Strategic Brand Management at Green Core

Introduction

Brand building and management has been defined as a suitable product that is termed as an identifier and quality in its own form and works with consistency in a market through managing of products and services to its end customers. In other words, a brand comprises of various elements that have been far recognized beyond physical entities and designating it with experience, creating feelings towards customers and building associations to posses that value (Foroudi et al. 2018). In this respect, brand management building depends on a historic and continuous process modifying with time and evolution using innovation and influencing consumers’ behavior and perceptions. On the other hand, importance of a brand in a country makes lies on its competitive advantages, generating high profits with creation of quality certification and an ultimate trust (Carvalho and Fernandes, 2018). So far as a brand is concerned, the part of this individual report has been based on the chosen brand named Green core Convenience Foods, which is under the parent name Green core Group Plc, based in the UK. The organization is operating from the last 29 years, which has developed eventually using strategic vision, mission and following a business model and strategies (Green core, 2020). The report would be providing detailed review on this food company that is running reasonably well for long years till now using a wider range of research skills and tools and strategic framework that are dependent on both primary and secondary data for its existing position and future suggestions for improvement.

Overview Chosen Brand of the UK-Based Market

Green core Group plc is a renowned brand of UK that produces convenient food items in the market. This company is specialized in selling standard eatable products. In other words, the company is concerned about the ethical values for service production (Jadoon et al. 2020). The taste and quality of the items are the most analyzed matters. It was established in the year 1991 in Ireland (Greencore.com, 2020). However, it did not take any initiative to start the business in the global market as well.

As per Keller’s Associative Network Memory Model of Brand, it is evident here that Green Core has taken its key approach in making its brand stand in its feet its linking nodes that can have strength of association (Chen and Tao, 2020). Since then, the company has flourished all over the UK. Apart from that, the yearly income is quite reasonable and competitive with other companies of the region.

1. A review of the health of the chosen Brand over a time period of 20 years

1.1 The brand’s stated vision and mission

The company has aimed at producing the best quality food. They have ensured to protect the items by proper storage and delivery methods. The taste and the ingredients would not be compromised at any cost (Greencore.com, 2020). Apart from that all the ethical measures have been considered and focused on providing the highest benefits possible.

1.2 Key stages of development of the Brand

The company has evolved through the ages. The development procedures included various methodical ideas and utilization of resources. The historical background of the company shows how it managed its ways since the foundation in 1926 (Greencore.com, 2020). They can be summed as follows:

Adaptation to the changes

It can be noticed that the company was originally established a long time before. Since then it has traversed a long way by adapting to the new environment of the market places. The changing scenario sometimes gets harder for some companies to accept (Jones et al. 2018). Whereas, Green core Group plc did not face any troubles in those areas, as they managed to tackle the conditions.

Rational utilization of the assets

The assets of the company are the primary belongings. Green core Group plc has used the resources of economic and other matters with very strict policies (Jadoon et al. 2020). This has helped to cope with the upcoming challenges in financial matters.

Incorporation with Northern Foods

The company collaborated with another food-producing company named, Northern Foods, at the time of getting declined in the race. This has helped to regain the power and get established with greater enhance (Greencore.com, 2020). In other words, the brand utilized Northern Foods as a staircase to move highly upward and meet the required demands.

1.3 The key issues and challenges brands face at the early stages and determination of strategic ways they took to mitigate them

The competitive factors of Green core Group plc can be established in the respect of the marketing scenario. It has been seen that the primary forces that form the rivalry are the consumers, suppliers, or any other company of the same or different category. Portal’s forces can be referred at this point to identify the critical factors of the rivalry. It has been seen that the bargaining matters of the prices both from the behalf of the buyers and the suppliers deliberately affects the financial matters of the company (Roy et al. 2017). On the other side, the rival companies include the companies that emerged recently or the old ones with similarities in the marketing strategies (Greencore.com, 2020).

The graph tells that Green Core Convenience Food stood at its maximum delivery services of 2,326 £ million customers, where compared to it, the top players are having 3,393, 2,536 and 3,298, which is not too far to reach (consultancy.uk 2020). The issues regarding the price management can be controlled by updating the prices that can offer the same quality of foods at lower costs. This can help to withstand the issues with the suppliers the buyers (Jadoon et al. 2020). Apart from that, the other strategically differences can be kept under restricted by improving the standards of the out coming products. This can assist and restrain the brand from getting substituted by other companies.

