Clients Last Name Goes Here 1 Truvia Marketing Plan for the Australian Consumer Market Introduction In the

following research the marketing plan of Truvia, calorie-free sweetener, will be introduced. The following plan will include the description of the brand, its strong and weak points. Also the general overview of the market where Truvia will be introduced will be made. Speaking further about the aspects of the marketing plan, it will include the SWOT analysis of the company, where the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the product will be discussed, followed by the objectives and issues analysis, which will take into consideration such aspects as the key objectives of the marketing campaign. After the research and preparation is made, the marketing strategy for Truvia will be created. Different possible marketing strategies will be taken into consideration, and after that the most effective of them will be chosen and adapted to the needs of the brand. The chosen strategy will be followed by the action plan which will underline the exact steps which will be taken for the plan execution. In the following research various sources will be used including articles in magazines and newspapers and materials from various web-sites. Also the opinions of the experts in the area of artificial sweeteners and business will be taken into consideration.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 2 Truvia Description of the Brand To start with, it is necessary to provide the detailed description of the company and the brand which it is offering. First of all, Truvia offers zero-calorie sweetener to its consumers. The sweetener is made of Stevia plant. The product is produced from the leaves of the plants which provide the necessary degree of sweetness. Also it is necessary to take into consideration that Truvia is made of natural material. As the researches show, Stevia was first found in Paraguay, and since then it started to be used as a sweetener in food and beverages. The peculiar feature which differentiates Truvia from other companies which produce Stevia-containing sweeteners is that in Truvia sweetener only the best-tasting part of the plant, which is called the Rebiana is used, while other producers also use other parts of the plant which are not so sweet and tasty. Moreover, it is necessary to take into consideration that Truvia is produced from only the natural ingredients. They include Erythritol, Rebiana and natural flavors. Truvia can be used not only as a sweetener which is added to tea or coffee, it can also be used in the number of recipes. One more feature which makes Truvia attractive for the consumers is that it can be consumed by diabetics. At the moment Truvia is presented in 7 countries, such as France, Spain, Italy, United States, Mexico, United Kingdom and Venezuela, and the penetration to the Australian market is planned (Truvia Web-site, 2012).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 3 Australian Sweetener Market After the basic information about the brand was considered, it is necessary to make the research focusing on the general condition of sweetener market in Australia. The first thing which is important to take into consideration while speaking about Australian sweetener market is that it is quite diversified and has a lot of strong players in it. Generally speaking, Australia is well-known in the world as the producer of low-cost natural sugar. It occupies the seventh place among the biggest producers of sugar in the world (FAO web-site, 1997). Speaking about the artificial sweetener market, it has its own peculiar characteristics. As we know, one of the benefits of substituting sugar by artificial sweeteners is that the latter, as a rule, contain fewer calories than sugar or do not contain calories at all. Taking into consideration the recent tendencies, it is possible to say that artificial sweeteners are becoming more and more popular among the consumers as more and more people all over the world start thinking about healthy lifestyles and losing weight (Medical News Today, 2012). This is why the recent estimates show that the growth rates of artificial sweeteners sales grow yearly for about 4%. One more important issue to consider is the necessity of creating special food for diabetics, which includes the sweetening products as well. So speaking about the sweeteners which are acceptable for diabetics, their market grows up to 10% yearly (Food Navigator, 2007). As we see, all of the above-mentioned facts are positive for Truvia as it is both calories-free, contains no artificial components thus being appropriate for people who are concerned about healthy lifestyles, and is acceptable for diabetics (Stevia web-site, 2012).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 4 Truvia SWOT Analysis After the information about the brand and the general condition of the market has been discussed, it is necessary to proceed to the description of the strong and weak points the brand possesses, as well as the opportunities and threats for its development. Speaking about Truvia strengths, first of all it necessary to mention that Truvia is the sweetener which does not contain any artificial ingredients. Basically, it is made from the plant which has a long history of effective and safe usage. The following features make Truvia suitable for the consumers who care about their health and lead healthy lifestyle. Taking into consideration the general tendencies, it is visible that from year to year the amount of such people will be gradually increasing thus making the number of Truvia potential consumers more numerous. Also as Truvia can boast of good quality of materials which it is made of, the prognosis say that it has all the chances to become the number-one choice among health conscious consumers. Also Truvia can increase its target audience to the great extend as it can be used by diabetics. Speaking about the weaknesses of the product, it is possible to say that though Stevia has been discovered about 200 years ago, still it is not known by a big amount of potential customers and has not yet become the number-one product among the sweeteners. So here it is possible to come to the conclusion that Stevia-containing products have not yet become the part of the mainstream and the company has to make big investments into the marketing campaigns explaining the Stevia-containing sweeteners benefits to the consumers. As for the opportunities Truvia has in the nearest future, they include, first of all, attracting more and more people who are concerned about their health, to the number of the consumer audience. In this way the profits of the company will also increase, as well as the

