1 Submitted by: Suraj Rathi (MBA- Executive,LSC, London)

INTRODUCTION:
This case paper is all about plan of execution for launching a new herbal soft drink in eighteen months of span; this case study also enables assistance in execution during first few months' of actual production of the product which is made up of natural herbal ingredients. ss The study also compromises of analysing consumer mentality and behaviour abut regular soda drinks, their awareness of ill effects on health due to consumption of soda drinks, exploring opportunities in up bringing the herbal values in the diet. Study compromises the research involving in analysing current market scenario of all soft drinks available in the market, understanding people's mindset about brand and soda drinks, their awareness about herbal products and its health benefits. Later part will explain on creating strong consumer awareness for Bubble Buzz through the 4 Ps, and will undergo industry analysis for our strengths, weaknesses or shortcoming of our product, opportunities in the market, threats to the business and brand. The name of the product and its marketing statement is-

HerboSpark .. a refreshing bubbly drink..!!

Study Contents:
Introduction Purpose Of The Study Objectives Of The Research Scope Of The Research Research Prototype Sampling Technique Used Sources Of Data Collection Statistical Used Tools Analysing The Data Segmentation Targeting & Positioning Segmentation Market Targeting Positioning For Commutative Advantage Marketing Mix Activities Product Price Promotion Place Limitation Of The Study Recommendations And Suggestions Logical Conclusion References And Supporting Evidences Of Research & Analysis ..01 ..02 ..03 ..03 ..04 ..04 ..05 ..06 ..07 ..22 ..23 ..24 ..25 ..26 ..26 ..24 ..25 ..26 ..26 ..26 ..27 ..28

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

Aim of study is to understand the awareness of people towards herbal drinks, on the other hand understand how much they are aware of the hazards of currently available soft drinks on their health; on the basis of this a detailed business plan has been prepared.

Objectives of the research:

To understand the people preferences for soft drinks through various demographics, age groups & various income groups in the society. To find out the end users awareness of the adverse effect on the health due to the consumption of the soda containing soft drinks. To find out the influencing factors of the consumers intake of the soft drinks. To check the consumers behaviour and brand loyalty off the various brands present in the soft drinks and juices market. To study the brand positioning in the consumers mind To analyse and understand beverage industry analysis. To be aware of the advertising medium and buzz factors in the various demographics How to create the brand name in the minds of consumer. How to win customer base and make them frequent buyer beyond making them brand loyal.

Scope of the Research:

Only canned and bottled drinks has been considered We are not considering the seasonal drinks and juices in the study. Water and alcoholic drinks has been excluded from the study

Research Prototype:
A research prototype is a framework or blueprint to conduct the marketing research project. It specifies the details of the set of actions necessary for procuring the information needed to iron out the marketing research problem. With regards to fundamental research objectives, research design can be classified into two types as follows:

1. Exploratory research: It is a type of research design having its main objective as the provisions of insights into & comprehension of, the problem situation to confront the researcher. 2. Conclusive research: This type is designed for decision maker to assist to determine in evaluation and selection of the best course of action to be taken in any given situation.

There are further two sub types in which conclusive research can be divided: Descriptive Experimental

This project has been designed to research on the basis of DESCRIPTIVE DESIGN which describes something in terms of characteristics of the entity for e.g. Users of a given product; the extent to which the product is used varies with the factors as age, income, etc.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE USED:

Convenience sampling technique has been used as its one of the convinient
and accurate exploratory research methods in which the researcher is keen in getting an inexpensive approximation of the facts. This technique has been selected as it gives facts and figures in timely manner considering a vast number of sample data.

SELECTION OF SAMPLE SIZE:

For this research we have planned to study, a total sample size of 50,000 will be taken into consideration which compromises equal distribution in males and females of various age groups, various religions and all standards of the income will be considered.

SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION:

Below two types of data sources has been used in the research conducted1. Primary data 2. Secondary data

1) PRIMARY DATA: Questionnaire: Primary data has been collected from the people who were
randomly requested to fill them, with the help of questionnaire, the template for which has been mentioned below.