Environmental Factors

The environmental factors can be determined as the natural elements that can affect the business systems. In the case of Green core Group plc, the company had to bear such tremendous consequences regarding the environmental changes (Greencore.com, 2020). This has been identified in several instances. This brand deals with food items. Thus, they require a continuous supply of raw ingredients to prepare the foods. This can be eventually done by direct communication with the suppliers. However, the loss of such communication can lead to the downfall of the success of the company. Green core Group plc also had to suffer such issues (Roy et al. 2017). The regular supply of goods has been interrupted many times due to environmental changes. The changes can include climatic behaviors, natural disasters, water management, ecological functions, recycling, pollution control etc. Apart from these, the legal aptitudes of the natural phenomenon come under this category (Jones et al. 2018). It has been seen that the food company has to tolerate all the consequences for the supply of the items. Hygiene maintenance is also an important trait to consider. The main concern of the brand is there to manage all the legal grounds to formulate the issues (Greencore.com, 2020). In other words, the brand should have checked all the necessities that can affect profitability. The incoming sources also require to be corrected with utmost importance.

1.4 Brand positioning how brands were managed over time using a variety of tools and techniques

Segmentation of customer is a potential pathway of leveraging a brand above its ground level and enhancing its value towards growth (Kumar and Smith, 2018). It determines that a brand has its own attitude and recognition that can also be developed by using a loyalty model of its own. This can offer strategic relationship with the customers in the market. Below are the segmented customers, targeted and positioning of the brand chosen that has been managed using standard tools and techniques.

Segmentation

Green core Group has been identified from its market analysis that it has mainly targeted demographic, psychographic segmentation profile of customers. Such category of segmenting the customer profile has been mainly segregated by compounded growth in opening retail outlets as well as growing its brand loyalty by developing its consumer relationships through brand awareness (Green core, 2020).

Targeting

Depending on the consumer choice and demand in the market and its value, Green Core has so far targeted its key segments above. It has been identified that the responses from demographics and psychographic segments have been different in terms of their respective choice and criteria (Taherdangkoo et al. 2019). However, it was identified that mainly the brand focused more on creating sustaining and kept on trying a new opportunities with all the channels of networks in the business. On the contrary, a negative aspect of the chosen segment is that they have been constantly changing their tastes and preferences especially from demographics due to changing of market situations in the UK wider aspects. Consumption of such food declined during the first half of COVID this year and had affected on simplifying its production process (Fdbusiness.com. 2020). Hence, it has been found that Green Core has mainly targeted niche market.

Positioning strategy and its establishment

The brand positioning has been done for mainly the purpose of making its presence in the country by depending on one particular point of difference than its competitors (Smigielska and Stefanska, 2017). In this respect, the basic difference of parity that is observed in the brand is mainly in its product characteristics, experience from the end of the consumers in the market and its promotional platforms.

The above positioning difference identified from the company has acknowledged that Green Core has utilized its key product enhancement strategy of protecting food safety under HACCP standard norms, its innovation in delivering delicious food and maintaining its quality by using its nutritional value as well (Green core, 2020). On the other hand, it has been seemed to have applied its sustainability concept into its product specifications using the core concern of consumer health consciousness and its high demand from its key partnerships with large Supermarket firms like Tesco, M&S, Sainsbury’s and ASDA for supplying its food items directly on customer demands (makingeverydaytastebetter.com, 2020). However, on the contrary, it was also observed that the company has its challenges in the market due to some environmental factors like biodiversity loss, natural resources and food value leading to malnutrition in the market as well (makingeverydaytastebetter.com, 2020). In fact, they still face some material issues, which they are still on the verge of extension and further planning process of change and establish a value-chain model. Hence, they have so far successfully attained some point of positioning value. Apart from that the positioning strategy taken by the company is mainly influenced by brand associations using Brand Equity framework as well.

1.5 Critical evaluation of the brand impact on the organization culture

As per the views of Jones et al. (2018), the framework and conceptual outcomes have been obtained by controlling the different aspects and stages. Other than that, the analysis of the financial revenue factors determines the impacts on the cultural activities. It has been noted that the brand has incorporated with Alternative Performance Measures to identify the revenues and other factors that depend on the financial behaviors.

It was mentioned by Hogan et al. (2019) that the revenue has been calculated to be £1,446.1m. Apart from that, the taxation has divided the period on the basis of occurrence. The profit before taxation has been summed as £56.4m. On the other side, Jadoon et al. (2020) focused on the regularity of the optimum maintenance of the internal factors has been stated. It indicates the strategic balance that the company needs in order to manage the impacts of cultural matters. The coordination of the marketing culture can be thus understood.

1.6 Mentioning about the stakeholders who are key to the brands’ success

The private company has to maintain several practical ways to incorporate the proceedings for so many years. It can be stated that the theoretical approaches have provided the structural benefits to the brand (Roy et al., 2017). In every organization, the stakeholders grab the most important role. This characterizes the success of the brand. The stakeholders of Green core Group plc have incorporated the vital strategically policies that have enhanced the ultimate growth of the company in every sphere (Jones et al., 2018). The collaborations have been evolved out of the natural consequences that can be determined from the strategic perspective.

