1.0 Marketing Plan The marketing plan forms the basis of strategies that will be implemented by Shan Valley, as it wants to grow its market share in the United States. The company will market its Green and Black teas using various new strategies so as to attract and retain more customers (Shan Valley, 2017). The company aims to get into all major cities in the United States and to expand into other international markets. The American tea market is rapidly growing as people are moving towards he althy food patterns hence Shan Valley can take advantage of this to further grow its market share. The aim is to become the leading supplier of green and black teas to the United States Market. 2.0 Company Background of Shan Valley Shan Valley Teas was set up 50 years ago in Kyakume, Myanmar owned by a family. They produce black teas and green teas and aims to promote the best Northern Myanmar tea. Shan Valley is concentrating on marketing the health benefits of their green and black teas. The aim is to attract both young and old customers to enjoy their products, which will help them lead a healthy lifestyle. Tea was initially sold in Mandalay and Yangon, two other cities in Myanmar. The business steadily grew, and distribution centers were set up all over the country (Shan Valley, 2017). The tea has been introduced to the United Stated market by the family’s third generation. The teas are grown naturally hence producing a fresh taste that will be enjoyed by several tea lovers in the United States. Shan Valley is the only source of tea from Myanmar that can be found in the United States. The green and black teas are available in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The company intends to expand to all the major cities in the United States (Shan Valley, 2017). 2.1 Products of Shan Valley (Shan Valley, 2017) Product Description Kokang Green Tea In Myanmar, statistics place this product as been the highest quality tea and that can be easily accessed by the members of the public. Mountain Roasted Green Tea It has a nice roasted taste and smell blended in with the more subtle fresh flavor of the tea. Pyin Green Tea This is also a first flush tea and is an everyday drinking tea. This tea is a reddish color. Shan First Flush Green Tea This tea is considered the freshest and most sought after tea. Valley Green Tea Black tea It has a sweet, almost cocoa-ish background that reminds of a Fujian black. Kyakume Black tea It is considered as the leading sanguine black tea, and the and the best quality black tea offered by Shan valleyIt has a coffee-like look Shan Black Tea This is a first flush black tea; the tea leaves are a little more uneven and have a balanced flavor. 3.0 Chosen International Market Target Country: United States of America 3.1 Why the USA has been Chosen as a Market The United States has been chosen as a market for Shan Valley teas due to cultural history. The country has been taking tea since centuries ago hence; it is a good market as people are used to drinking tea. All American classes, lower, middle and upper, also consume tea. There is, therefore, a wide market for tea. Green and Black tea have numerous health benefits such as increased metabolism and prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Many Americans are moving towards healthy lifestyles in terms of consumption of natural and organic products hence, there is a growing market for healthy teas. Table (3.1) Global Top Ten Tea Markets (2014) (Bailey, 2015) According to the table, USA is the fourth largest tea market in the world relied on the retail value in 2014 and its retail value is about $2.4 billion. Also USA is the second largest tea importer in the world according to Tea Association of the USA in 2014 (Bailey, 2015). 3.2 Tea Market Statistics in the United States 2016-2017 Tea History (Hara, 2016) • 5000 years old and discovered in China by a divine healer. • All natural • Environmentally safe and naturally resistant to insects, oxidation occurs on its own • Recycled paper mostly used for packaging Annual Consumption • 84 billion servings consumed in 2016 and out of this 80% was black tea, 16% was green tea and another percentage oolong, white and dark teas. • U.s is the third largest global tea importer after Russia and Pakistan • 4 in 5 people drink tea • Millenials are the most likely to drink tea about 87% (Murray, et al, 2015) Varieties • Black, Green, Oolong, Dark and White teas are all from one plant, but various degrees of oxidization and processing leads to the varieties (Yi, et al, 2015) Anticipated Sales • Anticipated growth of 4-6% due to health benefits, sustainability, innovations, and convenience. 3.3 Marketing Objectives • To become top in green and black tea retailing and wholesaling in the United States • To provide excellent customer service so as to build a loyal customer base • To grow over time into the whole of the United States and have the tea in all major cities 3.4 Market Segmentation 4.0 External Environment 4.1 STEEPLE Analysis of USA 4.2 Porters Five Forces Model 5.0 Internal Analysis 5.1 SWOT analysis 5.2 Business Overview 5.2.1 Vision statement To be the premium green and black tea supplier in the United States while enhancing the health of our customers (Hill, et al, 2014). 5.2.2 Mission statement To provide a memorable customer experience by producing quality teas. 5.3 Business objectives • To have satisfied customers • To establish strong relationships • To ensure satisfied employees • To ensure growth and expansion • To enhance health and well-being. • To establish a loyal customer base • To create a niche in the black and green teas market. 6.0 Marketing Mix Strategy (1) Product The Core Product • Shan Valley’s core product is green and black tea The Actual Product • Packaging and Labelling-Metal Cans for tea bags, stylish brown packaging for tea leaves and Sampler Sets that enables customers to sample five types of teas packaged in attractive paper. • Branding-Different colors for different teas branded on long and stylish metal cans, brown paper and metallic paper • Trade Name-Shan Valley Tea • Brand Personality-Healthy, Original and Functional • Brand Equity- Provision of high-quality, healthy teas. The Augmented Product • Product Class-Beverage • Product Benefits-Green tea has several health benefits like fat burning and improving physical performance, improving brain function and improving general health. Black tea reduces plaque formation, improves heart function and prevents cancers. • After-Sales- The Company will offer excellent after-sales service to ensure repeat sales and maintain a customer base. (2) Price The company uses two pricing approaches for its products. Profit-Oriented Pricing- Shan Valley wants to be a market leader of green and black teas in the United States market. The company will, therefore, consider a price that can cover its fixed and variable costs while bringing profits. Competition Pricing-The company will have premium prices due to the high quality of the product. Customers will realize