Communication Adaptation

The main aim of the marketing communication proposed as a part of the market entry strategy is to create awareness and encourage German consumers to try Mixit products.

Therefore, the communication should refer to the healthiness and premium quality of the products having functional benefits for the consumers as well as the performed CSR activities since these attributes seem to be the most relevant for the target Achievers-Lohas segment in their decision making. Moreover, the informal communication style, employing ordinary language, culturally appropriate puns and references to pop culture, along with the retro visuals, should be preserved as it encourages the creation of a sense of welcoming community evolved around the brand.

Owing to the size of Mixit s.r.o., its image of the innovative brand, and the fact that primary research indicated that the traditional advertising channels, such as TV or print, influence the target segment just minimally, the market entry strategy proposes not to

83 employ them in any way. Likewise, considering the current pandemic situation and related restrictive measures, the outdoor media channels are highly likely to be ineffective; hence their use is not implemented in the market entry strategy proposition. Altogether, the overall costs for running the advertising campaign on social media and other online channels are expected to be considerably lower, thus fitting the Mixit budget more than the use of traditional media channels.

Indeed, the main proposed communication channels are social networks, namely Facebook and Instagram, blogs and corporate website. Not only is the use of these channels consistent with the Mixit communication strategy and active use of these networks in the domestic Czech market, but also the target segment is responsive to the advertising on these channels and considers it to have a considerable influence over their decision making, as was confirmed by the results of the primary research. Moreover, the target segment relies heavily on the product reviews from their family, friends and peers, which are nowadays mostly shared via these social networks. With this fact in mind, the short advertising videos or pictures should be created according to the creative strategy of slice-of-life featuring the buyer personas Mattias and Michaella mentioned before.

Implementation of this creative concept enables Mixit to communicate and emphasize the healthiness and functional benefits of their muesli; likewise, the fact that the muesli line comprises muesli for any type of diet consumer may follow, if not offered among readymade mixes, then it will be delivered through the personalised mixing.

Communication of these features is essential since 90 % of respondents in the primary research confirmed that they consider healthy nutrition to be of high importance, and the consumption of the food with labelled functional benefits has, according to the secondary research, increased significantly since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, these slice-of-life adverts will mitigate the uncertainty avoidance rooted in German consumers as the adverts facilitate building trust in the Mixit brand since target consumers are able to relate to the portrayed buyer personas.

84 Figure 27 Storyboard for Slice-of-life for Persona Mattias

Sources: Own processing utilising Ajegbile - Close-Up Photo of Teal Digital Clock, 2019;

Fortunato - Young diverse teenagers having lunch in outdoor cafe, 2020; Freitas - Person Holding Barbell, 2021; Le Blanc - Person Holding Iphone Showing Social Networks Folder, 2017; López - Anonymous man standing on subway station near train, 2020; Mixit - Čoko-ládování do kapsy, 2021o; Míchej müsli, 2021b; Mueller - Man Sitting in Front of Computer, 2017; Péchy - Photography, 2019

Figure 28 Storyboarch for Slice-of-life for Persona Michaella

85 Sources: Own processing utilising de Richelieu - Female Lawyers in an Office Looking at a Computer, 2020b, Coworkers Taking a Coffee Break, 2020c; Holmes - Lunch boxes near notebooks on table, 2020; Magni - Grocery Cart With Item, 2018; Michalou - Family Having a Christmas Dinner Together, 2020; Mixit - Čoko-ládování do kapsy, 2021o, Míchej müsli, 2021b; Shevtsova - Cooked Food Served on White Ceramic Bowl, 2018

Besides, adverts should direct potential consumers to the corporate website as it will serve as an informative and educational platform for the consumers as well as an e-shop.

Therefore, the translation of the website to the German language preserving the communication style is inevitable and should be done professionally to avoid misunderstandings or inappropriateness, which might discourage potential customers.

Furthermore, the website should provide access to the subscription program called Mixit Klub. Since the segment characteristic feature of being likely to become loyal to the brand provided that the brand meets the consumers’ needs justifies establishing the loyalty program. Moreover, membership in the loyalty subscription program should be incentivised by the discount coupons for future purchases or rather by the access to the special offers and merchandise limited solely to the program members and otherwise not for sale, since the price sensitivity of the target segment is decreasing and consumers are thus expected to be motivated more by the exclusiveness of these membership benefits.

Thereby, the loyalty program serves also as an online tool promoting sales.

In order to promote sales in the brick-and-mortar stores, the strategy proposes the use of the tools of in-store promotion since the results of primary research implied that more than 30 % of the potential buyers are convincible by this tool. Therefore, the visuals of the shelf decorations and stalls placed in the contracted supermarket chains should be distinctive, appealing, tasteful and aligned with the overall corporate visuals.

Admittedly, the premium positioning implies the use of personal selling; yet, muesli being a low involvement product lacks the justification for its implementation in the market entry strategy in the long run. However, the organisation of the product tastings in the contracted supermarket chains within the first two to three weeks after the launch of Mixit muesli to the German market is expected to encourage potential customers to give a try to Mixit products and thus significantly promote sales. Moreover, offering the possibility to experience also the personalised mixing provided by the trained salesperson at the stall, yet with the limited ingredients offer, would demonstrate the variability of the Mixit muesli line and its suitability for every individual’s diet. Conversely, the use of

86 discounts as a part of sales promotion is not included in the strategy proposition as it is likely to be harmful to the intended premium positioning of the Mixit brand.