DETAILS OF THE PARTICIPANTS: Name Age group Gender Occupation . 21-30 Female Housewife Business Service 31-50 51+

- 15-20 - Male -

Student

1) Do you usually drink soft drinks? Yes No 2) How frequently do you consume soft drink on weekly basis? Daily 2-3times more than 3 times Only once in a week 3) Tick the occasions, when would you consume the soft drinks more often? When Thirsty Without reason (just like that)

5 Parties / Celebrations Others, please specify..

4) What encourages you buying a soft drink? Quantity and price Taste Variety Health Drink Advertisement Status symbol

5) How much does your purchases is affected by advertisements? To greater extend To lesser extend 6) Which soft drink do you like more? Cocacola Limca Pepsi Maaza Mirinda Other (specify) To great extend Neutral To less extend

7) Do you take the same soft drink every time? Yes No

8) Which flavor do you like most? Mango Apple Orange lemon

Other (specify) ________

9) How do you rate canned juices as compared to fresh juices? Same as of fresh juices preservatives Have artificial added flavor Healthy with

Not as healthy at all

10) Do you think taking too much soft drink would cause health problems? Yes No No comment

11) Do you think these drinks have caused health problem to you before? Yes No

12) Are you aware that you are being charged more than 10 times than of the actual cost of the drink? Yes No

13) If TV advertisements are considered then which one do you like more? Cocacola Maaza Others specify.. 14) Does advertisement influences you to switch to that particular one? Yes No Pepsi Mirinda Thumsup

15) What changes would you like to see in the manufacturing to increase the sale? Quality Price Advertisement Flavor options Others (specify).

6 18) Do you think if any disease caused due to consumption of the soft drink if so which one of the most diseases could the pesticides of the soft drink causes? Cancer Problems Others specify: 19) Do you think any of the below significant quantities are there in cola Soft drinks Caffeine Do not know 20) Do you feel government should do any of the things to stop the detrimental practices carried out by soft drink firms? Standards should be increased Advertisements be controlled Quality checks should be frequent others Nicotine Tannin Rennin Tooth decaying Not aware Polarization Pregnancy

2) SECONDARY DATA:
In this section some different literatures such as published articles, books, internet sources which are official only websites including government and food and beverages association websites will be considered to enhance the accuracy of the self generated primary data of the research.

In order to reach relevant conclusion, research work has to be designed in an appropriate executable structure.

STATISTICAL USED TOOLS:

Mainly statistical tools considered for the collection of the data and the analysis of the data of this research are: Questionnaire Pie Charts Bar Figures

ANALYSING THE DATA:

The data collected has been fed to various types of visualization and scientific methods of its representation and analysis as

1) Do you usually drink soft drinks? YES 83% NO 17%

2) How frequently do you consume soft drink on weekly basis?

Daily 6%

2-4 Times 3%

More than 4 times 11%

once in a week 58%

3) Tick the occasions, when would you consume the soft drinks more often? When Thirsty 38% Without reason 36% Celebrations & parties 36% Hard work 1%

4) What encourages you buying a soft drink? Quantity and price 8% Health 5% Status symbol 5%

Taste 50%

Variety 13%

Advertisement 13%

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5) How much your purchase does is affected by advertisements?

To Greater Extend 13%

To Great Extend 30%

Not much 35%

To Less Extend 13%

To Lesser Extend 10%

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6)

Which soft drink do you like more?

Coca cola 10%

Pepsi 21%

Miranda 28%

Limca 5%

Maaza 18%

Other 19%

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These are the OTHER soft drink which are preferred by people

7-UP 5

Dew 3

Tropicano 1

Slice 2

Frooti 1

Fanta 1

Sprite 2

7) Do you repeat taking same soft drink often?

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YES 31%

NO 69%

8) What is your favorite flavor of the all drinks?

Mango 24%

Orange 31%

Lemon 21%

Apple 10%

Others 14%

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9) How would you rate fresh juices as compare to canned juices?

Same as of fresh juices 8%

Got artificial flavoring 33%

flavoring preservatives are healthy 10%

not healthy at all 50%

10) Does over consumption of soft drink causes any health problems? Yes 65% No 15% No comment 20%

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11) Do you think these drinks have caused health problem to you before?

