Ecovative (www.ecovative.com) is an North American based company who have invented and patented a new packaging technology that is eco-friendly .

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The objective of this International Marketing Report is to develop and recommend a marketing plan report for Ecovative for establishing a manufacturing, sales and distribution facility in India. Almost all companies or brands operating in Indian consumer electronics and appliance market such as LG, Samsung, Videocon, etc. are making considerable investments for creating green products including packaging products. These major players may well prove potential clients for Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging in India. The company is recommended to enter the Indian packaging market with the successful product Mushroom® Packaging, centrally targeting the market segment of consumer electronics and appliance. The main body of the report in the form of Narrative is structured into two parts. In the first part, the product selection is justified with reference to the selected home country. Furthermore, in the second part, a marketing plan is developed. In the Appendix SWOT Analysis and SMART objectives are described.

Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging is a premium, high performing, cost-competitive, and truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastic foam packaging for consumer electronics products in India. The company will need to adopt a cost effective supply chain. At the same time as the company may offer Mushroom® Packaging on premium price with more designing and quality? Ecovative will save supply chain cost through supplying the product to its clients or consumer electronics and appliances companies’ nearby plants or packaging units. Saving cost in production and supply chain will enable Ecovative to offer Mushroom® Packaging to its clients on competitive or comparatively low price. Ecovative should promote Mushroom® Packaging in these trade shows. Furthermore, the company can reach to the end consumers with the information as regards Mushroom® Packaging through advertising where advertising through television is the best option. The advertising can be broadcasted in national media on primetime. Through the advertising promotional message, consumers will be required to be informed about the benefits of Mushroom® Packaging from the perspective of environment friendly, nontoxic and cost effectiveness.

NARRATIVE

COUNTRY AND PRODUCT SELECTION

Ecovative is recommended to establish manufacturing, sales and distribution facility in author’s home country India. The company is recommended to enter the Indian market with its successful product Mushroom® Packaging. The company is recommended to target centrally the consumer electronics and appliance market. This is for two reasons. Firstly the demand of packaging products is huge and fast rising in Indian consumer electronics and appliance market. Secondly, consumers in the country gradually becoming conscious of using environment friendly products instead of toxic plastic materials. This is on the one hand because of increasing consumer awareness and on the other hand companies looking for cost effective and environment friendly packaging product options considering business sustainability.

Noticeable here electronics production in India was reached with the value of USD 34.8 billion in 2013 and is projected to reach USD 55.7 billion in 2016. More importantly, production expanded at a CAGR of 16.6 percent ever since 2006.

Source: Dhoot (2014)

Noticeably, consumer durables or electronics and appliance is one of the fastest rising industry segments in India. This market sector has had attracted substantial investments even in the time period of global economic downturn. Worthier to mention here during the decade of 2003-2013, the consumer durables or electronics and appliance industry has had expanded at a vigorous CAGR of 13 percent. Urban markets account for the main share with 65 percent of total revenues, whereas the rural markets are projected to raise at a CAGR of 25 percent. Likewise, growing electrification of rural areas is all set to enlarge the demand. Moreover, 100 percent foreign direct investment has been permitted in the electronics hardware manufacturing sector in the automatic route.

As argued by Sharma (2011), the concerns relating to environment and economy in India are fast transforming the marketplace, in view of the fact that customers’ or clients’ requirements are developing and advancing and furthermore brand loyalty is being redefined. As a result, companies that add green strategies into their product development, operational procedures and marketing acts are looking for fresh opportunities in order to put on competitive advantage. Green has developed into a mainstream issue motivating millions of consumers to unravel the fact as how they may well live a more eco-friendly presence. No wonder therefore, almost all companies or brands operating in Indian consumer electronics and appliance market such as LG, Samsung, Videocon, etc. are making considerable investments for creating green products including packaging products. These major players may well prove potential clients for Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging in India.

MARKETING MIX STRATEGY

Marketing all concerns to the fact as how companies position their product to satisfy their market’s requirements. There are four decisive components in marketing their business and products. These four components are described as 4P’s of marketing. Each of the 4P’s is a variable companies control in creating the marketing mix that tend to attract customers to their business. Companies marketing mix ought to be something they give cautious notice in the light of the success of their business depending on it. The marketing managers in companies need to settle on how to make use of these variables to accomplish their profit prospect (Ehmke, Fulton and Lusk, 2005). As far as the case of India is concerned, in the current market environment truly the marketing mix variables in the forms of 4Ps are considered as controllable variable of Indian marketing management system (Mittal, 2014). According, marketing mix strategy in the form of 4Ps strategy (product, price, place and promotion strategy) is developed here for Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging in Indian market, subsequent to conducting extending marketing research.