Clients Last Name Goes Here 5 awareness of the consumers about the brand. As Truvia offers to its consumers the unique taste, it has good chances to be remembered by the consumers and be treated in a positive way. So the main opportunities for Truvia include the increase in brand awareness and the attraction of new consumers. If the situation goes well enough, Truvia has all chances to become the total substitute of sugar as a sweetener. The next part of the analysis includes the description of potential threats for Truvia. First of all, as nowadays the market of artificial sweeteners in growing rapidly, new strong companies appear in the following area, and some companies which already exist make their best to achieve good positions at the market. This is why Truvia already faces strong competition and it can become even more intense in the future. Another threat is the disability to attract new categories of consumers, as all artificial sweeteners have a taste which differs from sugar, which prevents the conservative consumers from changing their habits. Speaking further about possible threats, it is necessary to take into consideration that at the moment many consumers do not consider switching from sugar to artificial sweeteners as they are not sure if the artificial sweeteners are totally healthy (CrossFit, 2012). In recent years many discussions about the damage which artificial sweeteners can cause were taking place in the society, and such opinions may prevent many potential consumers from purchasing Truvia (Thomas, 2012).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 6 Truvia Objectives and Issues Analysis First of all in order to create the effective marketing campaign for Truvia, it is vital to define the main target audience of the product. Recent estimates show that women care more about their health, and also do the grocery shopping more frequently than men. This is why the marketing campaign of the product should concentrate on women from 20 to 50. The women of the following age category either have a family and children already and care about their health and well-being or plan to make families in the nearest future. Among all the issues which are necessary to take into consideration while planning the marketing campaign for Truvia it is necessary to take into consider the message which the company plans to deliver to its customers. The main aim of the company is to encourage the customers eat healthy food which will influence their health in the positive way and help them lose weight. The peculiar features of Truvia include the 100% natural contents and the improved taste in comparison with other artificial sweeteners. The main issue which can prevent the marketing campaign from being as effective as planned is that about 60% of the consumers still use sugar as a sweetener and do not treat artificial sweeteners as a decent alternative. Thus while creating the marketing campaign not only the message telling the benefits of Truvia should be delivered to the customer, but also the emphasis should be made on the damage which sugar can bring for health. Such damage includes being addictive, damaging teeth and causing excessive weight (Mayo Clinic, 2011). Also the bad opinion about the artificial sweeteners among certain categories of customers should be changed. Such opinions include such issues as bad taste of sweeteners and the damage for health they can potentially cause. All in all, the main image of Truvia marketing

