Introduction
This paper seeks to establish the information on environmental summary of Cookie Five which is a product in the food industry. Just like any other industry, food industry has several factors that influence its operations, the products produced and the rate at which the company will expand. In this paper, we will analyze some of the factors, which affect the food industry. Next, we will explore the market/product life cycle of Cookie Five. Most products undergo similar product life cycle depending on the category the product is put and industry which manufactures the product. Lastly, we will look at the key consumer insights, which include the consumer behaviors and trends in the market.
Discussion
Any industry will operate under various influences from both the internal and external factors of the environment in which the industry exists. In this paper, we will emphasis on the food industry because Cookie Five is an edible product which falls under the food industry. Food industry operations will be under the effect of many factors considering that human beings consume the products of the industry. Many factors will affect the guidelines and rules that govern the operations of the food industry, as it is the lives and health of the people that are at stake if they consume the product-Cookie Five (Self, Baxter and Gunn 67).
One of the main factors influencing the trend of industry is the political conditions in which the industry is located. The political conditions will determine the rules and principles that the industry will have to abide in its operations, the taxes it will pay, and the products it will produce for sale. The political condition refers to the government in place in which the industry is and the political leadership in the country.
These two institutions will have influence on the operations of the industry because they are responsible with the creation and implementations of laws. The economic factor will influence the trends in the industry. If the economic situation is favorable, the industry will be in a position to carry out its operations with ease without having any financial obstacles, but, when the economic conditions are unfavorable, the industries will not prosper (Reynolds, Cuthbertson and Bell 78).
The social factors will affect the industry in that consumers of the product will base the use of the product for how other people in community perceive the product. The social lifestyles of consumers will influence the operations of the industry in that the productions of the product will rely on the how the people of the society will accept the good (Sääksvuori and Immonen 81). Technological advances will also have an impact on how the industry functions depending on whether the industry will adopt new technology or not.
Recent technological advances will improve the operations of the industry because there will be new machines and equipments that will improve productivity. An increase in productivity will in turn result in high sales of the products because consumers will appreciate better products (Vitale 98).
The Cookie Five product undergoes a product life cycle like any other product in the manufacturing sector. Product life cycle refers to the stages of a product’s life, which varies from product to product. The factors in which a product is marketed transforms from time to time, and this will call for proper management as the product goes through these phases. These stages of the product require several professional disciplines and many tools, skills, and processes for the product to come out successfully. This product life cycle affects the product mostly when it is on the market ready for sale.
The product life cycle of Cookie Five undergoes four main stages which are market introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage, and saturation and decline phase. All these phases of product life cycle of Cookie Five has different characteristics but mostly relying on the market condition and the costs of the product. The market introduction phase is where the costs are high, no competition, and consumers have to be lured in to purchasing the product, the industry has to create demand, and the sales volumes are low (Kurtz and Snow 78).
The growth stage has more public awareness of the product there is a sign of competition, profitability begins to rise, and costs reduce because economies of scale. The maturity stage comprises of emphasis on brand diversification and feature differentiation to sustain market, increased competitors in the market, and a drop in prices of the products because of the presence of competitor products. Lastly, the saturation and decline phase consists of low sales volume, diminishing of profits and prices, and costs become counter-optimal. The major feature of this stage is that profits grow to be a challenge of production than increased sales (Krafft and Mantrala 89).
As an industry in the present market, there are various key consumer insights that a company needs to keep in mind while producing or manufacturing products for the market. One of these consumer insights is the consumer behavior. Consumers come in different packages, and they tend to have varied demands, and needs that the industry will have to fulfill while producing a product (McGoldrick 92). For instance, there are customers with diverse tastes and preferences, which the industry needs to meet while attracting the customers. The consumer can be in different locations of the country, and the industry has the obligation of providing for all its customers irrespective of their region.
Another notable consumer insight is the market trend, which refers to the transformations that the market undergoes over time. The conditions of the market in the modern times may vary from what the market was in like a decade ago, and this calls for the industry to be in a position to transform with the changes. This enables the industry to increase and maintain its customer base and hence increase sales of products.
Works Cited
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Kurtz, David and Snow Kim. Contemporary Marketing. New York: Cengage Learning, 2009.
McGoldrick, Peter J. Retail marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
Reynolds, Jonathan, Cuthbertson Christine and Bell Richard. Retail strategy: the view from the bridge. London: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2004.
Sääksvuori, Antti and Immonen Anselmi. Product lifecycle management. New York: Springer, 2008.
Self, Angela, Baxter Andrea and Gunn Robyn. The Smart Cookies’ Guide to Making More Dough and Getting Out of Debt: How Five Young Women Got Smart, Formed a Money Group, and Took Control of Their Finances. New York: Random House of Canada, 2009.
Vitale, Dona. Consumer insights 2.0: how smart companies apply customer knowledge to the bottom line. New York: Paramount Market Publishing, 2006.