Greencore Group
Marketing Plan
2013

3IBM1 / Case B
Boudewijn De Bondt 500654850
Benjamin Lobatto 500648491
Roel Hoedemakers 500653139
Oskar Van Enst 500524664
Manvir Sandhu 500646521
Nada Barakat 500676948

Bringing convenience to good food.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 5
External Analysis 6 Market Analysis 6 Market needs 6 Market trends 6 Market growth 6 Competitor Analysis 6 Macro Environment 7 Demographics 7 Economic 7 Natural 7 Technological 8 Political 8 Cultural 8
Internal Analysis 8 Current target market 9 Positioning 9 Competitive advantage 9 Marketing mix 10 Place 10 Product 10 Price 11 Promotion 11 Financial Performance 12
SWOT Analysis 13 Confrontation Matrix 15
Segmentation, targeting and positioning 16 Segmentation: 16 Target market: 16 Positioning: 16
Corporate Strategy 17
Objectives 18 Marketing objectives 19 Financial objectives 19
Marketing Mix 19 Product 19 Price 20 Promotion 20 Place 20
Profit & Loss Statement / Budget (3 years) 21
Recommendations to the decision makers 22
Source list 23
Appendices 24 Place 24 Obesity U.S 24
Personal reflection 26 Roel Hoedemakers 26 Boudewijn de Bondt 26 Manvir Sanhu 26 Nada Barakat 26 Oskar van Ernst 26

Executive Summary

In 2008 Greencore entered the U.S. market and acquired two major contracts with convenience chain 7-Eleven and Starbucks which gave Greencore an opportunity to grow internationally and be as successful elsewhere as in the U.K. However, the U.S. citizens are more culturally immersed into fast-food and food from deli-shops which is prepared on order, rather than, for example, pre-packaged sandwiches. On the other hand, it is clear there is a high demand for healthy food in the U.S. because of the obvious high obesity rate. By spreading healthier food around the country, and introducing to the citizens the alternatives for in between fast-food snacks, obesity can be reduced and people will have a better life without health complication caused by fast-food.
To adress these problems and possibilities, Greencore’s objectives have been divided in short- and long-term objectives.
Short-term:
* Through 7-Eleven and Starbucks, more products can be introduced into the US market. * Increase brand awareness through private labeling. * Spread healthier food across the U.S. * Offer a wider selection of products for other retailers. * An increase of 10 percent in total market share within one year.
Long-term:
* Open three new facilities within 5 years; these facilities will be located in Boston, New-York and San Francisco. * Become “best-in-class” with their food-to-go sandwiches. * Increase 30 percent of the total market share after three years. * Sustain an annual growth of 44.5% for the revenues. * Sustain an annual growth of 37.3% for the operational income.

Although these objectives are quite challenging and will need a lot of hard work in order for them to be achieved , it is a positive horizon to look forward to. The most challenging effort is to convince the U.S. citizens that they should choose a healthy snack instead of going to a fast-food restaurant. Once Greencore has drawn these people attentions to the healthy food variations, Greencore will make its success in no time.

Introduction

In the past, the U.S. has been called out for having the most obese population. Tackling obesity in the upcoming decade is very important, because of the findings of a new report which stated that the US will hold the highest population of overweight people in 2022.

There are 9 major countries with high obesity rates : U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, U.K., Japan, Brazil and Canada. The current number of obese people in those areas will increase from 167 million in 2012 to 213 million in 2022, putting a strain on health services.

Then again focusing on the U.S., researchers indicate that the American people will be mostly affected by this and leading to expected 81 million overweight people and 113 million people are expected to be obese by 2022. The AHA (American Heart Association) notes that 60-70% of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. Obesity will put the human body at risk for heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and diabetes. Today in the U.S. obesity affects nearly 78 million adults and 13 million children, according to the AHA. For theses shocking numbers and to be a part in the prevention obesity becoming a larger issue in the U.S. Greencore will encourage healthy food and sell their products across the country.

External Analysis
To understand the external forces that shape various opportunities and pose threats to Greencore’s skills to drive future growth, the following macro environment analysis is conducted.
Market Analysis
Greencore is providing its customers with a wide selection of high-quality convenience meals that are unique and pleasing in presentation, offer a wide selection of health conscious choices, and utilizes top-shelf ingredients. Greencore seeks to fulfill the following benefits that are important to their customers.
Market needs
During economic slowdowns consumers look for convenient and lower priced meals. Consumer demand includes ease in purchasing, cleaning and preparation, good nutritional value, flavor and food value. Consumers want food which can be prepared quickly but do not want to compromise on quality. Consumers are looking for fresh foods that provide health benefits, and nutrition.

