Marketing Plan for Pukka Herbs

PANDITO KATON, Magdalena Sztych de-Vries

2019 | Skripsi | S1 MANAJEMEN

Unilever, a British-Dutch transnational fast-moving consumer goods company, has created the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 in response to the growing worldwide consumer needs as stated in the United Nation's sustainable development goals; the plan has three self-imposed goals pertaining to environmental and social developments which in turn, dictate the company and its subsidiaries' business models. This research is spawned from the researcher's interest into how the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is applicable in the context of brand marketing; in answering this question, the researcher has decided to create a marketing plan for Pukka Herbs, one of Unilever's sustainable living brands (those brands that combine a strong social or environmental purpose, with products which contribute to achieving the company's ambitious sustainability goals) and simultaneously assist Pukka's market development plans into the South East Asian market, specifically Indonesia. With that being said, the central research question of this report is written as: "With respect to the goals of the USLP, what kind of marketing strategy would produce favourable sales for Pukka Herbs in Indonesia?" Pukka Herbs' products offer a competitively unique combination of innovation in terms of taste and health benefits through high-quality products offered at premium price points. The research has found several opportunities present in Indonesia which Pukka can capitalize on, including the sustained demand for consumer health products as a result of the country's volatile environmental condition and its relations with the growing health concerns among Indonesian consumers, the lack of variety and flavours in the country's tea industry and the Indonesian consumers' trust towards herbal products as a healthier alternative for synthetic medication. Pukka would profit from targeting the upper-middle, affluent and elite demographic groups located in Java; the island's apparent cultural, technological and economic advancements along with its sheer number of population justifies the researcher's recommendation to begin market development in Indonesia through Java. Two major points that Pukka must keep in mind when operating in Indonesia is that the country's consumers are generally price sensitive, and that the brand's current marketing mix do not reflect a fully ideal distribution strategy that is effective in Indonesia. Unlike the majority of the European market, organic/natural product retailers are not that popular in Indonesia; hence, it would be wise for Pukka to turn to premium supermarkets and internet retailing as lucrative options for a profitable product distribution strategy while still maintaining presence in selected organic/natural specialists. Research results would also show that despite the Indonesian consumers' generally positive feelings towards sustainable products, they currently do not prioritize a brand's degree of environmental or social responsibility as a major factor in their purchase decisions; hence, Pukka may not be able to market its sustainable products as effectively as it has done in its existing markets. The research has shown that any concern related to sustainability that the Indonesian population currently displays is that towards air pollution and deforestation due to land clearings. In maintaining its position as a sustainable brand in Indonesia, Pukka would be wise to follow a branding strategy that engages its target segment upon those two aforementioned issues while satisfying the Indonesian consumers' primary decision factor in purchasing organic, sustainable herbal tea and supplements, namely, taste and health benefits; the brand has considerable advantage in meeting the latter purchase decision factor, in that Pukka uses organic raw material as its solution to superior health and wellbeing solutions. Pukka would be wise to primarily focus its marketing campaign around this aspect of its products. Using the briefly explained above strategies, Pukka should be able to meet its primary marketing objective in achieving brand awareness of over 70% and a household penetration rate of over 10% during the first year of product launch, resulting in a projected turnover of IDR 3,2 Billion by the third-year off its product launch.

Unilever, a British-Dutch transnational fast-moving consumer goods company, has created the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 in response to the growing worldwide consumer needs as stated in the United Nation's sustainable development goals; the plan has three self-imposed goals pertaining to environmental and social developments which in turn, dictate the company and its subsidiaries' business models. This research is spawned from the researcher's interest into how the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan is applicable in the context of brand marketing; in answering this question, the researcher has decided to create a marketing plan for Pukka Herbs, one of Unilever's sustainable living brands (those brands that combine a strong social or environmental purpose, with products which contribute to achieving the company's ambitious sustainability goals) and simultaneously assist Pukka's market development plans into the South East Asian market, specifically Indonesia. With that being said, the central research question of this report is written as: "With respect to the goals of the USLP, what kind of marketing strategy would produce favourable sales for Pukka Herbs in Indonesia?" Pukka Herbs' products offer a competitively unique combination of innovation in terms of taste and health benefits through high-quality products offered at premium price points. The research has found several opportunities present in Indonesia which Pukka can capitalize on, including the sustained demand for consumer health products as a result of the country's volatile environmental condition and its relations with the growing health concerns among Indonesian consumers, the lack of variety and flavours in the country's tea industry and the Indonesian consumers' trust towards herbal products as a healthier alternative for synthetic medication. Pukka would profit from targeting the upper-middle, affluent and elite demographic groups located in Java; the island's apparent cultural, technological and economic advancements along with its sheer number of population justifies the researcher's recommendation to begin market development in Indonesia through Java. Two major points that Pukka must keep in mind when operating in Indonesia is that the country's consumers are generally price sensitive, and that the brand's current marketing mix do not reflect a fully ideal distribution strategy that is effective in Indonesia. Unlike the majority of the European market, organic/natural product retailers are not that popular in Indonesia; hence, it would be wise for Pukka to turn to premium supermarkets and internet retailing as lucrative options for a profitable product distribution strategy while still maintaining presence in selected organic/natural specialists. Research results would also show that despite the Indonesian consumers' generally positive feelings towards sustainable products, they currently do not prioritize a brand's degree of environmental or social responsibility as a major factor in their purchase decisions; hence, Pukka may not be able to market its sustainable products as effectively as it has done in its existing markets. The research has shown that any concern related to sustainability that the Indonesian population currently displays is that towards air pollution and deforestation due to land clearings. In maintaining its position as a sustainable brand in Indonesia, Pukka would be wise to follow a branding strategy that engages its target segment upon those two aforementioned issues while satisfying the Indonesian consumers' primary decision factor in purchasing organic, sustainable herbal tea and supplements, namely, taste and health benefits; the brand has considerable advantage in meeting the latter purchase decision factor, in that Pukka uses organic raw material as its solution to superior health and wellbeing solutions. Pukka would be wise to primarily focus its marketing campaign around this aspect of its products. Using the briefly explained above strategies, Pukka should be able to meet its primary marketing objective in achieving brand awareness of over 70% and a household penetration rate of over 10% during the first year of product launch, resulting in a projected turnover of IDR 3,2 Billion by the third-year off its product launch.

Kata Kunci : marketing plan, marketing strategy, Bass Model Equation