Sunnyvale Foods Marketing Analysis Essay Example for Free

Sunnyvale Foods Marketing Analysis Essay Sunnyvale Foods is a brand of canned and frozen fruits and vegetables as well as condiments. While the firm has been around for over a hundred years, their profits have started to decline. From the statement given by the former president of Sunnyvale Foods, it can be deduced that the firm has a production oriented marketing concept. Rather than producing to meet a need, the firm is producing in anticipation of a need. Sunnyvale Foods focuses on mass marketing, aiming at â€Å"everyone† rather than target marketing a specific group (i. e. -busy families). The marketing mix is comprised of the â€Å"four P’s†: product, place, promotion, and price. The product is a line of 65 food items. The place is limited to chain supermarket stores limited by their ability to carry the entire line of 65 foods that the firm produces. Promotion of the firm as described in the case was vague but did mention sales promotion such as manufacturer’s coupons. The price is in the range of competitors but in today’s rushed society, many food brands don’t have the advantage of customer loyalty which results in losing customers to either the store brand or another brand that is offered on sale. The main competitive advantage of Sunnyvale Foods is the history of the business. Based solely on their 127 year old business, their name has become a reputable one. Their primary disadvantage is their vast line of products. By producing 65 different products, they lose advantages found in economies of scale. Also, by having a strict policy requiring stores that carry their product to carry all 65 items, they are given a disadvantage by limiting their potential retailer pool and complicating the process of resupplying inventory. To be stuck in the middle mean to be between differentiations, focus strategy, and cost leadership. While Sunnyvale Foods is focusing on one specific niche of the market, their differentiation is limited to various types of the same product rather than new products. Also, as stated in the case â€Å"no company in the industry has much effect on the price at which its products are sold. † The primary issue with Sunnyvale foods is that the firm is marketing for a production in a marketing company era. While the firm was very successful in years past, the market has changed and that needs to be recognized in their marketing strategy beginning with becoming a marketing oriented firm and finding a target market.