Market trends
Traditionally, retail or private label brand products have been inexpensive generic products. However, over time they have evolved to become increasingly competitive with national brands. The UK grocery retailers depended heavily on private labels and the demand for private labels was growing as well in the US. In 2012 private label sales in the US estimated to be $80 billion. Multiple retailers reported private sale revenues targets third of total sales by the end of the decade.
Market growth
The UK grocery market was worth £169.7 billion in 2013, an increase of 3.7% on 2012
IGD forecast that the UK grocery market value will be worth £205.9bn in 2018, an 21.3% increase on 2013. The grocery market's share accounts for 54.9% in every £1 of UK retail spending.
Competitor Analysis
The following competitors pose a direct threat to Greencore with the convenience meals in the U.K. and U.S. healthy food and lunch market.

Competitors were largely the kind of local and regional suppliers, which Greencore had acquired in recent years. The competitive threat in the U.S. is mostly in the future, because of the size of the country and that the market is too fragmented.

Greencore’s major U.K competitor is Bakkavor, an iceland-based producer of fresh prepared foods. Bakkavor is a leading supplier of fresh ready meals and other prepared foods and has a far broader international presence than Greencore with 10 countries and sales to retain and foodservice outlets in Asia, Europe, North America and South Africa.

Macro Environment
Demographics
Geography is clearly reflected in the notions of convenience foods in the U.K. and U.S. The market size in the U.K. is smaller which allows tighter and denser supply chain management and more efficient store deliveries. The U.K. retailers had strong infrastructure to support chilled fresh foods, unlike the U.S. retailers who had not invested much in infrastructure or store space to support a chilled foods.

The total population of the United Kingdom is around 63,182,000. The UK customers lived in a walkable distance from the shopping centers and were accustomed to finding fresh food nearby. On the other hand the demographics of the United States with a total resident population of 316,836,000, making it the third-most populous country in the world which in turn make it a huge marketplace for convenience food. Much of the US population lived in suburban areas and did their shopping on weekly basis. They preferred food that had a long shelf live and came in bulk packaging. The U.S. shopper had to travel by car to do their shopping and so the supermarkets received fewer deliveries.
Economic
Sandwiches are necessary convenience food in the U.K. and U.S. markets. They are affordable and portable. However unlike in the U.K. the U.S. consumers rarely purchased fresh sandwiches. From the GDP data of the U.K. and U.S. it can be seen that there is a slight increase in the U.S. purchasing power compared to the U.K. data.

| 2012 | 2011 | GDP UK per capita | 38,514 | 38,961 | GDP US per capita | 49,965 | 48,113 |

Competition among U.K. grocery retailers was very intense and is accelerated by the growing popularity of discount stores as shoppers maximize value during times of economic slowdown. Another indicator to a decrease in GDP in the U.K. is that the U.K. stores employed less labor than the U.S. stores.
Natural
Greencore has 4500 suppliers. Even though most of them are local but Greencore sourced as far as Thailand. However they were none exclusive to Greencore. The Greencore strategy is to ensure that the suppliers meet the standards of food safety that U.K. and U.S. manufacturing sites employ.

Greencore spends enormous time auditing its facilities in the U.K. and the U.S. for external purposes. In FY12 the following number of internal and external audits took place at Greencore’s facilities:

Greencore control | Numbers of auditing | Internal Audits | 11,428 | External Audits | 155 | Customer Taste Panels | 1,502 | Internal Taste Panels | 68,057 | Supplier Approvals | 1,051 | Greencore is working towards full Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) status across all of its facilities largely through adopting British Retail Consortium (BRC) or Safe Quality Foods (SQF) standards.
Technological
The UK factories were held in large warehouses and dedicated to one product group. The production of sandwiches is semi-automatic with up to 10 workers. U.K. facilities use belt base assembly line. When there is a problem on the assembly line, the production stops and will not restart until the problem is fixed. In addition to the assembly line, Manton wood considered as the world’s largest sandwich manufacturing facility has fully automatic production line which can be adapted with modular equipment’s.

The US facilities had costly operational weakness; they were not a match to the U.K. standards. Greencore invested more in improving base line U.S. factory conditions rather than improving their food production technology. Moreover the U.S. Home Made Brand Food facility in Massachusetts is Greencore’s most complex manufacturing site because it is designed to produce a wide range of products.
Political
The management rules and regulations in the U.K. facilities are strongly centralized, while management in the U.S. chains had more dispersed control.

