One of the biggest weaknesses the Nestle Company is facing at the United Kingdom is that Milo is not produced locally. It has to be imported from Kenya, Australia, Malaysia or India to name a few (BBC, 2006). Thus, this makes the price of the Milo high since it has to cover the cost of importation. The product is sold at high price than other beverages. This makes Milo inaccessible to the poor consumers with low purchasing power (Fitzgerald et al., 2014). Additionally, since the product is not manufactured locally, it makes many mothers to object consumption of the drink by their children. This is because they may not have trust on foreign products or the import agents (Tesco, 2013).
The strength of Milo is derived from the company brand Nestle. Nestle has a variety of product in the United Kingdom. The loyal consumers who buy nestle products such as jam or butter, are most likely to buy Milo. Thus, the company should include Milo in the promotion of other Nestle products. Additionally, foreigners from the countries that produce Milo should be informed where they can get Milo. This is because foreigners may not know where to get their Milo for their morning breakfast. Thus, the company should run adverts informing consumers where they can get their favorite drinks from major supermarkets chains such as Sainsbury, Tesco, Asda or Morrisons (Euromonitor, 2014). This will save many consumers who have to buy Milo from online shops or import from their home country.
The opportunity the company has is that other breakfast drinks such as the coffee, tea or cocoa are considered as harmful to the body since they contain caffeine. Thus, they are not considered healthy for children. Therefore, the company should take intensive advertisement informing parent that Milo is a new energy drink in the market. It has a variety of vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals such as calcium and zinc which are essential for the growth of the children. The company should also emphasize that the Milo is essential for the cognitive functions and performance of the children (Sainsbury's, 2014).
The treat the company face is other soft drinks in the market like coffee, tea and drinking chocolates from other companies. Thus, the market has other players that offer alternative to Milo to consumers. If the competitors reduce the price of their products, the consumers will shift their consumption from Milo to other beverages in the market (Fitzgerald et al., 2014).
Therefore, for nestle to have a significant share in the United Kingdom market, the first thing is to conduct an intensive promotion of the Milo. Thus, the company should run series of advertisements in the media to inform parents of the new Milo, which is nutritious, healthy energy drink which taste sweet. Thus, the consumption Milo each morning, children stand to gain energy and improve on their performance in class and at the field. The adverts will also inform the parents at what price they can get the new product and which retail stores they can get the product easily. The company can also get permission and endorsement of famous athletes in the United Kingdom and include their pictures on the packaging of the container of the new Milo. Hence, parents who identify with the athlete can buy the product in the hope that their children will also be athletes in the future (Kapferer, 2012).
References
BBC, (2006), BBC - h2g2 - Milo - Australian Chocolate Drink - A14042143, Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ptop/plain/A14042143
Euromonitor, (2014), Grocery Retailers in the United Kingdom. Retrieved from http://www.euromonitor.com/grocery-retailers-in-the-united-kingdom/report
Fitzgerald, D, & Haller, S, (2014), Pricing-to-market: evidence from plant-level prices, The Review of Economic Studies, 81(2), 761-786.
Kapferer, J, N, (2012), The new strategic brand management: Advanced insights and strategic thinking. Kogan Page Publishers,
Sainsbury's, (2014), www.sainsburys.co.uk, Retrieved from http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=44&productId=38750&storeId=10151&krypto=mbhM%2F0MzAhfnv7F%2F3Cv6kNS2zGNvzOfb56pga2MDjplNpW%2BDBCtvs26G
Tesco, (2013), Nestle Milo Tin 400G - Groceries - Tesco Groceries.,Retrieved from http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=259536574
