Bread and Entertainment : A Case Study of Positioning for Growth in the Food Industry

Abstract: Background: In the face of toughening competition, diminishing profitability and increasing shareholder demands, growth is often seen as a necessary means for an organisation if it wishes to survive. In order to do so, the company is often forced to seek out novel ways by which it may achieve the ambition of growing. If put on a practical level, a company has, among other things, to look at its markets and products in order to find out possible strategies of growing. In this thesis, we have investigated these aforementioned concerns on a real case. Purpose: Our purpose is to describe and to explore positioning and branding when a company takes into consideration to enter a market with a new product. Scope: We will not investigate the legal implications of growing. Realisation: In order to achieve a comprehensive picture and understanding of how strategy, perception and branding interact in relation to a company and its consumers, we conducted interviews with 22 consumers and 4 managers. Conclusion: From our inquiry we found out that the preferences and perceptions of the consumers are significant for actors in the food ind. These are balanced with a company’s concerns regarding product development and cost efficiency. The balance betw. the consumer’s wishes and the company’s options influence the way growth strategies are formulated.