Figure 29 In-store Sampling during Product Launch

Source: Adapted from Mixit - Logo, n.d.; Tankilevitch - Person Shopping in Store, 2020 The significantly high responsiveness of the target Achievers-Lohas segment to socially responsible behaviour implies the opportunity to communicate the CSR and charitable activities conducted by Mixit to stimulate loyalty to the brand. Considering the current socio-economic conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the charitable activities which could be effectively conducted in Germany as well would be the initiative “Na dobroty pro lékaře” (“For delicacies for the doctors”), currently performed by Mixit in Czech and Slovak republic. The initiative encourages customers to add 1 € to the final sum of their purchase, and the collected money is further used for supplying doctors and nurses who fight the pandemic in the so-called first line with the nutritional Mixit snacks as a token of gratitude for their hard work.

87

Conclusion

Even though the international expansion is usually associated solely with the giant multinational corporations, having successfully expanded to five foreign markets Mixit s.r.o. proves that in the globalized world market also the small or middle-sized enterprise can manage to establish itself a sustainable position on the target market provided that the company succeeds in identifying and serving the needs of the particular market segment.

Therefore, the main objective of this thesis was to design the market entry strategy which would enable Mixit s.r.o. to target a suitable consumer segment and capture a market share significant enough for the company to establish a sustainable position on the target German market.

The appropriateness of the customizable muesli line for expanding to the mature German industry of muesli and other grain-based products is doubtless since breakfast muesli became the fastest growing food segment in the market. Moreover, since the consumption patterns have gravitated towards healthy nutrition, healthy hedonism and preference of the food with labelled functional benefits, the demand for premium products has been growing significantly. The change has been reflected not only in the product preferences but also in the recommendation of BMEL for producers to implement the Nutri score labelling to communicate the information relevant for the consumers’ decision making.

In the second part of the thesis, the VRIO analysis of the internal environment of Mixit s.r.o. in the domestic market confirmed that the sources of the sustainable competitive advantage are primarily concentrated in the production, ensuring the superior quality of the final products, among them the lyophilisation know-how and possession of the custom-made machinery. Moreover, the respective advantages provide strengths the company can utilise in the market entry and establishment of an image of a love brand in Germany.

Furthermore, evaluated political, economic and technological factors of the PESTEL analysis promote the stability and prosperity of the market and improve the business conditions encouraging the entry to the market. Moreover, the fondness for innovative products pragmatically promoting human development and self-actualisation of German consumers significantly complement the innovativeness of the Mixit concept. However, the strict environmental legislation implying high environmental protection standards imposes the threats that need to be further addressed by the proposed entry strategy.

88 The analysis of the industry attractiveness utilising Porter’s model of five forces indicated considerably high attractiveness of the relevant industry for muesli and other grain-based products. However, the significantly intensive competitive rivalry, along with the prominent threats of new entrants to the market and available product substitutes, arise from the efforts for monetizing the recent growth in demand for breakfast muesli provoked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, since the overall strength of the competitive forces is expected to increase during the evaluation period, the industry's attractiveness will remain sufficient, implying that the differentiation strategy is the appropriate option to avoid participation in considerably severe price wars among existing competitors.

The conducted primary research among the general German public in order to reach the most comprehensive pool of respondents employed both quantitative method of a questionnaire and qualitative method of in-depth interviews. The results of the research confirmed and complemented the finding of the secondary research that the German population is relatively abundant in resources and well-educated hence willing to pay a premium price for the innovative personalised premium products provided that these products comply with their high consumer standards and are utilizable in the pursuance of a particular goal. Moreover, obtained insights imply that 64 % of the respondents would appreciate Mixit presence on the market as they will fancy trying out its products.

However, their decision-making is significantly influenced by the reviews from friends and family as well as product labelling for nutritional quality, functional benefits and environmental friendliness.

Therefore considering the obtained analyses results and insights, the designed customer-oriented market entry strategy targets the appointed Achievers-Lohas segment and proposes to enter the German market firstly solely with the muesli line to mitigate the adverse impact of the potential failure. Although the adaptation of the pricing and core of the product was not necessary, strategy maintains the distinctive visuals of the packaging yet proposes to adapt its size in order to seize the opportunity created by the booming snackification trend and material to meet the high legal standards for the environment protection and preferences of the environmental conscious target segment. Furthermore, despite adopting a premium positioning, the strategy proposes an intensive distribution strategy emphasizing the online distribution channel of corporate e-shop and network of Mixit vending machines. Likewise, the communication strategy proposition rejects

89 traditional communication channels as well as outdoor advertising and implements online communication via social media communicating healthiness, premium quality and personalisation opportunities preserving the image of the brand. In addition, the proposed communication strategy facilitates spreading awareness and community building by means of a loyalty program, CSR activities and utilisation of personal selling during the product launch.

To conclude, despite the considerably intense competitive rivalry within the industry and similarity of a business concept to the direct competitor, mymuesli, the overall state of the German market and attractiveness of the muesli and other grain-based products industry open up significantly more opportunities than they impose threats. Therefore, owing to the identified internal strengths of Mixit s.r.o. and their relevance to German consumers, its entry to Germany presents an advisable step for further international expansion of the company. Moreover, establishing a sustainable position on the market would facilitate the launch of the rest of the Mixit portfolio to the German market and thus maximize the fulfilment of the profitability potential.

90

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