Despite Greencore having an excellent reputation within the U.K. facilities, the U.S. facilities however made poor early impressions with the regulations of the food and drug administration and the departments of agriculture.
Cultural
Greencores’s U.K. consumer tastes are relatively homogenous unlike their counterparts in the U.S. were only half of the consumers were satisfied with the sandwiches sold. The U.S. supermarkets are culturally and operationally well-established in the deli model which is centered on in store food preparation.
Internal Analysis
Greencore is equipped with a good understanding of its internal dealings. Greencore will use this knowledge to better identify flaws and to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of its daily operations.
Current target market
The current target market of Greencore is focusing on small and larger convenience stores that want to offer its consumers a fresh, flavorful and easy to make meal. Greencore associates itself with convenience food since 2001 until now; Greencore’s customers include major retailers, foodservice providers, manufacturers, petrol forecourt operators and airlines.

Greencore’s customers are increasingly searching for high quality foods, which covers a variety of eating occasions and are convenient to prepare. The majority of their convenience foods are supplied to large-scale customers in bulk. Greencore does this directly to a store, pre-order radial distribution business and Greencore can deliver smaller quantities to individual outlets.

Positioning
Positioning is all about creating high quality convenience food, a well-organized supply chain and well infortmed customers about Greencore's value offerings. Greencore is specialized in developing and understanding good food, their selection is very broad in which their customer can easily choose, they make their meals with nice and fresh ingredients and their private labeling is always an eye catcher in the mind of their consumers.
Over the years Greencore created a strong supply chain in the U.K. and became one of the biggest players in the field. Greencore strives to be “best-in-class” when it comes to convenience food. Greencore products is that something extra every convenience store wanted to have because when a consumer has tasted, for example, a fresh sandwich they will not just see two slices of bread, but two slices of bread filled with a handful of layered ingredients. Competitive advantage
Greencore has by far the largest market in the U.K food industry accounted with an 85% of revenues. Greencore is an experienced player in the field and its constantly adapting to its environment. Its broad selection in their food-to-go, chilled meals, components and desserts differentiated them from competitors. Greencore has been creating scale benefits such as cost efficiencies, production expertise, service and supply quality. Its supply chain is well organized and they work within specific manufacturing times for each step of production. In 2008, Greencore has entered the U.S market and required two major contracts with convenience chains 7-eleven and Starbucks coffee what gives them the opportunity to grow further internationally.
Marketing mix Place
Greencore is the world’s largest sandwiches manufacturer, with 12,000 employees and 26 productions sit 17 in the U.K., 3 in Ireland and 6 in the U.S. Greencore’s headquarter is located in Dublin. Greencore sold through the retail channel; this channel includes small convenience stores on the corner of the street up to large nationwide grocery stores.
Greencore packed the orders and delivered them via Greencore-logoed trucks to the store or to a central depot for onward distribution by another party. Deliveries were made daily to some 7,500 outlets across the U.K.
Product
Greencore is passionate about good food; they offer their customers a wide selection where they can choose from. Greencore products are popular with consumers because they are quick and easy to prepare with plenty of interesting flavors. Their convenience meals are healthier than many alternative meal solutions in line with today's eating trends. Greencore applies products labels of the retailer’s private brand to make the product more popular in the mind of the consumer.

Greencore is specialized in convenience foods and offers customers (1) ready-to-eat meals as (e.g., sandwiches, sushi, and salads) that shoppers can buy for immediate consumption. (2) Chilled-prepared meals (e.g., quiche, lasagna), also with short-shelf-lives of three to five days, requiring minimal preparation such as heating in oven or microwave. (3) Components with long-shelf-lives four weeks such as (e.g., pasta sauce, desserts, frozen puddings). \

Greencore group 2012: total revenue $1.1 billion | Share of revenue | Products | U.K. Food-to-go | 40% | (Sandwiches, salads, pasta, patatosalad, sushi) | U.K. Chilled prepared meals | 20% | (Lasagna, quiche, soups) | U.K. Components | 10% | (Sauces, pickles, puddings) | U.K. Desserts | 15% | (Cakes and ice) | U.S. Convenience | 10% | (Sandwiches, Salads, entrees) | Ingredients and property | 5% | (Edible Oils, molasses, development Property) |

Price
Greencore offers their customers a premium price. However, they want to stay flexible, this means that they look at quantity orders. To support the fact that Greencore is flexible, they are able to adapt themselves to the price sensitivity. In 2012, Greencore produced £1 sandwiches, which proved highly popular with consumers.

