the company would have to adopt taste of Chinese consumer. According to Hofstede model it is known that marketing strategies are culturally influenced (Vasile, 2016). Hence, deciding the Chinese consumer behavior is critical in designing a complete internationalization strategy.
The report is perfected to carry out market selection process for internationalizing Byron and Bay within China. The key considerations are which market within China to target and what mode of entry would be most proper for Byron and Bay to market its product line within China. Furthermore, the report explores how the brand can create value within the market via pricing strategy and what competitive strategy would make a sustainable competitive advantage. Lastly, the distribution strategy is linked to the overall process to further combine Byron and Bay’s position within the market.
2. Market Selection and Strategies
Cookies are part of most of the Chinese household and millennials consider it as a hedonic product that they can enjoy while having an enjoyable time. Also, Chinese love to consume cookies in breakfast to revitalize and gain necessary instant energy (Wang, Gao, Yuanchao, & Shenghui, 2019). Chinese are becoming informed consumers they are now more concerned with quality of ingredients being used. Chinese consumers like to know how the product was sourced and if it is healthy to consume (Yuan et al., 2017). The major reasons for entering Chinese market are:
2.1 Market Size
Diverse consumer bases having different powers to start purchases are classified firstly, on age secondly, on income. The market was 60.8 billion RMB in 2015. Additionally, the market growth rate is strong with a 6% CAGR. Byron and Bay entering with e-commerce strategy and strategically linked supply network in major metropolitan areas of China would give company benefits to set up sustainable supply of product.
2.2 Buying Power of Generation Y
Chinese consumers most strategically positioned with growing populace and rising income hence their consumption pattern suggest they would open arms for new products and formulate health long-term relation with brands (Chi, 2018).
2.3 Rising Organic Health Concerns
A healthy way of life has spread among Chinese individuals, so they give more noteworthy consideration to what they eat each day. A few people will in general restrain themselves from having any biscuits but even though a large part of them have heaps of sugar and fat (Bekele, Zhou, Kidane, & Haimanot, 2017). Hence, the changing idea gives birth to utilitarian biscuits which have not so much sugar but rather more advantages for individuals’ wellbeing. A few organizations used this chance to dispatch solid rolls and delighted in extraordinary achievement in the scones advertise.
2.4 Market Entry Strategy:
Byron Bay Cookies would enter the market using E-commerce as a basic tool of entry, this would be paired with strategic partnership with local supply chain organization who will manage the distribution of cookies to consumers within metropolitan cities in China like Beijing and Shanghai. According to Qin (2017) in China the E-commerce market is ever growing, there are a lot of consumers who uses internet to find the product of their needs even regular groceries. Ecommerce would supply Byron Bay Cookies a lower operational cost to sustain when it enters the market in China and would also supply a firm platform to penetrate the Chinese markets (Kabanda & Brown, 2017). In e-commerce consumer from China’s Metropolitan cities would have a chance to become familiar with Byron Bay Cookies as compared to opening flagship stores at the start which would be more expensive, and less audience would be reached, and the risks are greater (Koushik, Bansal, & Sanjeev, 2016). So, in China E-commerce would be the best option for Byron Bay Cookies to enter the market as people from different provinces can get to know the product because of the sheer size of China as a country.
3. Competitive Strategy
The competitive strategy which would be used by Byron Bay cookies in China would revolve around providing the consumer with a product that is different yet focused on Chinese taste in a unique way to supply them something out of ordinary (Grashuis & Magnier, 2018). Byron Bay Cookies makes sure that the product they are supplying is up to the health standards and is good for the taste buds. This differentiation strategy goes hand in hand with the prices of the cookie. Byron Bay Cookies would move on to develop local ties within China to produce their product, this because locally obtained ingredients to make cookies would go well with the pricing strategy of the company, as it would reduce the cost of the product. The ingredients would not have to be moved from across the border which is in most cases an expensive choice as the transportation cost is extremely high (He, Lin, & Wei, 2016). The health regulation about foods products in China would also be well served as the ingredients being used in the production of the cookies would be obtained through local contractors.