that the product has additional benefits due to the prices set. The major competitors for Shan Valley Teas are Unilever (Lipton Teas), R.C. Bigelow, Hain Celestial, and Twinnings. Pepsi, Coke and Dr. Pepper Snapple also have strong tea brands. (3) Place Shan Valley Teas will be available in Retail Stores, Supermarkets, Online Stores, Hotels, restaurants and cafe shops all over the country. With time, the company will set up tea bars to enhance marketing. Shan Valley Sales and Distribution Channels Channel type Channel strategy Supermarkets Have a wide coverage due to many branches, can help the company expand Retail Stores Have a wide coverage due to many branches, can help the company expand Online Marketing Will increase our customer base as we will be able to reach youngsters more Hotels Customers will have a memorable taste experience and will help company expand as some hotels have many branches Restaurants Customers will have an unforgettable taste experience Cafe Shops Customers will have a memorable taste experience Tea Bars Customers will learn how to make the teas, sample lots of teas and have a memorable experience (4) Promotion Shan Valley will use different forms of advertising to reach a broad customer base. Print Media will be used in the form of newspapers, magazines, publications and press releases (Goi, 2015). Social media will also be a key marketing tool, and the company will use Facebook, twitter, youtube, snap chat and Instagram to advertise. There will also be television and radio adverts, and free samples will be distributed to capture the market. 7.0 Ansoff Matrix Existing Products New Products Existing Products Market Penetration Product Development New Products Market Development Diversification Analyzing of Options The first step for Shan Valley in using the Ansoff matrix will be to analyze options . The options will be analyzed as per the four parameters on the matrix. Market Penetration Shan Valley will target new markets or new areas in the existing market. In this case, Shan Valley is targeting other towns in the USA and to grow its market share in Connecticut as it is only based in the east. Shan Valley will conduct a PEST Analysis, which is an evaluation of the Political, Economic, and Social & Legal environments of the geographical areas where it is intending to set up. Shan Valley will also use the CAGE Distance framework to determine if it is entering the right foreign markets. This framework will be used to analyze the cultural, administrative, geographic and economic distances between countries, which Shan Valley should address as it comes up with an international strategy . Shan Valley will also use this to understand trade patterns in the market, people flows and information regarding the green and black tea market. Shan valley will also explore different marketing channels to sell its products in a better manner. The company will get more involved in social media marketing to reach a wide target market. Shan Valley will segment the market according to age and gender. They will target millennials, as it is a market with accelerated growth. They will use the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion to understand and reposition the green and black teas in a better manner. Product Development Shan Valley is selling green and black tea to the same market. They will extend the products by using strong branding to distinguish each of their products . This will make them easily identifiable by consumers. Shan Valley may also consider the development of other tea related products like iced-tea or add other variants to their current ones. The company should also focus on customer service to ensure customers issues are sorted within the shortest time possible. Market Development To develop their market for green and black tea, Shan Valley has to develop new marketing strategies to make more customers aware and to increase uptake of their products. In this case, the company will open a tea bar that will enable sampling and will encourage customers to take their various tea variants. Shan Valley may also introduce a loyalty scheme where frequent customers will be rewarded. They can also have a promotion for example by sponsoring health talks in the local fitness centers or offering free samples in health events. Shan Valley through its sales team can have sales activations in the towns where they plan to expand to increase awareness and sales. They will also engage the Boston matrix, which will assist it in portfolio marketing and advise which products are best to invest in . Diversification In diversification, Shan Valley will have to be innovative and come up with new products so that they can spread risk in case one of the products fails or becomes obsolete . Diversification will also lead to Shan Valley capturing new markets, for example, it can come up with iced-tea, targeting the teenage market . Managing Risks Shan Valley will then carry out a risk analysis based on the options above. They will come up with a risk register that will list each risk, its impact and probability and contingency measures for dealing with the specific risk . Choosing Options Shan Valley can use the decision matrix analysis to choose the best options. They will list their options and then score them based on importance. 8.0 Product Lifecycle Shan Valley green and black teas will have a product life cycle just like other products. In the Introduction stage, Shan Valley will charge lower prices to penetrate the market, have product awareness campaigns through social media marketing and educate potential consumers through health talks at various fitness centers . The growth stage will involve building the Shan Valley brand and increasing market share through providing quality and treating customers well by giving options like home delivery services for customers who make online orders . The maturity stage will involve Shan Valley setting premium prices for their green and black teas and diversifying its range. They will also use celebrity and free samples to retain their customer base and attract new ones. In the decline stage, Shan Valley will have created a niche market of loyal customers for its green and black tea brands. They will consider diversifying into other products to capture new markets. 9.0 Conclusion This Marketing plan will guide Shan Valley towards its goals. It will help the organization coordinate its growth efforts. Shan Valley is in a fast growing market with immense opportunities. The company will adopt premium pricing due to the quality of its green and black teas. The market will be established through selling in online stores, supermarkets, and retail stores . A health marketing campaign will help Shan Valley in spreading awareness and capturing markets. The company should, therefore, taking advantage of this and implement its marketing plan through developing a market development strategy. It has potential to grow in the United States and beyond hence its efforts should be focussed on marketing.