Product

Product implies the goods and services companies offer to their customers. In addition to the physical product itself, there are components linked with their product that customers may well be appealed to, in the form of the mode it is packaged. Additional product attributes take account of quality, features, options, services, warranties, and brand name. Therefore, companies may well think of what their offer as a parcel of goods and services. Companies’ product’s appearance, utility, and support make up what the customer is essentially purchasing. Successful marketing managers in companies pay close notice to the requirements their product bundles feeding the needs of customers (Ehmke, Fulton and Lusk, 2005).

Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging is a premium, high performing, cost-competitive, and truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastic foam packaging for consumer electronics products. This premium environment friendly packaging product is exceptional for cushioning high end products in India principally consumer electronics and appliances industry. Mushroom Packaging is renewable and biodegradable, and made from crop waste bought from farmers. The companies in Indian consumer electronics and appliances sector will be motivated to use Mushroom® Packaging as a premium, high performing, cost-competitive, and truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastic foam packaging. Consumers will be required to be informed about the benefits of Mushroom® Packaging from the perspective of environment friendly and cost effectiveness. Furthermore, clients will be informed that Mushroom® Packaging is a green product substitute of toxic plastic foam packaging. The USP of the product is environment friendly and nontoxic and cost competitiveness.

Price

Price implies how much companies charge for their product or service. Settling on their product’s price might be complicated and even worrisome. In most cases entrepreneur companies feel they ought to categorically have the lowest price round. Consequently companies might initiate their business or offering new product through creating a brand of bargain pricing. Nevertheless, this might be a sign of low quality and not chunk of the image they want to depict. Companies’ pricing strategy ought to reflect the fitting positioning of their product in the market and outcome in a price that covers up their cost per piece and comprises a profit margin (Ehmke et al, 2005).

Indian market is characterized by both consumers preferring products on low price with compromising in quality, together with consumers preferring products on premium price with high quality. For the consumer electronics and appliance companies, packaging greatly decide their product success in the country. However, their customers are not ready to pay additional price for packaging. In other words, customers will not be ready to buy similar electronics and appliance products on comparatively higher price by Ecovative due to additional costs of Mushroom® Packaging. To put it precisely, Ecovative will need to offer Mushroom® Packaging on competitive or comparatively lower price to companies operating in Indian electronics and appliances market. For achieving this position of low price product offering, the company will need to adopt a cost effective supply chain. At the same time as the company may offer Mushroom® Packaging on premium price with more designing and quality? 

Place

Place implies the distribution channels utilized to get their product to their customers. What their product tends to significantly influence how they distribute it. If, for case in point, they own a small retail store or offer a service to their local community, subsequently they are at the end of the distribution chain, and consequently they tend to be supplying right to the customer. Companies that make or pull together a product have two options, either selling directly to consumers or selling to a vendor (Ehmke et al, 2005).

The place strategy of Ecovative in India with Mushroom Packaging will be indirect or localized, where the production and distribution will be carried out on localized basis. Mushroom Packaging is renewable and biodegradable, and made from crop waste bought from farmers, giving them opportunity for attaining added income. India is an agrarian based economy, where Ecovative will get as much quantity it requires in the form of crop waste. Whether it is North India, South India, East India or West India. The company may well have plenty supply of crop waste. The farmer will take keen interest knowing the commercialization of their crop waste, for which they get nothing most in term of price. Ecovative has opportunity to produce low cost Mushroom® Packaging through establishing plants in different areas. The supply or distribution may well be conducted through local production units. To put it more precisely, Ecovative will save supply chain cost through supplying the product to its clients or consumer electronics and appliances companies’ nearby plants or packaging units. Saving cost in production and supply chain will enable Ecovative to offer Mushroom® Packaging to its clients on competitive or comparatively low price. 

Promotion

Promotion implies the selling and advertising section of marketing. It is how companies let persons distinguish what companies have got for sale. The determination of promotion is to get clients or customers to be acquainted with what their product is, what they may well utilize it for, and why they ought to want it. Companies want the customers who are seeking out a product to distinguish that their product satisfies their requirements. In order to be effective, companies promotional efforts ought to enclose a clear message targeted to a exact audience touched by means of a suitable channel. Their target audience ought to be the clients who utilize or influence the purchase of their (Ehmke et al, 2005).

Consumer electronics and appliances market is huge in India and so there will be huge demand of Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging. However, the end consumers will be required to be informed about the nontoxic and environment friendly component of Mushroom® Packaging. On the other hand, clients as consumer electronics and appliances companies’ will be informed about high performing, cost-competitive, and truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastic foam packaging. To put it more precisely, Ecovative will need to promote Mushroom® Packaging to its clients as consumer electronics and appliances companies’ through direct marketing and sales promotion. In December month in India’s capital city Delhi, there is organized trade fair where companies across the world promote their innovated products on a greater scale. Similar trade shows are organized in other metro cities of the country. Ecovative should promote Mushroom® Packaging in these trade shows. Furthermore, the company can reach to the end consumers with the information as regards Mushroom® Packaging through advertising where advertising through television is the best option. The advertising can be broadcasted in national media on primetime. Through the advertising promotional message, consumers will be required to be informed about the benefits of Mushroom® Packaging from the perspective of environment friendly, non-toxic and cost effectiveness. 