The main target audience of Byron Bay Cookies are kids, and in general kids are fonder of Chocolaty or creamy cookies which leads the company to make cookies which appeals to the taste of the resident children population, in that case Byron Bay Cookies had decided to introduce Crème filled cookies which would naturally appeal to the taste buds of children this is fully differentiating according to the local or consumer demand segmenting products for each target market. Byron Bay has also decided to open a cookie tryout before people go on to buy their product. If people like what they taste they would naturally be more inclined to buy an excellent quality, better priced product.
Byron Bay Cookies tries to target the population that is weight conscious yet fond of cookies. The ingredients used in those cookies would be weight friendly but aimed to taste like anything a fat frenzy cookie might have. This is due to the fact weight conscious people are usually fussy about the fat content of cookies and more than often the taste of diet cookies is bland, so to appeal the taste buds of such a consumer Byron Bay Cookies would try to introduce a product that is calories friendly yet tasty a complete differentiating focus (Davcik & Sharma, 2015).
4. Promotion Strategy
Byron Bay Cookies would use social media as a promotion strategy, as the market entry strategy would be based on E-Commerce. It is natural for the company to set up its stronghold in the world of social media. It is one of the most effective ways to reach out to the Chinese market (Niedermeier, Wang, & Zhang, 2016). They can make interactive and indulging ads on social media that encapsulates what the product stands for. Social media is huge where most of China can be captured and penetrated. To further improve public relations, Byron Bay Cookies can use local celebrity endorsement of the product. This would further intrigue the Chinese market about the product and attract them towards buying the product (Gan & Wang, 2015). This would create a more positive image of Byron Bay Cookies in China as the population in China is more focused on indigenously produced product and would help the chances of Byron Bay Cookies to succeed as a brand in China.
5. Pricing Strategy
The pricing strategy used by the company would be to penetrate the market, that Byron Bay is selling cookies at $10 Byron Bay Cookies would decide to sell the cookies at $7, this helps the company to penetrate the market more effectively (Hustic & Gregurec, 2015). The penetration pricing of Byron Bay is critical as they are new in the market they need to attract and develop a strong consumer base hence to grab a large market share. The Penetration pricing strategy is effective for the company and would reap positive results when connecting with the consumers.
As mentioned before the company would arrange for the consumers to be able to test the cookies before they buy it, so when the consumers realize they are getting a quality product with a lower price on its tag, it would naturally attract the consumer to this product. To set up a good pricing strategy, it is especially important for Byron Bay Cookies as a company to survey the market and go ahead accordingly (Jayaswal & Jewkes, 2016). Having a thorough analysis of the competition would help Byron Bay Cookies penetrate the market more efficiently and effectively, and as a result, it could target the vital areas where the most cookies are sold and consumed.
6. Distribution Strategy:
The distribution strategy used by Byron Bay cookies would be through local distributors, the local distributors would help Byron Bay cookies to set up an unbroken, unhindered supply chain within China (Yang, Hu, Gurnani, & Guan, 2017). This would help Byron Bay reach out to different cities and would help them penetrate the market more effectively as Byron Bay would originally be running on an E-commerce basis. This would help them cover more ground and make their presence known in the main cities of China.
7. Conclusion and Recommendations
The exploration has proved a smart thought all the potential realities about Byron Bay Cookies working in China. The organizational market entry strategy is e-commerce and pricing penetration. When these strategies are coupled with differentiation focus it would aid in getting to know consumers better and developing tailored products. The distribution strategy is also effectively aligned with e-commerce as the organization will be seeking strategic partnership with local suppliers to deliver the ordered products within a day. Furthermore, the organization would be focusing on reducing the cost of operations with the help of e-commerce and strategic partnership with local vendors. Hence, this is a well-formed strategy that would help deliver the right results for the organization.