Their pricing strategy with their big convenience store 7-Eleven in the U.S. is “cost-plus” pricing; this means 7-Eleven covered Greencore’s expenses and paid Greencore a fixed rate per sandwich. Greencore’s primary focus was to maximize their production and increase their sandwich volumes to create growth in profits through 7-Eleven. This would not only be an advantage for Greencore, but for both parties, it would give Greencore cost efficiencies and 7-Eleven a flavorful sandwich.
Promotion
As private label supplier, its ability to promote in category is limited. Greencore's promotion strategy is focused on the smaller and larger retailers. They mostly contact their potential customers by phone or email and meet them face-to-face, they explain their experience in the field, cost efficiencies, supply quality and what wide selection of convenience foods they have to offer.

Financial Performance
Greencore’s financial performance estimated revenue of $1.8 billion in 2012, its revenue increased with 44.4 percent. The U.K accounted 85% of Greencore’s sales, Ireland 5% and the U.S. 10%. Its profit increased with 44.2 percent compared to 2011.

Greencore produced some 450 million sandwiches, 150 million ready-to-go meals and 200 ambient grocery & frozen foods each year. In 2012 Greencore sold about 70 million food-to-go meals in the U.S.

Greencore group Income Statement, 2011-2012 ($) | 2011 | 2012 | Revenue | $1, 294,778 | $1, 870,707 | Cost of sales | (900,101) | (1, 307,633) | Gross profit | 394,677 | 563,074 | Operating costs, net | (350,902) | (471,712) | Group operating profit/loss before acuisition-related amortization | 43,775 | 91,362 | Amortisation of acquisition-related intangibles | (4,247) | (16,438) | Group operating profit/ (loss) | 39,528 | 74,924 | Finance income | 31,733 | 28,827 | finance costs | (54,068) | (58,029) | share of profit of associates after tax | 792 | 747 | Profit/ (loss) before taxation | 17,985 | 46,469 | Taxation | 13,976 | 10,885 | Profit/ (loss) for the year | 31,961 | 57,354 | Atrbutable to: | | | Equity shareholders | 30,830 | 55,827 | non-controlling interests | 1,131 | 1,527 | | 31,961 | 57,354 | Adjusted basic earnings per share (cents) | 16.9 | 20.6 | Basic earnings per share (cents) | 11.3 | 14.5 |

SWOT Analysis

From the external and internal analysis, a SWOT analysis is conducted with four factors that play their part in Greencore’s capability toward further internationally growth.
First of all, there are the internal factors; strengths and weaknesses. The major strengths of Greencore is the combination of high quality convenience food with a wide selection of products. Greencore offers their retailers a large variety of products ranging from short-shelf lives span products to long-shelf-lives span products. In order to produce their products they select the best ingredients from all over the world which leads to high quality products. Besides producing a high quality meals, the sandwiches are healthy too.
Healthy food has rapidly increased in demand; due to the large quantity of fast-food in the U.S. linked with the upcoming personal believe of being more aware of a healthy life style. With these strengths and its experience over the years Greencore can create the perfect pitch to tempt their potential customers.
Besides Greencore’s attractive strengths, their private labeling makes it even more attractive for a retailer to do business with them. Demand was growing for private label products, estimated to yield 23% average savings relative to branded products in the U.S. U.S. consumers were historically less likely to buy private labels, but increased sales were driven by the difficult economy and retailers’ launching more innovative private label programs to differentiate themselves in a tough competitive market.
Greencore’s greatest weakness is so far their costly operational weaknesses. They made a poor early impression with U.S. regulators (the Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture) due to hygiene issues in the facilities it acquired. Upgrading the facilities to match its U.K. standards had cost Greencore over $10 million. (Total investment in the U.S. was $120 million by 2012.) Most investments to date were aimed at improving baseline factory conditions rather than upgrading food-production technology. For example, Greencore spent millions of dollars on air ventilation and drainage systems to reduce mold and control moisture.
Secondly there are two external factors: opportunities and threats. Growth for Greencore is the biggest opportunity concluded from all the opportunities given above. There is a growing demand for private label products; Greencore is using nothing but private labeling so this means growth. There is a stable growth in food service segments, meaning that customers’ demand is growing towards the food that is available at convenience stores.
Furthermore, Coveney and his team agreed that the U.S. option could entail a long-term investment horizon, since consumer behavior, private label demand, retailer expertise, and supply chain infrastructure for fresh chilled-prepared meals were less developed than in the U.K. this can be an opportunity for Greencore to focus and improve these factors and make further growth in the U.S.
Greencore started in the U.S. with the bigger supermarkets. Greencore wants to focus now also on the smaller supermarkets and the convenience stores, so there will be less competition in the store themselves. Together with private labeling, Greencore will product under the name of the store and can provide their customers a broad variety of sandwiches and other food-to-go meals. The competition is just too big in the bigger supermarkets that Greencore will not stand out on the short-term.
Finally there are the threats that Greencore faces. One of the biggest threats for Greencore is that the U.S. supermarkets are culturally and operationally entrenched in the deli model. This means that the customers are used to food being prepared right in front of them. They are not used to pre-packaged food and are likely to choose sandwiches made on the spot than pre-packaged sandwiches. However, the demand of healthy food-to-go meals is increasing during the years in U.S. Greencore has to come up with a solution to make these sandwiches as attractive as the sandwiches from the deli model.
Last but not least, the U.S. is a wide spread country, which means that it is very difficult for Greencore to achieve success in the market. Greencore has to choose the right geographical decisions which will lead their businesses in the U.S. towards market growth.
Confrontation Matrix