Yes 15

No 65

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12)

Do you know that you are being charged more than eight times than of the actual cost of the drink? Yes 50% No 50%

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13) If TV advertisements are considered then which one do you like more? Coca cola 13% Pepsi 23% Mirinda 20% Thumsup 29% Maaza 5% Other specify 11%

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14)

Does advertisement influences you to switch to that particular one? Yes 38% No 63%

19 15) What changes would you like to see in the manufacturing to increase the sale?

Quality 48%

Price 33%

Advertisement 14%

Flavour options 10%

Other specified 0%

16) Do you assume if any disease caused due to consumption of the soft drink if so which one of the most diseases could the pesticides of the soft drink causes?

Cancer 25%

Paralysation 13%

Tooth decay 26%

Pregnancy Problems 11%

Dont know 25%

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16)

Do you think any of the below significant quantities are there in cola Soft drinks Caffeine 40% Nicotine 10% Tannin 3% Rennin 4% Dont know 43%

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18) Do you feel government should do any of the things to stop the health detrimental practices carried out by soft drink firms? Standards should be increased 30% Quality checks should be frequent 59%

Advertisements be controlled 11%

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SEGMENTATION TARGETING & POSITIONING:

Segmentation:
Breakdown method has been used to identify groups which share particular characters and, we use the data which we have collected based on certain keys, the market has been segmented on the basis of: A. B. C. D. Demographic segment Psychographic segment Behavioural segment Inter-market segment

Demographic segment:
GENDER: We are considering both the gender equally for our product launch and actual marketing purpose AGE GROUPS: During research it has been seen that the teenagers are the potential buyers for regular soda drinks who mostly buys the drink for the sake of taste mainly. The herbal drinks may not be initially welcomed very well in the teenagers group and hence our potential customers are widely who are mature say 21 years old and above.

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Psychographic segment:
1. Life- style: Busy working professional 2. Personality: from normal level to ambitious, from general to challenge acceptors.

Behavioral segment:
Occasions: Regular Consumption: During lunch time, snack time and on the go. Special Occasion: Especially when high energy is required such as in sports events, parties and celebrations. User status: Being a new drink there will be a brand new users across UK, during introductory span of the product. Benefits: As this is completely 100 % herbal product, it will be completely safe to health to consume any normal limit of the drink, It will stimulates the nervous system leading to improve alertness, assist in memory improvement, boost the blood circulation system, and its herbs are introduced mainly to improve anti- oxidant properties unlike other regular soft drinks which rather reduces the oxygen carrying capacity of the body, hence we can afford to add the carbonated water to get sparkling effects without any ill effects on the health.

Market Targeting:
The herbal drink has been targeted to niche marketing as it's a brand new product in the market and niche marketing is suitable for all ordinary soft drinks as well. During research it has been seen that the teenagers are the potential buyers for regular soda drinks who mostly buys the drink for the sake of taste mainly. The herbal drinks may not be welcomed very well in this age group and hence we are targeting widely to the group significantly who are mature say 21 years old and above. As the competition is very high to penetrate in the age group of school and college students our primary target will be on working people who are mostly 25 and above, this includes all sports persons, busy professionals, the high level managers, overworked labours, hard working class, and all those who want to improve in overall immune system.

Positioning for commutative advantage:

Competitors:
We dont have any specific competitors as this is a very unique product however the market switchers would be ranging from all the beverage sectors, it implies that we

24 have a biggest challenge to pull out the customers from almost all categories of soft drinks and juices group viz. energy drinks, cola drinks, juices and adult drinks.

MARKETING MIX ACTIVITIES:

UK consumed about 1,500 million liters of soft drink and juices every year with about 5 % increase in volume on year on year basis. In terms of value soft drink industry is about 1,770 million a year; hence we see a plethora of opportunities in these consumer products. This section will introduce and later highlight the marketing mix activities to launch a new herbal soft drink based on the below main elements as A) B) C) D) Product Price Promotion Place

This is explained as below,

A) PRODUCT
Herbal soft drink will be a unique formula with real natural ingredients and taste a novelty refreshing drink which provides energy, containing many medicinal properties with no side effects This health drink will be initially packed in 250ml of cans and plastic bottles. Over the period it will be made available in various sizes. The herbal ingredients used in the preparation of the drink would be mainlyGUARANA: This is a naturally occurring berry mainly into the Amazon, Tamilnadu (India) and in some common of Brazil; Guarana is very effective energy booster and is well known for stimulant properties, it improves the physical endurance and the stamina while boosting the immune system. GINKGO-BILOBA: In Japan and China, these trees are cultivated for their seeds as they are considered to be a one of the best a natural product to help in improving mental alertness; assist in memory building, blood circulation is improved and is very well know for its antioxidant properties, this enable us the competitive edge over all other soft drink products of the cola category and would be a widely accepted because of this antioxidant properties as on the other hand the available majority of the drinks in the market reduces oxygen carrying capacity of the system.

