Good Quench Case Study Example

1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Quench remains a brand leader in the sector of bottled water. Founded in 1998, the company has expanded its operations to all segments of the world. To date, the company boasts of being among the multibillion companies in the globe. Some of the strengths behind the success of Quench are robust advertisements, competitive pricing and image that is positive. The major market segments of the company are sporty individuals who aspire to leave a healthy life. Quench’s initiatives to fund various activities like sports have also received a warm welcome in the community. The reliable and trusted brands of the company are a plus against its competitors. However, the company has witnessed decreased sales for the year 2012 due to several reasons. There has been a decline in the demand for bottled water because of pollution that the plastic packaging brings. The media has instead championed for the use of tap water at the expense of bottled water. These factors have made Quench company incur several losses. This article pinpoints the strategy that can be used by the Quench Company to get out the problems it faces.
2.0 BODY
2.1 Problem identification
2.11 To raise people’s awareness on the impacts of plastics on the environment
At least 1 million bottled water are consumed daily. It translates to an equal number of water bottles that are disposed of from the source (United States 2005, p. 15). These bottles can take up to 700 years to decompose. When disposed in land, the land becomes useless leading an increasing level of wasted land (Ellsbury 2012, p. 12). Additionally, a large quantity of energies is required to manufacture, dispose of and transport plastic bottles. During the processing of the plastic bottles, smoke is released into the atmosphere leading to air pollution and global warming (Gleick 2010, p. 6). Moreover, incineration of plastics emits much smoke into the air.
2.12 To raise awareness of the risks of plastics to our health
Plastic bottles used to package drinking water can leach into the water the container stores (Fishman 2012, p. 2). For instance, polycarbonate plastic can easily leach a chemical compound called bisphenol-A into the packaged water. If it happens, the water will be unfit for human consumption. In extreme cases, death can occur due to the chemical poisoning. Some compounds used to make plastic bottles have been proved to have potential of causing cancer. (United States & Stephenson, 2009). A good example includes the pathalates like DEP and DEHA that is carcinogenic to humans. According to Health News (2014, p. 2), bottled water contains a lot of heterotrophic bacteria, putting the health of consumers at risk. The health risks posed by bottled water has made people shy away from using such products consequently leading to reduced sales (Geiger, 2009). A challenge that seems to be cropping up is that the more people become knowledgeable of plastic bottle health risks, the more they are likely to reduce their use. It would be to the disadvantage of Quench Company.
2.2 Recommendations
2.21 Government campaigns to guarantee tap water safety
According to Health News (2014, p. 2), there is a shift from bottled water consumption to tap water. It is because of bottled water has been found to have a large amount of bacterial loads. Gleick (2010, p. 10) also adds that environmental concerns by the government has led to more campaigns geared to increase the consumption of tap water. It is because of plastic wastes and pollution that arise during recycling, production and transportation of plastic bottles. The major fear is that a consumer demand for bottled drinking water will decline affecting the sales of the company. Decreased demand of the product results in reduced sales, hence, more losses.
2.22 Media Promotion of Anti-Bottled water films
Promotions that encourage the usage of tapped water affects the sale of bottled water negatively. In Soechtig (2009, p. 4) tapped film exposed some of the negative traits of bottled water companies. The companies embezzle public funds; bring about climate change because of their emissions and wastes disposed of in the water catchment. In addition, the companies continue to use fossil fuels during the manufacture of plastic bottles used to package bottles. In the film, we observe how fossil fuels are dangerous both to the environment and man. In the film, we observe that the media had raised awareness of the dangers of bottled water because of the drawbacks. Such initiatives by the media dwarf the efforts towards the usage of bottled drinking water leading to decreased sales. It is a setback to the Quench Company since most customers would reduce their consumption of bottled water ultimately lowering sales in the company.
2.23 A wide range of soft drinks getting into the market
Quench main aim is to provide its customers with delicious cost effective water to all clients through environmentally friendly means (Royte 2009, p. 13). Hence, the company has a nickname called ‘Water tech’. Soft drinks entry into the markets has provided an alternative substitute for bottled water. Additionally, the soft drinks have brought more satisfaction to the customers because of their ability to provide nutritional benefits like energy (Gleick, 2010, p. 11). It has provided a variety to the customers. Some soft drinks companies have also opted to reorganize their stores in a manner that they have tapped water and soft drinks. Hence, the entry of soft drinks in the market has been to the disadvantage of Quench Company. Further, some soft drinks are more affordable than the bottled water.
2.24 Generation and Evaluation of solutions
Environment conservation remains a major concern for water bottling companies and all industries (United States 2005, p. 17). Emphasis needs to be laid on technologies that lead lower emissions of gases into the atmosphere. Since consumers are concerned about their environment, water bottling companies need to consider producing, packaging materials that are recyclable (Want, 1995). It will also reduce the effects of plastic bottle wastes.
3.0 LIST OF REFERENCES
Ellsbury, H. (2012). Plastic Water Bottles Impose Health and Environmental Risks. Retrieved 11th April 2014 from http://www.banthebottle.net/articles/plastic-water-bottles-impose-health-and-environmental-risks/
Fishman, C. (2012). U.S. Bottled Water Sales are Booming again despite opposition. Retrieved 11th March from http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/05/17/u-s-bottled-water-sales-are-booming-again-despite-opposition/
Geiger, B. (2009). Clean water. New York, Flash Point/Roaring Brook Press.
Gleick, P. H. (2010). Bottled and sold: the story behind our obsession with bottled water. Washington, DC, Island Press.
Health News (2014).Bottled water contains more bacteria than tap water. Retrieved 11th April from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7763038/Bottled-water-contains-more-bacteria-than-tap-water.html
Mackey, E. D. (2003). Consumer perceptions of tap water, bottled water, and filtration devices. Denver, CO, Awwa Research Foundation.
Olson, E. D., Poling, D., & Solomon, G. (2006). Bottled water pure drink or pure hype? New York, N.Y., NRDC. http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/bwinx.asp.
Royte, E. (2008). Bottlemania: how water went on sale and why we bought it. New York, Bloomsbury.
Soechtig, S. (2009). Tapped: More Arguments against Bottled Water. Retrieved 11th April 2014 from http://myplasticfreelife.com/2009/10/tapped-even-more-arguments-against-bottled-water/
United States. (2005). Bottled water basics. [Washington, DC?], United States Environmental Protection Agency.
United States, & Stephenson, J. B. (2009). Bottled water FDA safety and consumer protections are often less stringent than comparable EPA protections for tap water: report to congressional requesters. [Washington, D.C.], U.S. Govt. Accountability Office. http://purl.access.gpo.gov/GPO/FDLP577.
Want, J. H. (1995). Managing radical change: beyond survival in the new business age. New York, Wiley.
4.0 REFLECTIVE STATEMENT
Despite having written case studies before, this one offered a more exciting challenge. This case regarding the collapse of the Quench company in the market was tricky. Bringing out facts to convince people to opt for tapped water was quite difficult instead of bottled water was very difficult. However, there are many things that will continue to be important for me thereafter. These include matters containing to safety of bottled water and human lifer and pollution attributed to plastic bottles. Given another chance, I would not only write case studies based on the data presented, but also take a closer look on all the available data found in secondary sources. In a nutshell, writing an executive summary seemed easy as it was based on already gathered information regarding Quench company.