| O1 | O2 | O3 | O4 | O5 | O6 | O7 | T1 | T2 | T3 | T4 | T5 | S1 | ++ | ++ | - | ++ | ++ | +/- | +/- | -- | +/- | - | - | - | S2 | ++ | ++ | + | + | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | + | +/- | +/- | S3 | ++ | ++ | +/- | + | + | +/- | + | - | - | - | - | - | S4 | ++ | + | +/- | ++ | +-/- | +/- | +/- | - | +/- | + | +/- | + | S5 | + | ++ | + | + | - | + | + | - | - | + | - | + | S6 | + | ++ | + | +/- | +/- | +/- | ++ | +/- | +/- | + | - | +/- | S7 | +/- | ++ | + | + | +/- | ++ | ++ | +/- | +/- | ++ | +/- | ++ | W1 | + | ++ | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | +/- | W2 | +/- | + | +/- | + | + | +/- | +/- | - | +/- | + | - | - | W3 | ++ | ++ | -- | + | +/- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | W4 | +/- | +/- | - | +/- | +/- | +/- | + | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |

Segmentation, targeting and positioning

Segmentation
Greencore concluded that their main customer base will consist of all people that live in the United States. These can include people with different occupations, nationalities and gender. Religion will not constitute a basis for futher demographic segmentation. Tha aim is to basically provide healthy food option for everyone, therefor Greencore will focus on the entrire US market, especially consumers that are healthy conscious.
As for business to business Greencore will focus to attain as many retailers as possible. They will do this by showing their variables: behaviour, profitability, benefits, product class, price, quality and competitors.

Target market
Greencore will do what they do best! Greencore will deliver convenience meals to retailers who want to offer its customer a flavourful, healthy, quick and easy to make meals. Greencore’s target markets are the small and larger convenience stores; their customers include major retailers, foodservice providers, manufacturers, petrol forecourt operators and airlines.
Greencore focus on spreading healthy food across the U.S., this means that they not only will sell to the bigger stores but to deli shops, this in order to give the consumer an alternative in their food choice.
To expand their target market in the U.S. Greencore’s long term objectives are to open three new facilities in the U.S. Greencore will open two facilities in east side close to Boston and in New York. For the West coast Greencore will open up a store close to San Francisco.
Greencore choose for these cities because they are major capitals, you see that convenience stores located in the bigger cities in the U.S. are more popular than the convenience stores in the suburban areas, not only because these areas are heavily populated, but also because of travellers. Positioning
To build good awareness of healthy food, Greencore must position themselves as a premium brand. Greencore stands for bringing convenience to healthy good food. Greencore strives to be best-in-class in healthy food options.
Greencore offers a healthy, flavourful, quick and easy to make meal, which provides their U.S. retailers a good solution to put themselves on, because the market for healthy convenience meals is expected to grow significantly in the future. Worldwide, but especially in the U.S. this is a big issue at the moment, because if you look at the U.S population who has obesity you see a big difference compared to other countries. Greencore will position itself by building awareness and supporting its consumer to create a better and healthier lifestyle. U.S: prevalence of obesity | | Boys from 2 -19 | 18.6% | Girls: from 2 -19 | 15.0% | All Children: from 2 – 19 | 16.9% | Men: 20 and over | 35.5% | Woman: 20 and over | 35.8% | All adults | 35.7% |
Corporate Strategy
Today, Greencore group has a young, dynamic management team that helped to transform the business from a lucky, wayward commodities producer into a focused, well-organized and innovative competitor that achieved being the greatest convenience food company in the world. Greencore believes that doing another large acquisition in the U.K. could drive strong growth there for a couple of years, but that further growth in the U.K would only be incremental.

