Identifying Key Competitors

Pakistan having a huge population represents a huge market for fast moving consumer goods
(FMCG) and other sort of processed food. As per the demand, this market is world 6th largest
when we compare it with other world markets globally and is mostly driven by the middle and
upper class of the population here. Now as the shift from rural to urban is taking place the
demand is also increasing at an alarming rate creating more customer base and creating further
opportunities for the companies in this specific market, as they can utilize their strengths to
capture these opportunities.
Now as we selected Engro Foods, we are now going to have a look at its strengths and then its
key competitors in the market which as per our analysis are Nestle, Unilever and National Foods.
We ae going to go through each one of these competitors and establish their strengths they have
acquired over the past few years.

Engro Foods LTD

As already being discussed about the company itself, we wont go into the detail introduction but
rather switch to its key beneficial factors which it has developed over time and use those key
strengths to analyze and compare it with its competitors afterwards
Strengths

It possesses a strong public relation with the farmers

It has gathered positive response from its customers over the past years.
Carries out a strong research on the market trends.
It owns a third generation plant.
Has a strong brand name.
It along with MCB has offered farmers with certain loan programs for financial support.
In order to control loose milk segment, it has set up its own branches like Mabrook milk
in Karachi.
One of its major revenue product, Olpers milk is branded as all uses products capturing a
vast market segment.

Analysis of the Key Competitors

Nestle Pakistan
Nestle is the one of the world's leading nutritional and health company today based on its
resources. Its model is based on strong captivating brands, its global presence, innovation,
environmental friendly products making a social impact and hardworking passionate people. It is
a key competitor because of the following key points and factors:
Parental Backing
Being the worlds largest processed food and beverage company and with a presence in almost
every country, Nestle Pakistan gets a huge backing from its parent company because it can
access its large portfolio of products and services gaining insights and establishing its
competitive intelligence.
Image
It has a great image developed over the past few years based on its globalized presence which is
greatly beneficial in handling bad situations and get through them which it has done due to its
strong image.
Quality Products
Its products have a quality promise with them ensuring that they are consistent and hygienic.
This helps them establish customer loyalty and deliver their promise in turn enhancing their
image. It has no compromise for quality and uses its state of the art technology to deliver
consistent brand promise.
Well-developed Strategy
Nestle has recognizes there is a right time and place for their product; therefore, their strategy
makes room for adjustments and is tailored to meet the needs and demand as per the market
trends. Nestle has captured many markets with great sweep because of the developed strategy.
Market Share
Nestle juices have a highest market share almost in every strategic business units line, such as in
Nestle pure life. High market share always depicts the quality of the firm & its strong
management decisions. It also depicts that company ensures its highest quality assurance checks
to make its products stand out and be as per the promise. It has been greatly working on its
marketing to increase its market share by creating more awareness in the minds of people.

Brand Strength
It has developed very strong generic brands like Nescafe, Maggie, Nestle water and these brands
are by far generic to their respective product categories and are a means of establishing strong
customer base as when a brand becomes generic then it develops a
perception and
a feel of strength in the minds of its customers. E.g. Google, Apple etc.
Research & Development Team
Its R&D dept. provides an in-depth knowledge and understanding which helps in continuous
knowledge about itself and competitors. Its competitive advantage can be seen as in the form of
its R&D because many of its competitors dont have a R&D dept. Innovation is also at the heart
of Nestle Pakistan. It has been continuously introducing new products and expanding its
current product offerings. With the extra ordinary technology adoption Nestle Pakistan is able to
deliver innovative products.
Human Resource Department
Nestle Pakistan has a strong HR department which depicts Nestles strong committed
management of the company and its employee oriented nature as well. Its management is key
success factor of the company which by its virtue is willing to devote themselves towards the
betterment of the company and the society as a whole.

Unilever Pakistan Foods LTD

Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited develops and offer consumer and commercial based food
products globally. Its product lines include noodles, soups, meal makers, sauces, and ketchups. It
also produces and sells instant energy sports drinks, health drinks and desserts. Its Brand names
include Rafhan, Knorr, Glaxose-D and food solutions. The company changes its name from
Rafhan Best Foods to Unilever Foods in 2007. A list of its food and beverages products are as
under:
-Walls Ice Cream (Magnum Classic, Peddle Pop, Cornetto).
-Brooke Bond
-Lipton
-Blue Band
-Rafhan
-Knorr

