Becel Margarine

Becel Margarine has been around since 1978. The brand is a premium-priced product and is positioned as the heart healthy margarine choice. With the strong positioning established, we have been able to take more than 31.9% of the market share in the margarine category. Growth is strong and we have been able to reap high margins from our product. However, as the company approaches Year 2000, there exist many challenges (E.g. intensifying competition and changing consumer trends) that threatens the brand's objective - 'to maintain market leadership and to maintain growth momentum'. As such, a situational analysis was conducted so as to find out more about the company, the competition and our consumers. After understanding the situation, the strategic direction that the company should adopt was proposed using the 'Ansoff' product-market matrix and the E2 strategy has been developed.

The report concludes that the company needs to face the challenges head on. There are both short term and long term strategies that the company should undertake. In the short run, Becel has to react to competitive pressures. Firstly, it should reinforce itself as an 'excellent health' margarine and include an additional dimension of 'taste' in its positioning. Secondly, additional marketing dollars should be spent to strengthen our brand's positioning with it being heart healthy. Lastly, we should look at increasing market demand for our product by cultivating the strong brand loyalty we enjoy.

In the mid to long run, it is proposed that Becel continues researching and developing new products to suit changes in consumer trends. Olive oil seems to be gaining momentum amongst our target segment and represents an area that we should look into. Secondly, the company can consider entering attractive markets abroad by leveraging on its parent brand - Unilever. Lastly, the diversification strategy can be considered in the long run when