In the U.S. investing in building customer relationships and operating capabilities would pay huge dividends. However, Greencore is confident and sees many long-term opportunities to increase their market growth. Greencore believes and is confident that they provide a unique alternative for the U.S. population that supports them towards a healthier lifestyle.

After learning the though lessons in the U.S. market, Greencore galvanized to get more disciplined, tighten up their controls and expand further in the U.S. market by creating three more facilities. Since Greencore made a poor early impression with the U.S. regulators due to hygiene issues in the facilities it acquired, Greencore is going to continue to upgrade their facilities to match the U.K. standards, improving baseline factory conditions rather than upgrading food-production technology.

Greencore will provide a well-organized supply chain and be sure that the right people are in the right place. Since the fact that retailers are reassured by Greencore’s internal control systems, we advise to keep the separate commercial teams to each major account to preserve customer confidentially. The teams are led by a national account manager whose bonus is linked to the customer’s performance. This will boost work motivation and some healthy competition.

Objectives
Greencore’s short and long term objectives are mainly based on creating more scale in the U.S market and to encourage further growth without getting ahead of the consumer and business level market.
First of all, in the short-term Greencore will use its convenience stores 7-Eleven and Starbucks to sell its food-to-go meals and to introduce several new products in the U.S. market (e.g., pasta, lasagna, quiche, sushi and soups). Besides, these two big players in the U.S. Greencore will focus on acquiring more similar retailers to gain further market growth.
Greencore will increase their brand awareness through private labeling. As mentioned earlier in Greencore’s marketing plan, demand was growing for private labeled products. Retailers will see Greencore as their own-brand supplier, Greencore will be the important key for their customers to increase their brand awareness and differentiate themselves from other convenience stores. Greencore will use this situation to increase their sales towards these convenience stores, mainly because Greencore’s is one of the most experienced players if it comes to private labeled products and convenience meals.
Secondly, Greencore wants to spread healthy food across the U.S. because of the large quantity of fast-food restaurants and high percentage of obesity among the population. Greencore will sell their pre-packaged fresh healthy sandwiches to deli-shops, this in order to give the consumer an opportunity to choose between a hotdog or a fresh healthy sandwich.
Last but not least, Greencore will also sell would introduce a wider selection of products in the U.S., which they offer in the U.K. already. This because, in the U.S., retailers did not want a chilled prepared food supplier who does one thing, they want a supplier who can provide a suite of things. So factories tend not to specialize in one thing but rather make many kinds of products.
In the long-term, the main goal of Greencore is to expand their ‘territory’, so they can answer the following question: “Will we have the courage, the capability, and the capital to step up if Walmart asks us to make a million sandwiches for them? What if 7-Eleven wants us to follow them around the U.S., even worldwide? Could we be that partner for them?”, by Sullivan.
First, Greencore wants to have three more facilities in U.S. to be capable of offering their customers a larger quantity of orders and to able of lowering fixed costs when it comes to “cost plus” agreements. Greencore want to be flexible with their pricing to attract customers, meaning that their price will decrease when the amount of orders rises. However, most of the time Greencore works with a “cost plus” pricing towards its retailers, meaning that they rate a fixed amount per convenience meal.
Second, Greencore’s long-term goal is to be “best-in-class” with their food-to-go sandwiches. Based on their marketing mix Greencore will attract more potential customers and will deliver a significant growth in their sales.
Marketing objectives * Increase 10 percent in total market share within a half year in the U.S. * Increase 30 percent in total market share in one year in the U.S. * Open three new facilities within 5 years; these facilities will be located in Boston, New-York and San Francisco.
Financial objectives Greencore group: U.S. financial performance | 2013 | 2015 | 2017 | Total revenue | 1678,99 | 2426,14 | 3505,77 | Operational profit | 587,75 | 1334,90 | 2414,53 |
Marketing Mix
Product
Mainly for the product we decided that we will keep Greencore’s whole selection as in the U.K., however we will put the emphasis on certain product groups. Greencore decided to mainly focus on the quickly prepared meals and the meals in supermarkets with long-term shelf life.