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NATUARALLY OCCURING SUGAR: We would be using naturally occurring sugars which are very low in calories and could be used by diabetic person too, this would cost us a bit more but considering the data research done would be appreciated by majority of obsessed persons who are majority in UK and they are very few soft drinks who really takes care of obesity the sugar substitutes are Stevia: It is natural sweetener derived from plants and has passed regular safety taste. Diabetics can consume it as it will not contribute to increase the sugar levels in the blood. Xylitol and Erythritol: These are derived from the fibres of commonly available fruits and some of the regularly found vegetable plants which can be cultivated across UK and Europe such as mushrooms These molecules are slowly absorbed in the blood stream as compate to any other regular sugar and are extremely low in terms of carbohydrate intake. This is having another age as medicinal property rather than being saturated in the body they are quickly excreted through urine. B-GROUP VITAMINS: Deficiencies in B group vitamins causes' majority of diseases where as a little more intake if these groups of vitamins do not cause any ill effects on the health as any excessive b-complex vitamins would be eliminated by the body. All kind of B vitamins will be extracted through naturally and readily occurring foods and vegetables During Manufacturing Keeping consumer needs in mind must insure that their needs are met by product attributes Attributes should be fully control while in pilot plant , production etc Thought the distribution process make sure that product attributes are retained Must take care of components such as chemical, physical, nutritional value, product packaging and shipping Train all pilot plant staff; keep of quality assurance policy in place for the QA team. QA personal involvement should be in all phases of product. Must track the storage of raw material and the final products through warehousing and delivery. Keep track of history of distribution in terms of manufacturing and expiry dates. Ingredients quality check should be done at regular basis and must be in compliance with all industry standards.

26 B) PRICE: The price would be about the 150 % of the regular cola drinks this will improve brand image considering 'higher the value higher the brand value' and hence expected operating profit margins would be higher, this would enable us to spend more on the advertising a making public aware of herbal drinks benefits. Introductory price of the drink would however be slightly less than cola drinks. There would be many promotional offers run during launch period of the product which will enable significant higher margins for retailers to attract the higher stock of the product. Some free samples would also be distributed during launch period would be at government offices and big public firms and public places. C) PROMOTION: We would be using promotional medium as advertising and publicity over news papers, TV and radio, Street campaigns and shows will also be used during launch period. The brand ambassadors would be considered the top football players and some movie stars including local celebrities. Some free samples would also be distributed during launch period would be at government offices and big public firms and public places. There would be many promotional offers run during introductory period of the product which will enable significant higher margins for retailers to attract to stock significantly higher volume of the product. We would be soon approaching the Olympic 2012 committee to see how we can make publicity by sponsoring the event. D) PLACE: We are covering all places across the UK and hence the model used for physical distribution of the product is intensive distribution. To monitor inventory of the stock an IT system will be enabled at various distribution centers. During Distribution will need to take care of: Maintain and establish self- life procedures for testing. Must track and respond according to customer complaints Frequent reviews of records of overall distribution system through IT system. Continuous review of sales records Must tract our main competitors closely in terms of price quantity and quantity

MANUFACTURER: Our first production unit will at Barmingham as we are getting a good deal to acquire the running cold drink plant and our packaging unit is in the same industry zone which will reduce the material transpiration cost, as per the demands we would also plan for another unit in Cardiff.

