Research Project on Marketing Mix of Fast Food Industry in India

Acknowledgement:

This project is made under the sincere guidance of Mr. Biplap Datta (Associate Professor at VGSOM, iit Kharagpur) and I would like to thank him for the help rendered in completing this project.

Introduction:

A mixture of several ideas and plans followed by a marketing representative to promote a particular product or brand is called marketing mix. Several concepts and ideas combined together to formulate final strategies helpful in making a brand popular among the masses form marketing mix. 

Pillars of Marketing mix:

•There are basically four key factors which can be termed as pillars of marketing mix:-

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They are:- 

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• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place

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Objectives of the project:

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• To find out the present status of the fast food chain industry in India. 

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• To study the market research of the eminent fast food chains in India. 

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• To study the distribution and marketing strategy adopted by the leading fast food chains. 

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• . To enhance our analytical skills in the field of practical application of Marketing. 

• Major players & their market shares:

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• As we can find here among the       leading brands in this industry, macdonalds is the lead market share holder with 19% share of the market. 

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•   Doctor’s Associate follows it by acquiring 10% of the market and  Yam brands Inc with 9% share ranks third.

  A primitive research done on the most popular brands of the fast food industry:

• To proceed further it was necessary to conduct a primitive research on the leading players of the industry which will be helpful in providing insights about the organization and the key factors that constitutes or contributes more to it’s marketing mix. 
• To reduce complexity ,two of the top brands Macdonalds & Subway were chosen and an in depth analysis was done taking into account their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats or in other words SWOT analysis was conducted on both of them.

SWOT analysis of Macdonalds:

Strengths • very strong brand name worldwide •  large partnerships with other companies that provides them with their desired products, this increases the goodwill of the company   •  is one the most reputed firms who are socially responsible •  first food outlet to provide its customers with nutritional facts   •  cultural and regional barriers are kept in mind while    providing food to different countries   •

Weaknesses • Every year many of their employees are fired out of the restaurant.  •  Health conscious people seldom complain that they do not provide us with the organic and healthy food.   • They also face quality issue at times.   •  McDonalds mostly advertises products and food items that targets children. You will notice that bill boards always display the advertisements of Happy Meal and any other deal that is ordered for the kids mainly

Opportunities • They can introduce healthy hamburgers and healthy drinks for the people who are health conscious   • they can use packing material which can be recycled later or material that does not create pollution   • They can go for a joint venture with the retailers they work with

Threats • Emerging competition of similar outlets   • Health issue also becomes a problem when it comes to food • As it is a multinational food outlet, fluctuations in the currency of other countries becomes a problem for such companies   • People facing heart problems and obesity accuse McDonalds for not providing them with the healthy food

 

SWOT analysis of subway:

Strengths • Size and number of stores and channels.  • Menu reflects demand for fresh, healthy and fast.  • Use of nontraditional channels.  • Partnering with the American Health Association.  • Worldwide brand recognition.  • Customizable menu offerings.  • Low franchisee start up cost.	Weaknesses • Décor is outdated.  • Some franchisees are unhappy.  • Service delivery is consistent from store to store.  • Employee turnover is high.  • No control over franchise situation in given market area
Opportunities • Continue to grow global business.  • Update décor to encourage more drive in business.  • Improve customer service model.  • Continue to expand channel opportunities to include event  wagons.  • Improve franchisee relations.  • Experiment with drive-through business	Threats • Franchisee unrest or litigation.  • Food contamination (Spinach).  • Competition.  • Interest costs.  • Economic downturn.  • Sabotage.  • Law suits.

Reason for conducting SWOT analysis:

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• The SWOT analysis definitely gives us the actual reasons behind their success as well as failures in all the leading markets around the world. 

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• It also gives us a true reflection of their market strategies and what are their respective fields of strength and weaknesses. 

Challenges in Entering Indian Markets

Macdonalds • Regiocentricism: Re-engineering the menu Ø  McDonald’s has continually adapted to the customer’s tastes, value systems, lifestyle, language and perception. Globally McDonald’s was known for its hamburgers, beef and pork burgers. Most Indians are barred by religion not to consume beef or pork. To survive, the company had to be responsive to the Indian sensitivities. So McDonald’s came up with chicken, lamb and fish burgers to suite the Indian palate.  • The vegetarian customer Ø  India has a huge population of vegetarians. To cater tothis customer segment, the company came up with a completely new line of vegetarian items like McVeggie burger and McAlooTikki. The separation of vegetarian and non-vegetarian sections is maintained throughout the various stages.

Subway • Health concerning issues  Ø Subway despite of it’s fame had a reputation of catering food which cannot considered as a balanced diet. Several surveys and researches brought out the fact that too much consumption of such junk may lead severe cardiac problems.  • Difference in culture  Ø Just like their competitors subway too had to face challenges on account of a completely different food habits of India’s population and had to come up with unique recipes like chicken tikka, chicken seekh, potato patties, paneer tikka etc.