Marketing plan for Finnish Food Oy : analysis of the functional bottled water market in Finland and Sweden

Abstract

This study was commissioned by Finnish Food Oy, in order to research the functional bottled water market, for the company wishes to enter this market by launching a new brand in the Finnish and Swedish markets. Initially the company commissioned a business plan but since they lacked knowledge about the target market it was decided instead to craft a marketing plan, where special emphasis would be put on the market itself, by analyzing competitors, key players, level of competition, etc.

This thesis covered only the functional bottled water market, however elements from the following markets were used in order to better situate and understand the target market: bottled water, health and wellness beverages and fortified/functional beverages. One of the limits of this study is the lack of financial figures. This fact limited the possibility of making accurate sales and profit forecasts, thus the figures presented are just a suggestion based on the current level of prices in the market.

The study primarily focused on data gathered from secondary sources in general and Euromonitor International in particular, however a field observation in Finnish stores and supermarkets was used for establishing the price range within the market and a preliminary segmentation for the commissioning company. The main literature came from M. Wood Burk, D. Lynch, P. Kotler and M. Solomon et al.

The study was carried-out from November 2010 to May 2011. Several drawbacks concerning the organization and contents of the study were encountered and a better time management would have been suitable on behalf of the author.

The study concluded that the functional bottled water market is in full expansion and thus represents a great opportunity for Finnish Food, not only in Scandinavia but glob-ally since consumers are turning to healthier lifestyles alternatives, nonetheless the company needs to carefully plan its segmentation and act accordingly as competition is fierce. It was noted that the functional bottled water is the category that is currently pushing the growth in the bottled water market, however, a well founded marketing and promotional strategy will be paramount in order to convince consumers that the product offered is not only a marketing gimmick but a beneficial product for both body and mind.