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AGENTS: We are extending the offers to our existing agents of our other regular consumer products. DISTRIBUTORS: We would ask and open new tenders to well set players in the industry. RETAILERS: Distributors will decide their retailers' on the other hand any retailer willing to offer our products will b assigned to that physical areas distributor. CUSTOMERS: As we are covering almost all regions of United Kingdom, all the retailers as per their geography will be linked to country agents through the distributors.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

Considering rapidly changing day to day life style and consumer behaviour it is not necessary that after the period of 18 months the same opinion will remain in place from the same responders. There are some chances of biasness during survey done. Surveyors interactions were limited some were incomplete and some may have been filled in hurry without actually reading the questioner because of their busy life.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS:

During advertisement will not only have to promote our product but will also have to demoralise about consumption of regular cola or soft drinks According to survey done, about 60% of the peple suggests that they will prefer plastic bottles over cans. Frequent consumption of the ingredients of this our soft drink will boost improve immune system this has been concluded by world health organisation, we can use this outcome of the WHO during advertisements and promotions. The research survey suggests that government should have frequent checks for the quality to maximise the consumer satisfaction factor and to improve the sales. The association of the beverage industry and food industry will suggest government and governing bodies about this research. Prices should not be much reduced to retain brand value as per- "Higher the price, higher will be the brand value" however occasionally as a part of promotion we can increase the quantity of the product. Higher prices will also help to stand out product from market considering its compositional values.

LOGICAL CONCLUSION:

28 Following are the conclusions derived based on the research and all business study carried out so far: Survey suggest on an important thing about consumer that 83 % of the people still love soft drinks as compare to only 17 % who do not like. Hence we would be adding carbonated water to get sparkling effects; this will still have about 5% of ill effect on health as compare to regular soda drinks. Survey also concludes that people are very much poised towards for natural herbs and there is a huge scope of herbal ingredients in daily consumption through the cold drinks. Majority of consumer having soft drinks only for the sake of putting off thrust. Most of the consumers consume cold drinks occasionally in celebrations and parties. Taste is the most important driving factor for the cold drinks. Respondents are widely influenced by advertisements and marketing of the product, and will drive their purchase. More than 50 % of the people said that cola or soda drinks may cause health problems and very few had health problems before. Most of the people prefer tangy orange flavour over all other flavours.

References and supporting evidences of research & analysis: http://www.fdf.org.uk This is a website launched by Food & Drink Federation, government of United Kingdom in the public interests to avail latest data of the food and beverage industry. All the statics available here are from official government figures. It also talks about industry standard practices for quality such as- ISO 9001, ISO 22000, PAS220

http://www.britishsoftdrinks.com The British Soft Drinks Association is United kingdoms soft drink traders and manufacturers association, it represents the common interests of all industry players such as manufacturer, producer of soft drinks which includes soda drinks, fresh and still fruit juices and bottled pure water. Its activities include Media interactions and communication with them, to influence government, to promote sustainability, to reduce monopoly in the marked and availing opportunities to all players in the industry and improve the competitiveness. http://www.guarana.com This website gives us insight out of our key ingredients, Guarana. This site guides through health advantages of this natural herb. This will also guide us through various producers and exporters of Guarana. http://www.nwbotanicals.org

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This site throws a light on all herbal products used in our cold drink, providing all related information side effects and amount of recommended dosages has been also guided in the website. http://bioweb.uwlax.edu Ginkgo-Biloba is one of the most important ingredients of our product, and this website provides thought information of its fruits and trees how they are cultivated, the season in which it is cultivated, the stockiest and exporters of this herbs and all health related information.

There are few more website used in the research and analysis, some of the sites are noted belowhttp://www.anh-usa.org This site will provide insight-out about the naturally occurring sugars extracted through fibers of commonly available fruits and vegetables, their extraction process the recommended proportion of consumption and its health benefits has been listed in the site. http://www.thecressco.co.uk/soft-drinks.html http://www.startupnation.com http://www.disabled-world.com

The books referred for the research and analysis are: A Modern Herbal This book has widely healped in choosing the herbs off the various readily available herbal materials such as and serves as an encyclopaedia, providing botanical information, its medicinal properties, Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine This book is composed by Steven Foster who is well known for herbs and its medicinal usages throughout the world. It provides geographical information of various natural herbs. Healing Tonics This book very well categorises the various available and tonics used in drinks by historically such as herbal teas. There are some more books listed below which has been looked into are Herbal Home Remedy Book Herbal Medicine Maker's Handbook Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health