Clients Last Name Goes Here 7 campaign is to deliver to the target audience the thought that Truvia is tasty, healthy and can be considered as a good alternative to sugar (Integrated Marketing Communication, 2010).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 8 Marketing Strategy and Action Plan There exist different classifications of the marketing strategies. In the following part of the research the most typical strategies will be considered and the most appropriate strategy for Truvia will be created. In most cases the marketing strategies are classified according to the selling effort the company has to make in order to penetrate the market and according to the price the company pays for such penetration. Speaking about the level of selling effort, the low level of it is needed if the company introduces the common necessity goods or if the company uses the Classic Skim Strategy. As for the high level of selling effort, it should be used in the Classic Penetration Strategy or if the company needs to promote the luxurious goods. Also the strategies which the company decides to apply vary in accordance to the level of money the company has to invest. Low amount of money is paid for the introduction of the necessity goods or if the company uses the Classic Penetration Strategy, while high amount of money is used for the Classic Skim Strategy and the introduction of luxury goods (Quick MBA, 2010). Also while creating the effective marketing strategy certain important points should be taken into consideration. First of all, the main aim of the following strategies is to introduce the product to the market with an outstanding performance, occupying the new segment of the market and charging the reasonable price for it. Secondly, while creating the marketing strategy it is necessary to take into consideration the competition existing at the market. In some cases, when the company enters the segment of the market which is not yet occupied to the full extend, it has the possibility to function some time without having an

Clients Last Name Goes Here 9 intensive rivalry. This time should be used by the company to make its positions at the market stable and create the competitive advantages which would help the company continue being successful after the competition appears. In case if the company enters the market which already has strong players, double efforts should be made to gain positions and be successful. In case if potential threats arrive the company needs to have a well-prepared and planned defensive strategy. Speaking about the penetration of Truvia to the Australian consumer market, the Classic Penetration Strategy will be used. The campaign will consist of various steps which will aim at the main result the high level of purchase by the target audience. One more aim of the campaign is the promotion of the company and its product among the consumers. Speaking further about the targets of the campaign, it will be considered successful if the consumers switch from other artificial sweeteners or sugar to Truvia. As for the techniques which will be used to make the promotion successful, both traditional and modern techniques will be used. They will include outdoor advertising, billboards and means of television. Also the product will be advertised both in general and specific newspapers and magazines and Internet advertising will be used. While conducting the advertising campaign the main emphasis will be made on the natural origin of the product. The advertising will deliver the messages that Stevia, the main component of Truvia, is known for more than 200 years and that all the ingredients of the product are natural and healthy. Also Truvia will make the emphasis on the difference between its product and the sweeteners produced by other companies and will emphasize the good taste of the product (Integrated Marketing Communication, 2010).

Clients Last Name Goes Here 10 The materials discussed in the research will ensure that the effective marketing strategy for Truvia is created and guarantee the effective penetration of the product to the Australian consumer market, giving its benefits in comparison with the main competitors and allowing it to become the leader of the market in the course of time.

Clients Last Name Goes Here 11 References CrossFit, 2012. Artificial Sweeteners: Substitutes or Safety Hazard? [Online] Available at: <http://crossfitprovidence.com/2012/09/05/artificial-sweeteners-substitutes-or-safety-hazard/> Entrepreneur. 2006. Market Strategies. [Online] Available at: <http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/25754> FAO. Economic and Social Development Department, 1997. FAO Asia Pacific Sugar Conference. [Online] Available at: <http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/X0513E/x0513e04.htm> Food Navigator, 2007. Artificial Sweetener Market Driven by Obesity Concerns. [Online] Available at: <http://www.foodnavigator.com/Financial-Industry/Artificial-sweetener-market-driven-byobesity-concerns> Integrated Marketing Communication, 2010. Truvia Marketing Plan. Mayo Clinic, 2011. Nutrition and Healthy Eating. [Online] Available at: <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073> Medical News Today, 2012. Can Artificial Sweeteners Aid Weight Loss? [Online] Available at: <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/247662.php> Quick MBA, 2010. Marketing Strategy. [Online] Available at: <http://www.quickmba.com/MarketingStrat.shtml> Quick MBA, 2012. SWOT Analysis. [Online] Available at: <http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/> Stevia Corporation, 2012. Market Size. [Online] Available at: <http://www.stevia.co/opportunity/market-size>

Clients Last Name Goes Here 12 Thomas, J., Just Food, 2012. Stevia the Suppliers: from Cargill to Pure Circle. [Online] Available at: <http://www.just-food.com/management-briefing/from-cargill-to-purecircle_id118747.aspx> Truvia Web-site, 2012. About Truvia. [Online] Available at: <http://truvia.co.uk/about/>