Executive Summary
This report analyzes the internalization of meal kit delivery services from the UK to Denmark. Country analysis has allowed an understanding of how Denmark is open and trade-dependent, has a skilled and educated workforce, a favorable business environment, and a highly competitive tax regime among international investors. Country analysis among marketing plan, entry strategy, and financial plan are some factors discussed based on culture, economy, legal, and political perspectives. The economic system, law and regulation, government structure, and geographic and demographic information are also detailed. The marketing plan, like customer pathways, USP, and target customers, makes strategic entry outlines like capital assets and the strategic approach. Lastly, the financial plan explains the trading risk and how to mitigate them.
Introduction
As the world is rapidly changing, the preference for dietary and the demand for sustainable food options are also advancing. The concern for the impact on the environment based on food choices is rising among consumers and governments (Creutzig et al., 2022; Carmichael, 2019). According to Švarc et al. (2022), sustainable food and plant-based diets are the only options that could meet this environment-based impact of food choice (Li et al., 2022). Therefore, the effective alternative is initiating meal kit delivery services specializing in sustainable food options and plant-based diets, especially in the UK, where raw materials and the potential market have been identified (OECD 2020).
The meal kit delivery company offer food product that are plant-based meals with ingredients that are sourced sustainably, making them easy to cook (OECD 2020). Bunge et al. (2022) contend that the consumers targeted by such a company are those with a vision of a healthy and convenient choice for both humans and the environments the scholar term as an ethical value take and dietary preference. For the customer to benefit from the meal kit delivery company, they must subscribe by choosing a meal they prefer from the menu they want to deliver weekly. Thus, the company delivers meals containing recipe cards for guidance on the cooking process and the pre-portioned ingredients to their customer’s doorstep. This was adopted quickly, especially during the covid-19 pandemic, based on Grunert et al. (2022) evaluation.
The market plan for this company will be based on the 4P, which includes the price, place of product, and promotions (Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich 2014). The price will be based on the competitive aspect of the product and services to outperform similar companies based on the cost of the ingredient, the services, and the quality of the meal. The product will mainly be plant-based, which the company will offer as meal kits. The place will be encouraged to be within reach and close to a cosmopolitan town or city where potential customers are. The promotional aspect will be through the social media campaign and digital marketing. As a meal kit delivery company, the financial goals and the growth expectation are based on the number of customers, promotions, and revenue increase. But as a company, the objective should be to attain sustainable, quality, and convenient services.
Meal kit delivering services can offer products beyond the country’s borders, especially if internationalizing is necessary. Therefore, it is a good thing due to customer addition that increases revenue. Additionally, several factors must be considered for its effectiveness, varying from politics and law, economic aspects, culture, target market, and market and industry trends. Thus, as a meal kit delivery company, the vision in exploring the UK market is to be a leading plant-based meal kit delivery provider and internationalize the services to meet high demands.
This report will explain the country analysis, entry strategy, and financial plan as among marketing plan and factors like culture, economy, legal and political perspectives that affect the entry strategy. Others include the economic system, law, regulation, government structure, and geographic and demographic information. The marketing plan like customer pathways, USP, and target customers, making strategic entry outlines like capital assets and the strategic approach. Lastly, the financial plan explains the trading risk and how to mitigate them.
Country analysis
Denmark’s mixed economic system develops rapidly, fueled by a state with robust welfare and a large population. What makes Denmark outstanding for internalizing our meal kit delivery services is that the country has an open and trade-dependent economy, a skilled and educated workforce, and industries on renewable energy and food processing, among others. This country is after sustainable measures to serve its development and population needs.
The Danish government is stable with efficiency and transparency as its reputation Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich 2014). This government supports innovation and entrepreneurship in terms of start and expansion capital. Other advantages that favor the internationalization of Denmark soil are the favorable business environment and the tax regime that are highly competitive among international investors.
Like any other country, the Danish government has laws that, to some extent, affect foreign investors mainly for food safety, sustainability, and labeling. Agencies like the Danish veterinary and food administration were established to ensure and regulate that all food products within the Denmark border are of safety standards and high quality. Therefore, companies like meal kit delivery services should meet the standards to avoid reputational damage and penalties (Marchant-Forde and Boyle, 2020).
Denmark’s geographic and demographic information varies with that of the UK, where most meal kit delivery services are implemented. For instance, the culture of Denmark has an emphasis on the sustainability aspect that results in both health and environmental benefit. Additionally, scholarly findings reveal that a traditionally high number of the population are vegan, which aligns with the meal kit delivery services that offer plant-based products and emphasize sustainability and the opportunity to enter this market (Daverkosen 2022). However, work by Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich (2014) reveal that strict regulation and intense competition in meal kit delivery is among the limiting aspect while venturing into the market in Denmark.
Marketing Plan
The target customers in the Denmark market for the meal kit delivery services are health and environment conscious of prioritizing plant-based and sustainable food options. Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich (2014) explains that those aged 25-45 with average income are the main targeted customers. This group comprises roughly 1.2 million potential customers living within urban areas. This forms the vast gap in the meal kit delivery demand due to a busy lifestyle and limited time for cooking. And with the uniqueness of the company is focusing on plant-based diets and sustainable food categories like the use of local and organic source ingredients, which can form a clear message that compels the customers to convenient solutions for those after good health and conserving the environment.