CONCLUSION

Ecovative is recommended to establish manufacturing, sales and distribution facility in author’s home country India. The company is recommended to enter the Indian market with its successful product Mushroom® Packaging. The company is recommended to target centrally the consumer electronics and appliance market. In Indian market Ecovative’s Mushroom® Packaging is a premium, high performing, cost-competitive, and truly sustainable alternative to conventional plastic foam packaging for consumer electronics products in India. Ecovative is to adopt a cost effective supply chain. At the same time as the company may offer Mushroom® Packaging on premium price with more designing and quality? The company is to save supply chain cost through supplying the product to its clients or consumer electronics and appliances companies’ nearby plants or packaging units. Saving cost in production and supply chain will enable Ecovative to offer Mushroom® Packaging to its clients on competitive or comparatively low price. Ecovative should promote Mushroom® Packaging in these trade shows. Besides, the company has opportunity reach to the end consumers with the information as regards Mushroom® Packaging through advertising where advertising through television is the best option. The advertising can be broadcasted in national media on primetime. Through the advertising promotional message, the company will be able to inform and educate the end use consumers regarding the benefits of Mushroom® Packaging from the perspective of environment friendly, non-toxic and cost effectiveness. The author has tried to conduct the marketing research to the best achievable level, though more insightful and quantitative research could have added value in this marketing research based marketing plan report addressed to marketing division of Ecovative.

REFERENCES

Dhoot, A. V. (2014), “Opportunities and Challenges in Consumer Electronics & Home Appliances”. [Online] available at http://www.adlittle.com/downloads/tx_adlreports/Consumer_appliances_report.pdf [accessed 28th March, 2015]

Ehmke, C., Fulton, J. and Lusk, J. (2005), “Marketing’s Four P’s: First Steps for New Entrepreneurs”. [Online] available at https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ec/ec-730.pdf [accessed 28th March, 2015]

Evocative (2015), “Company Profile”. [Online] available at http://www.ecovativedesign.com/ [accessed 28th March, 2015]

Mittal, A. (2014), “Role of Marketing Mix for Indian Marketers”, Global Journal of Finance and Management, 6, 3, pp. 191-196.

Sharma, Y. (2011), “Changing Consumer Behaviour With respect To Green Marketing – A Case Study of Consumer Durables and Retailing”, International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1, 4, August, pp.152-162.

Appendix

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT IN INDIA: PESTLE ANALYSIS

Political

The taxation system is well-developed in India, where several taxes including income tax, services tax and sales tax are imposed by the Union Government. Indian Government encourages free business all the way through a range of programs.

Economic

The economy of India has had been meaningfully stable, and GDP growth rate is increasing recovering from global economic downturn. The GDP growth has improved in 2014 with 5% comparing 4.35% in 2013 and is expected to soon catch the double digit growth.

Social

India has a populace of more than 1.2 billion people with somewhat 70% between the ages of 15 and 65. Hence, there are structures with percentages in accordance with age. These structures comprise changing flexibility, in education, work attitudes, income distribution, and so on.

Technological

India possesses one of the strongest IT sectors globally, promoting continuous IT development, software advancements and additional technological developments.

Legal

Various legal changes have had been put into application in India, in the forms of recycling, minimum wage increase and disability discrimination, which has had straight affected businesses in the country.

Environmental

In India there have had been establishments of environmental pressure groups and government regulations particularly regulating waste control and disposal.

PORTER FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

Bargaining Power of Suppliers

Bargaining power of suppliers is low as there are a large number of small companies in Indian packaging industry with a variety of product differentiation.

Bargaining Power of Buyers

Bargaining power of buyers is high, as several big and small companies are operating in the industry with diverse product portfolio.

Threat of New Entrants

Threat of new entrants is low and therefore new companies may easily establish in the market with innovative products and cost effective offerings.

Threat of Substitutes

Threat of substitutes is high in the industry as recent researches have invented substances and components that completely biodegradable and environment friendly and can substitute plastic packaging products.

Competitive Rivalry

Competitive rivalry is currently low in biodegradable and environment friendly packaging products in India.

 SWOT ANALYSIS: INDIAN PACKAGING INDUSTRY

ANSOFF MATRIX

Ecovative is recommended to enter Indian consumer durables packaging market with Mushroom® Packaging adopting market development strategy rather than diversification. In the beginning stage, market penetration strategy ought to be adopted to reach the clients with offering the product on low price-Quality Product with Comparatively Low Price.

SMART OBJECTIVES

• Specific: To emerge major player in Indian packaging industry
• Measurable: To become market leader in Indian environment friendly packaging industry
• Achievable: To achieve 10% market share in Indian consumer electronics and packaging industry
• Realistic: To achieve 25% market share in Indian consumer electronics and packaging industry
• Timeliness: To achieve the target within three years.