Introduction
Josef Zotter established the Austrian chocolate company Zotter Schokoladen Manufaktur in 1999. The distributor and brand ambassador for Zotter Chocolates in the United States is Zotter U.S., which is based in Florida (Khaire et al., 2011). Since its beginning, Zotter has concentrated on creating novel chocolate flavors and textures, cultivating a reputation for being distinct from the majority. Although handgeschöpfte chocolate still made up about three-quarters of Zotter revenues in 2009, innovative Zotter creations increasingly took its income share (Khaire et al., 2011). Nearly 20% of sales were made up of Labooko Chocolate and Drinking Chocolate (Khaire et al., 2011). American chocolate consumption was higher than that of nations in Asia or Latin America but was only around half that of Germans on average (Khaire et al., 2011). 55% of Austrians buy Zotter products, compared to 4.5% of the global population (Khaire et al., 2011). This implies the brand awareness of Zotter and its popularity.
Profitability
Zotter is a good example of a profitable and healthy company. The reports indicate that the business received $1,337 million in 2002, and in 2008, the revenue was $14,322 million, which is a 971% increase, indicating efficient operations (Khaire et al., 2011). Moreover, reports show that while in 2002, net income was only $240,000, in 2008, net income was $2,401 million, which accumulated to 900% (Khaire et al., 2011). The company’s expenditures increased with expansion and constant growth, rising from $1,097 million in 2002 to $11,911 million in 2008, which is a 985% increase (Khaire et al., 2011). However, considering that Zotter has a healthy net income flow and is not burdened by expenditures, there are no concerns.
Competitive Edge
Moreover, Zotter has a competitive edge due to an increased number of new goods and increasing chocolate confectionery consumption. While chocolate confectionary consumption is not growing in Austria, remaining at under 1 ton of consumed goods from 1997 to 2005, in the U.S., it is growing rapidly, from 1,500 consumed tons in 1997 to 1,700 tons in 2005 (Khaire et al., 2011). This indicates that the American market is of interest to Zotter.
Markets, Client-Oriented Approach, and Findings
Both American and Austrian Zotter platforms offer a variety of chocolate confectionery goods. For example, American Zotter offers Advent calendars, Christmas edition chocolates, classic variants, drinking chocolate, discovery packs, and many other products (Zotter, n.d.-b). Similarly, the Austrian official website of Zotter offers chocolates with individual designs, gift chocolates, hand-scooped Advent calendars, drinking chocolate advent calendars, and others (Zotter, n.d.-a). The variety of products allows customers to make choices depending on their preferences. In order to increase brand awareness and create a bigger market presence and competitive edge, Zotter offers non-dairy and vegan goods.
Conclusion
Overall, the success of Zotter is majorly defined by the mission and vision of the company and its emphasis on the customer base. Zotter commented on its performance as follows: “I don’t define my success based on my revenue figures. I am creating trends and great taste. If I manufactured shoes, for example, I would commit myself to making the best shoes in the world. You don’t do that because of money” (Khaire et al., 2011, p.11). In this sense, client-oriented operations create big value for the business and make Zotter more successful each year.
Hence, Zotter is a financially healthy organization that has stable earnings that exceed expenditures. However, the success of the company comes not just from revenue, but client-oriented approach, such as introducing non-dairy and vegan products and caring for clients. Zotter plays an integral role in the market, which explains its profitability.
References
Khaire, M., Aichinger, S., Hoffmann, M., & Schnoedl, M. (2011). Zotter-Living by chocolate. Harvard Business School.
Zotter. (n.d.-a). Shop. Web.