Greencore’s advantage is that for a city as New York for example, one of the biggest business capitals of the world that the business people usually go for a quick meal, the main focus is to let them quickly get a ready-to-eat meal and get back to work. It is easy because it is ready for immediate consumption.
As for the United States we will mainly focus on preparing healthy quick meals. In the U.S. the prepared foods accounted for nearly 50% of deli sales in 2010. In the U.S. the prepared foods are usually to be the highly processed and of limited variety. That is why Greencore will conquer this market. Now it is a market which is very limited, mostly pizza and hot dogs.
Greencore will offer its consumer a healthier experience. Eating healthy is a big issue in the U.S., there are a lot of people overweight and the American consumer is getting aware of this problem.
The types of food that are mostly preferred by the U.S. consumers are the quickly prepared finger foods. Greencore can make an advantage of this. Finger foods are mostly unhealthy (e.g hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries). Michelle Obama, recently started a campaign about healthy food, the campaign was to emphasize a shift towards healthy food for the American citizens. Greencore has a broad selection of healthy products that are actually low fat, the market shift towards a healthier lifestyle will provide more demand for healthier meals and will increase Greencore’s sales.

Price
Greencore’s main pricing strategy is focussed on the easy sales of the to-go sandwiches and salads. Greencore is now selling the sandwiches for an “cost-plus” price of 1,00$ to 7-Eleven. 7-Eleven is now selling their sandwiches in store for a premium price of 4,29$. By offering these to-go products fairly cheap Greencore hopes to attract more customers. Greencore wants to keep its price flexible to be an attractive company to do business with. Greencore will basically look at the quantity orders and will stay to its strategy that they also apply in the U.K.
Promotion
Through promotion Greencore will make use of Linkedin. Linkedin is now one of the most popular business websites in the world. Linkedin is a social-networking website for business. Through Linkedin Greencore will offer themselves to other retailers and try to form relationships with them. When this happens Greencore will make use of Linkedin to keep in touch easily. It is easier to get face to face with our retailers through messaging or through video sessions. Greencore can easily show and tell them what Greencore have achieved by having a list on Greencore’s site with everything that has been achieved in the U.K.
Another promotion tool is organizing a yearly event where Greencore will invite potential customers, on these events Greencore will explain their operations, show their broad selection of convenience and what they have achieved. These events will create awareness among their customers and will give the message that Greencore is the best way to differentiate from competitors, due to private labeling.
Place
Greencore will stick with selling at the 7-Eleven and Starbucks. 7-Eleven is now mostly selling the quick snacks (e.g bags of chips or hot dogs). Greencore will help 7-Eleven to become more health conscious by replacing their now packaged sandwiches for the Greencore sandwiches. Greencore will stick with Starbucks as well, since November 2012, Greencore offers Starbucks sandwiches and other food-to-go products. Greencore will start to focus on the other food-to-go products. Finger food is the most popular food-to-go product and Greencore will provide Starbucks with more pasta’s but also the salads.
As for the grocery stores Greencore needs a different strategy. Overall most of the grocery shoppers in the United States go grocery shopping once a week compared to the Europeans who mostly do this every day or once every 2 days. That is why Greencore will focus on the long-shelf life products in the grocery stores. A long-shelf life product usually lasts 3-4 weeks. By offering this in the grocery stores the consumer can get freshly prepared meals for the rest of the week, this can become a big advantage for Greencore.
Profit & Loss Statement / Budget (3 years)
The 3 year budgets were constructed based on Greencore’s financial statements published in 2012 annual report. An increase of 44.50% of FY 2012 revenues from FY 2011 and this increase is true for the following 3 years. An increase of 37.30% of operation profit along with an increase of 21.90% in earnings per share is also assumed to be true for the coming 3 years.

Recommendations to the decision makers

After analyzing the internal and external data Greencore should to create more scale in the U.S. As a result of the success in the U.K Greencore will introduce its full selection of products in the U.S to give the customer a wide selection of choice. Besides 7-Eleven and Starbucks, Greencore will search for other retailers to expand its market. Greencore will provide a good solution for the upcoming demand for healthier meals to fight against people who are overweight. Greencore will be creating three facilities in the U.S. These facilities will be located near major capitals. These three locations are near New York, Boston and San Francisco.

Through innovative promotion tools Greencore is making a big name for itself. Through Linkedin and special events Greencore is causing brand awareness and shows their customers that Greencore is the best way to differentiate from their competition. The health issues is a positive opening on the market for Greencore, Greencore can create more brand awareness by promoting themselves in a sufficient way to increase the demand for healthier food. Through the health issues Greencore can create more scale and can grow further in the U.S. market.