1.7 Critical impact the brand have on the stakeholders

It has been opined by Jones et al. (2018), that the impact on the stakeholders of the company requires to be measured as it regulates the entire control of the brand. The dynamicity of the market scenario always affects the development criteria of the company. The statements of Jadoon et al. (2020) define the management over the financial analysis of the company. The taxation and the profit maintenance have been the greatest responsibilities that need to be performed. It has been seen that the burdens of the taxes and the flows of the cashes have been utilized as well as taken over by the stakeholders of the company. In the case of Green core Group plc, the stakeholders had to control the movement and aggression of the company with the change in time. This can evaluate the impact on the stakeholders as the main hinge to manage the situations.

Brand Exploration using Primary investigation

Using these research methods, it had tried to explore some consumer perception about Green Core brand in the UK market entirely, it has placed itself. As consumers are other key stakeholders here, so in this regard, it was taken some random sample size to whom it was asked to comment and share their views and perception of using this brand since last five years. According to Mokhtar et al. (2017), brand equity measurement, the quantitative research has been conducted for confirmation and validity of the brand association of Green Core with its customers.

Design of questionnaires from 30customers’ review taken using Survey Monkey tool online

Discussion on the outcome:

Based on the results and views, it gave an understanding about wider view of this research here, where it is evident that Green Core seems to monitor its business operations and managing the brands well executed manner. However, it seems to be tremendously facing some threats along with it from some vulnerable concerns due to its key risk factors, as identified above. These are mainly due to the brand gaps noticed in the study and in the survey. Hence, considering these, it can be recommended further to focus on its core development aspects below, as mentioned.

2. Focus on future development and suggest better health of the brand

2.1 Critical Evaluation of Three potential collaborations

Three significant collaboration has been identified that can be suitable for the brand building future development.

Strategic Alliance:

According to Čirjevskis (2019), strategic alliance has been defined as a significant way of developing business relationship in terms of new product development. It determines the fact that if Green Core goes with intervention of this legal arrangement may strongly influence on technology swapping, having financial support from partners for expansion. Besides, it may also have some limited aspects like cost, risks and time.

Collaboration of Network for Innovation:

On the contrary, as per Grimsby (2020), this type of collaboration involved network for innovation, as it may give shared values like products’ quality, services and process benefit. In fact, mostly it would work for process of manufacturing using low-cost operations. These are mainly beneficial in terms of scanning firm’s environment as well as building employee capabilities. In addition, it is not necessary that it may fail to find complete quality enhancement in terms of long-term projects.

Ecosystem of Co-creation Value:

This particular partnership/collaboration is based on the shared value of comprehensive value of resource-integrating actors and involvement collaboration that may bring some institutional arrangements or it can also be named as mutual exchange of services (Barile et al. 2020). So far, as Green Core is concerned here, it has been indicated that if there any absence of formal authority in the firm, there can be a good option of going into some common share set of goals with partners for co-creation of value. If there is an advantage of gaining brand equity for Green core, spreading brand awareness, building new associations as well as reinforcement of tools and techniques. However, the major risk that may appear would be due to any kind of failure of the brand’s change in perception.

2.2 Recommendation for the best one chosen in terms of brand health development

Based on the above evaluation, the best chosen collaboration can be suggested for following co-creation value collaboration depending on mutual sharing of knowledge, skills and abilities, as it might be looking after critical issues that are underpinning its growth prospects. Working with the effective stakeholder’ association may build brand association in a higher scale (Barile et al. 2020). In this regard, it can be suggested to adopt a new corporate culture web, as influenced by the theory. The theory suggestively indicates to implement vision-culture gap, image-culture gap as well for its stability through its employee development aspects using training and support programs as well.

Effectively measurement of capability

Through KPIs on regular basis

Using Brand Equity Audit

Using Brand Awareness, recognition using motivation aspects along with innovation for its consumers

Conclusion

Therefore, based on the overview of the report and use of primary and secondary data collected and obtained, it is quite conventional to accept that how Green core Convenience Food has maintained its brand position, segmentation and market demands in a standard level. For the last twenty years of its key operating areas and service qualities, it has been constantly focusing on its key contingency improvement plan for its innovation and managing its potential risks and challenges in all its aspects of business. In this respect, it was studied with an in-depth research here in two different modes. In the first half, the analysis gave an understanding about its market position and its brand importance using strategic framework whereas; in the middle, it has found some of core information on brand specification and its contribution along its impact on major stakeholders. The penultimate part of it gives idea and acknowledgement on deeper insight on its use of Brand Equity survey using quantitative research through survey Monkey tool. Hence, finding suitable collaboration is the suitable for its future enhancement.

Reference

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