HEALTHY & FRESH

1. What new product strategy could Australian avocado exports employ to penetrate the Hong Kong market? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your chosen strategy.

 

For the overseas market, “Arthonie” products have already been accepted and enjoyed in more than 5 countries globally. We utilize our know-how from our long experience in producing leading products in Australia and combine it with our expertise in customizing tastes and flavors to adapt our products to meet the needs and preferences of consumers in our overseas markets.

 

To understand Hong Kong market's potential for the Australian Avocado, Hong Kong is become one of the needed avocado recently.

In 2010, about 50,000 million tonnes of Australian avocados imported to Asia and increasing every year, which shows the big potential of avocado market can be expand to Hong Kong in the future (Avocados Australia, 2012). Furthermore, Recently Hong Kong market needed of avocado has increased significantly due to popularity of healthy food and eastern style food trend. However Avocados are not commonly included in everyday meal and life style, as they are not familiar in Asian recipe but the Importer and Australian exporters are seeking to implement a promotion campaign which can drive to improve this market. 

 

The appropriate strategy to penetrate the Hong Kong market is developing and improving product. Since Avocados are no popular with Chinese consumers and it is not commonly included in everyday meals, exporter may process the Avocados into processed product, for example, Avocado yogurt dressing, Avocado oil, Avocado milk, Avocado Pudding, or Avocado Greek yogurt to make Chinese consumers familiar with Avocado taste. The advantage of the strategy is to increase the awareness of Avocado product. Second, launching new processed Avocados may result in increasing the market share. However, the disadvantage of this strategy is it cost a very high in development of new processed product. It requires exporter’s investment to develop the new product line. Second, it takes a long time to develop a new product line and get into a Hong Kong market.

 

The second strategy is increasing the distribution channel by using direct selling. A direct selling, selling the product directly to consumers in Hong Kong through online website. The direct sale is the way that manufacturer sells the product directly to the final consumer (Yen et al., 2008 ). The advantage of this strategy is it can reduce the cost burden to the customers. Since the old traditional selling way, the profit will be stripped off by vendors and sales channels, and these increased cost will be transferred to the customer. The second advantage is it is convenient to consumers. Consumers can purchase Avocado at any time. The disadvantage of this strategy is some consumers may not preferred online purchase because they cannot select Avocados by themselves. Exporter needs to assure the quality of product which being sent to consumers. Second, it requires a lot of selling and administrative cost such as inventory cost, delivery cost, employees salaries, domain website, etc.

 

The last strategy is using marketing mix (4Ps : Product, Price, Place, Promotion). According to Kotler (2003) stated that the marketing mix concept was a concept that company or organization used to decide or measure target group. Marketing Mix is the set of manageable variables that business owner can use to encouragement customer response. Moreover, business owner can use this concept to create a strategy in order to meet customer expectation and satisfaction. 

 

Product

• Various type of products : Avocado yogurt dressing, Avocado oil, Avocado Milk, Avocado Yogurt, Avocado Pudding. 

• High quality product made from natural avocado.

• Mostly pint size and bulk containers environmentally friendly packaging. 

• High quality and eye-catching packaging with our logo. And also our packaging is colorful in order to attract children.

• All products made from premium avocado.

 

Price

• Market penetration pricing because we are new brand.  A new product pricing strategy to keeping view the competition and psychological pricing .99 

 

Place

• Our product can be purchase via online distribution and we plan to expand to supermarket, convenience stores, retail sales such as school cafeterias because many children like the taste and texture of Avocado yogurt and it is much healthier for them.

 

Promotion

• Free sample, membership card for a special discount, and collective coupon for a free cup of yogurt. Our product is already marketed, on the website, and by coupons.

 

2. Avocados are an unfamiliar fruit in most Asian countries. What are the global trends behind the increasing consumption of avocados in Asia? What aspects of globalisation would be influencing this change in consumption of avocados?

 

Fresh fruit and vegetable such as avocado has been increasing to Asian market as they continuing to expand, there were 42,103 MT avocados imported to Asia in 2011. In 2012, Hong Kong’s avocado imports increased up to 137%. This increase scale of avocado in Asia has shown that the trend of western culture have influence on increasing consumption of avocado in Hong Kong.

Australia and Hong Kong share deep economic and cultural connections. There are 90,000 Australian citizens in Hong Kong, and 88,500 Hong Kong-born people living in Australia (Cllick, 2003).

 

From the increased of mix multi-culture in Hong Kong and global western trends food cultures have effect on this increasing consumption of avocado in Hong Kong. In the age which communication and commerce via the Internet became a central focus for businesses, consumers, and the media make consumers can know and keep up to date with the consumption habits of western countries easily. (Sivanes Phillipson, Michelle R. Raquel and Jan C. Gube 2010) there has been changed in the culture and point of view from traditional own culture to accept modern western culture in terms of fashion and type of foods.

 

The effect of globalization and trend toward western and healthy food  which increasing consumption of avocado in Hong Kong this day, Avocado is one of the best option for Healthy food in Asian countries (Mercola, 2013 ). Key driving forces for Hong Kong food trends are food safety, increasing health consciousness, changing demographics and busy lifestyles.

 

 

3. The 'Add an Avo Every Day' communication strategy used in the Australian domestic market could be luanched in Hong Kong. Identify the culture characteristics that may influence the success of this strategy. What activities would you recommend importers implement to increase uptake in the retail sector.

 

The ‘Add an Avo Every Day’ is a successful strategy in Australian market. But in Asian countries such as Hong Kong might not work the same way due to the difference of food culture. In everyday life of Australian people, breads, salads and sandwiches with avocado within are common food for their culture. However, Hong Kong and Asian food culture are not the same and difficult to add avocado into it. Rice, stir fried, wok-fried, noodle soup and deserts are always the most popular in the lifestyle food.

 

As the same with every culture, Family always has influence with people choice of food. To Add an Avo Everyday could be apply to Hong Kong market as a desert and addition cooking ingredient product for young generation. Social Network and Advertising commercial promotion is the best way to influence consumers.

 

Avocado is a fruit; some consumers may not know the nutrition of avocado or how to cook it. Therefore, to increase the selection of unprocessed fruit, importer may collaborates with any Health or Food company to sponsor nutrition education events in the supermarket area, demonstrate how to prepare Avocado recipes, and provides a newsletters/brochure (Avocado recipes and usage tips) to consumers. As a result of these activities, consumers are offered opportunities to enhance their consumption of avocado and their nutrition knowledge and skills. Free trial products in supermarket and public places also promote the product to show the good of avocado could benefit for their health by social network of famous people in their country.