Strengths
It is a competitor based on its following strength factors

Unilever Giant: It is a part of Unilever which is a global giant and one of the oldest
MNC. So it enjoys a brand backing and immense reputation benefits.
Management: It has a management which is experience and established well over the
past few years enabling it to develop learning curves which help Unilever in overcoming
bad situations here in Pakistan whether internal or external. UPL has potent managerial
experience that goes back to 1958.
Image: Unilever numerous brands image are very much into the minds of people and its
customers due to their appeal and age factor which helps in creating more awareness
among its audience and it uses it to its benefit during its marketing.
Quality Assurance: It follows strict mechanisms for ensuring quality so that the value
products offer are in accordance to the quality promised by the company. The quality of
UPL products is very superior with highest international standards and is made to remain
consistent throughout.
Promotion: Its strong marketing and advertising is also beneficial in establishing density
of its campaign to its target market which is its one big advantage.
Diverse Portfolio: Its competitiveness is based upon its strong portfolio segmentation
which comes with wide range of products within every category it offers, e.g. Lipton,
Supreme etc. which makes it further more competitive and tough to compete, giving it a
sustainability in the market.
Innovativeness: Innovation is also a key essential ingredient in its success as it delivers
top products both internally in Pakistan and externally worldwide.

National Foods Pakistan

The company was incorporated in Pakistan on February 19, 1970 as a private limited company
under the Companies Act, 1913 and subsequently converted into a public limited company under
the Companies Ordinance, 1984. It is meant for delivering convenience based food products to
its consumers and has a range of over 110 products in 13 major categories. National Foods is one
of the largest food companies. Now we perform an analysis of its key factors and strengths
which enable it to be direct competitor to Engro Foods LTD:
Strengths
Broad Product Line
Firstly,
National foods has very
broad product
line that includes different types of Masala powders, Desserts, Ketchup, Custard powder, Pastes,
Pickles and many more. Owing to this diverse range of products it is able to cater to various
untapped segments as well in Pakistan which gives it a competitive edge.
Broad Market Coverage
It carries this 80% market share in powder mix category just because of its coverage and
distribution. It has a strong broad market coverage through its distributive penetration that it has
developed. According to sales and purchase manager National foods, they have excellent
market coverage all over Pakistan and citizens of each city have easy access to sales and display
centers.
Manufacturing Efficiency
It has a very much engineering and technical staff of high potential that delivers innovation in
practice producing superior products than the competitors creating a differentiation between
National Foods and its competitors. It imposes specific manufacturing competence efficiencies
like use of imported machinery and a high quality ingredients in manufacturing of its products
that maintain the quality of product e.g. powder mix etc.
Thought-out Marketing
It has its own advertising agency that promotes its products which is a big plus that helps its
marketing team to create awareness for its products across Pakistan which the team has
successfully done over the past years and this has played to increasing its sales and awareness
across the country.

Efficient Research and Development

Efficient R&D department is considered as a vital strength of company considering its
effectiveness in creating innovation and high quality products. The company emphasizes on
Research and Development department to a great extent that the Chief executive of National
food has hired a team of R&D himself, making sure that ongoing improvements in the existing
National food products range is a continuous activity and doesnt stop.
Brand Name
It has taken 34 years of hard fought effort for National food to create such a strong brand name
which is now among those few brand names that have earned a lot on the basis of its brand
reputation. Brand name is a source of vital strength for the company and is known all over the
market place and helps in establishing credibility for its newly launched products and
sustainability.
Organizational Structure
The company has both employee and customer oriented culture. Organizational hierarchy at
National food is functional and appropriate. Roles are clear and there is no conflict in reporting
to the superiors. Hierarchy consists of the Chief executive and Managing director. Then there are
middle managers of concerned departments e.g. Marketing, Production, R&D and Finance. It
strongly beliefs on developing good relationship with its human resource for long term benefits
to the organization.
Finance Management
Resource allocation is very crucial in the success of any company and National Foods has a
competitive and capable finance department which is efficiently working to allocate resources to
each of the business portfolio ensuring a proper tracking and accountability. Good and timely
financial management is another strength of company that helps in sorting out its current
financial position and then to establish its future goals based on its finances.

References

http://www.unileverfoodsolutions.pk/who-we-are/news
http://sadiqsomayari.wordpress.com/2014/12/17/unilever-pakistan-versus-engrofood-swot-analytical-comparison/
http://www.slideshare.net/AlirazaAfzal/unilever-13183446
https://www.scribd.com/doc/19449268/National-Foods
http://www.slideshare.net/mutahirbilal47/bcg-matrix-of-engro-foods
https://www.scribd.com/doc/54586295/Final-Project-for-Nestle-Pakistan#scribd
https://www.scribd.com/doc/54586295/Final-Project-for-Nestle-Pakistan#scribd