Source list

1) US obesity rates on the rise: 113 million by 2022”; Marie Ellis, Medical News Today; http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265556.php?; October 2013 2) Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 8; October 2013 3) http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD 4) http://www.greencore.com/content.asp?topic=marketplace&page=205 5) http://www.greencore.com/content.asp?page=194 6) Annuel report Greencore; “A focused convenience food business”; http://ar2012.greencore.com/~/media/Files/G/Greencore-AR-2012/Annual%20Reports/en/greencore-ar-2012-final.pdf; October 2013. 7) Project business cases; Greencore; Page 6, 7 and 8; October 13 8) Greencore group; U.S Convenience food; http://www.greencore.ie/content.asp?topic=convenience_foods_us&page=600; 2012 9) Greencore group; “where we are and where we’re are going”; http://www.greencore.ie/assets/docs/Greencore_Analyst_&_Investor_Meeting_March_2012_compressed.pdf; October 2012 10) Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 8 ; October 2013 11) Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 10 ; October 2013 12) Annuel report Greencore ; “A focused convenience food business”; http://ar2012.greencore.com/~/media/Files/G/Greencore-AR-2012/Annual%20Reports/en/greencore-ar-2012-final.pdf; January 2012 13) Project business cases “Greencore”; Exhibit 1 Page 12; October 2013. 14) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 3 Paragraph 4; October 2013 15) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 9 Paragraph 2; October 2013 16) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11 Paragraph 2; October 2013 17) http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research/business-to-business-segmentation 18) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850199001030 19) "Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity” ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States ; 14 October 2013 20) Prevalence of obesity in the U.S (2009-2010); http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm ; 14 October 2013 21) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11; October 11 22) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 9 Paragraph 3; October 2013 23) Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11 Paragraph 3; October 2013 24) Project business cases; Greencore; page 2 ; October 2013 25) http://thehill.com/capital-living/320775-michelle-obama-takes-credit-for-cultural-shift-in-us-eating-habits 26) http://www.prweb.com/releases/conveniencestore/consumerresearch/prweb10781580.htm

Appendices

Place

Obesity U.S

Personal reflection

Roel Hoedemakers
Boudewijn de Bondt
Manvir Sanhu
Nada Barakat
Oskar van Ernst

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[ 1 ]. US obesity rates on the rise: 113 million by 2022”; Marie Ellis, Medical News Today; http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265556.php?; October 2013
[ 2 ]. See appendices; Obesity
[ 3 ]. Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 8; October 2013
[ 4 ]. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD
[ 5 ]. http://www.greencore.com/content.asp?topic=marketplace&page=205
[ 6 ]. http://www.greencore.com/content.asp?page=194
[ 7 ]. Annuel report Greencore; “A focused convenience food business”; http://ar2012.greencore.com/~/media/Files/G/Greencore-AR-2012/Annual%20Reports/en/greencore-ar-2012-final.pdf; October 2013.
[ 8 ]. Project business cases; Greencore; Page 6, 7 and 8; October 13
[ 9 ]. Greencore group; U.S Convenience food; http://www.greencore.ie/content.asp?topic=convenience_foods_us&page=600; 2012
[ 10 ]. Appendices: places
[ 11 ]. Greencore group; “where we are and where we’re are going”; http://www.greencore.ie/assets/docs/Greencore_Analyst_&_Investor_Meeting_March_2012_compressed.pdf; October 2012
[ 12 ]. Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 8 ; October 2013
[ 13 ]. Project business cases; “Greencore”; Page 10 ; October 2013
[ 14 ]. Annuel report Greencore ; “A focused convenience food business”; http://ar2012.greencore.com/~/media/Files/G/Greencore-AR-2012/Annual%20Reports/en/greencore-ar-2012-final.pdf; January 2012
[ 15 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Exhibit 1 Page 12; October 2013.
[ 16 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 3 Paragraph 4; October 2013
[ 17 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 9 Paragraph 2; October 2013
[ 18 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11 Paragraph 2; October 2013
[ 19 ]. http://www.greenbook.org/marketing-research/business-to-business-segmentation
[ 20 ]. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0019850199001030
[ 21 ]. "Statistics Related to Overweight and Obesity” ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States ; 14 October 2013
[ 22 ]. Appendices; obesity U.S.; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity_in_the_United_States ; 14 October 2013
[ 23 ]. Prevalence of obesity in the U.S (2009-2010); http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/overwt.htm ; 14 October 2013
[ 24 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11; October 11
[ 25 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 9 Paragraph 3; October 2013
[ 26 ]. Project business cases “Greencore”; Page 11 Paragraph 3; October 2013
[ 27 ]. Project business cases; Greencore; page 2 ; October 2013
[ 28 ]. http://thehill.com/capital-living/320775-michelle-obama-takes-credit-for-cultural-shift-in-us-eating-habits
http://www.prweb.com/releases/conveniencestore/consumerresearch/prweb10781580.htm