In this meal kit delivery service company, the distinguishing aspect from the competitors is the unique selling proposition (USP). Through USP, the company focuses on sustainable food and plant-based diets. As a result, the services are of high quality, with ingredients sourced locally using minimal packaging that reduces waste that pollute the environment. Also, the meal and the recipe card are designed by professional chefs, which makes customers well-equipped to prepare a healthy and tasty meal at their comfort in minimal time (Bäuerle and Kühn, 2022).
Reaching the customer forms a vital aspect of the product delivery of this company. Thus, email marketing campaigns, social media, and targeted advertising help meet customers’ pathways. They are vital and time-saving as customers can order meals online after the subscription or one-time purchase services. This can allow the partnership with local health food stores to make healthy and environmentally friendly widely available (Godfray 2018).
The meal kit delivery company’s product and services will price, promoted, and made available for customer purchase through email marketing campaigns, social media, and targeted advertising channels where the pricing will be tagged competitively with various options on the meal plan and size of the serving. Through the services, promotional discounts and special offers will create and attract new customers while maintaining customer loyalty. Other options, such as referrals, will be integrated to create more awareness and new customers from existing ones. To Availability aspect of meal kit delivery services will be based on the selected location by the customer while placing orders. Through a user-friendly website, the orders placed can be made available to the customer and, at the same its, can be tracked for progress awareness (Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich 2014).
Entry Strategy
Venturing to Denmark as a meal kit delivery service company requires a well-planned entry strategy. Also, other factors must be considered while implementing the entry strategies, including culture, law, economy, legal and political aspect, market and industry trends, and the target market, Denmark. Bäuerle and Kühn (2022) explain the business model and strategic approach as strategies for a well-planned market entry. It is among the resourceful approach for such as company as it allows for joint ventures with the Danish local. This provides contract, expertise, and valuable market knowledge while benefiting the UK company with different experiences and brand establishment. Reducing the risks of entering a foreign market inhibited by cultural differences, logistics issues, and legal and regulatory issues is vital.
The capital assets that could be required for the entry strategy are advertising and marketing investment, local employee hiring, distribution network establishment, and licenses and permits securities for operating in Denmark (Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich 2014).
The product and service supply and delivery approach can allow a company such as the meal kit delivery service to manufacture its product in the UK and then export to Denmark, where it’s distributed to the customers who ordered. Boyd and Dyhr Ulrich (2014) state that this allows local stores to enhance partnerships with store owners for distribution, making the product more available.
Patents, copyrights, and IP issues fall under intellectual property issues, where the company ensures that the branding and recipes adhere to the Danish regulation that governs trademarks, copyrights, and patents. This is because infringement might result in legal action and reputation damage to the company.
Financial Plan
The projected cash flow forecast for the first three years of trending can be challenging to state. This is due to several dynamics, but the requirements are based on advertising and marketing investment, local employee hiring, distribution network establishment, and licenses and permit securities for operations. Funding could be from the loan and investors.
Trading risks for a business-like meals kit delivery services include translation risks, transaction risks, and fluctuations. Therefore, the company should deploy strategies like hedging, diversification, and risk monitoring to avoid losses (FocusEconomics, 2019). This is because hedging allows forward contracts and option that mitigate current risks, and diversification help in revenue generation and exploration of other sales, which reduce single market dependency. Lastly, risk monitoring is a strategic take that ensures close monitoring of market trends, impact assessment of economic changes, and political and legal factors that help evade the risks.
Transaction risk has been explained as the risk of loss due to exchange rate fluctuations in the duration of transactions. Strategies like forward contracts and currency swaps are vital in controlling such a risk. This is because the company can apply these contracts to lock in exchange rate transactions in the future. At the same time, currency swaps allow the exchange currency with a counterparty that lower transaction risks (Forde and Boyle, 2020).
Translation risks impact the exchange rate fluctuation in the company’s financial statement. This risk is mitigated through transaction exposure analysis and accounting methods. The two methods are vital for analyzing its translation exposure to identifying risk, developing mitigation strategies, and using accounting to track the current rate, functional currency, and temporal strategy to mitigate risks Marchant (Tourangeau and Scott, 2022).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the choice of meal kit delivery services has been proven vital to the UK and Denmark due to their common interest. Specializing in a plant-based diet and sustainable food has benefits health-wise and environmentally (Carmichael 2019). Expanding in Denmark with appropriate entry strategies harnesses the lucrative market opportunity. This report has discussed the Country analysis of Denmark, where it is found that the country is open and trade-dependent, has a skilled and educated workforce, and industries on renewable energy and food processing. Also, Denmark’s favorable business environment and tax regime are highly competitive among international investors. Agencies like the Danish veterinary and food administration ensure and regulate all food products for high quality and safety standards. Denmark’s geographic and demographic information relies on the sustainability of health and environmental concerns. Second, the marketing plan in Denmark targets customers who are health and environment conscious of prioritizing plant-based and sustainable food options. Especially those aged 25-45 with an average income from the main targeted customers. Channels like email marketing campaigns, social media, and targeted advertising help meet customers’ pathways.
The entry strategy includes factors like culture, law, economy, legal and political aspect, market and industry trends, and the target market, which must be considered while venturing into the Denmark market. These strategies include a business model, strategic approach, and product and service supply and delivery approach allowing joint ventures with the Danish local (Bäuerle and Kühn, 2022). The capital assets are for advertising and marketing investment, local employee hiring, distribution network establishment, and licenses and permits for operating in Denmark. Patents, copyrights, and IP issues result in legal action and the company’s reputation damage. Lastly, the trading risk for a business-like meals kit delivery service includes translation risks, transaction risks, and fluctuations. Therefore, the company should deploy strategies like hedging, diversification, and risk monitoring to avoid losses.
References
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