Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................... 2 STRATEGY ............................................................ 2

MISSION STATEMENT............................................................. 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................... 2 STRATEGIC VISION ............................................................... 2

PEST ANALYSIS ....................................................... 3

POLITICAL ........................................................................ 3 ECONOMIC ....................................................................... 3 SOCIAL ........................................................................... 3 TECHNOLOGICAL ................................................................. 4

COMPETITION AUDIT ................................................ 5 CUSTOMER PROFILE ................................................. 7 POSITIONING .......................................................... 8 PRODUCT .............................................................. 9 PRODUCT RANGE................................................... 10 PRICE ................................................................. 11 PLACE ................................................................ 12 PROMOTION ......................................................... 13 CONCLUSION ........................................................ 14 APPENDIX ............................................................ 15
GROUP MEMBERS ................................................................ 15

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................... 16

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Introduction
In todays dynamic and fast moving business world, the market for fashion and beauty is continuously developing. Therefore, it was crucial to develop a market plan for a product that would fit into a gap in the market and also establish itself within that market. In order to provide this market plan we begun by undertaking a thorough PEST analysis of the industry that we wanted to enter, to ensure we knew of any barriers that may prevent the product from developing, and also factors that would prevent consumers from purchasing it. As part of the prior analysis, a competition audit was completed to find out who the main competition would be for our product and be able to illustrate our position within the market. This report highlights the main competitors to the brand, as well as the products and prices that they offer. Our customer profile was produced in an attempt to define our target customer, the person who this range of products would be aimed at in our promotions. After deliberation and consultation between group members, we were able to identify Outlined in this report furthermore is our business strategy including mission statement, objectives and a strategic vision. A detailed marketing mix is included providing insight to the range of products, as well as their pricing, promotion and placement.

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Strategy
Mission Statement
Our Mission statement provides a brief overview of our overall intentions now and also in the future. It reflects our values and shows the direction and strategy we want to follow.

Aspire to produce a unique range of skincare oils Always committed to customers Kind to the environment
Aims and Objectives
Our first aim is to respect the environment by using natural oils from sustainable sources, yet maintaining a high quality product for our customers to use. We must use the highest quality oils available within our budget to ensure the product quality is sustained, by utilising AAKs expertise and available resources. All people connected to the brand will be treated equally, including stakeholders and consumers themselves. A feedback system will be setup for consumers to voice their opinions, raise any queries or make suggestions with regards to the range of products on offer.

Strategic Vision
The strategic vision refers to the direction and activities that the business wants to go towards in the future. Our strategic vision outlines how we will develop our products and achieve our objectives. 1. Develop a high quality luxury beauty product 2. Provide customers with products that fulfil their needs

allowing for feedback and consultation

3. Use of current expertise and resources in production 4. To be profitable and sustainable in a challenging

economic climate
5. Effective and complete communication in after sales

service

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PEST Analysis
Political
Numerous laws and regulations must be followed upon the production of beauty products, including the Cosmetic Products Regulations 2010 bill. The use of oils and minerals in beauty products is strictly regulated and all precautions must be taken to ensure all laws are adhered to. Laws governing labelling and packaging are also enforced.

Economic
In order to market our product efficiently it was crucial to access the economic factors which may lead to a lower number of our products being sold. Beauty and cosmetics items accounted for 5.5% of all UK retail sales in 2007, this is positive news for us as this means that there is a great potential for our product to be successful. The recession will have an impact on consumers in reducing consumer confidence to spend. With consumers being careful with their money due to the rising cost of living, a lower disposable income on luxury products is available. It is well known however that during economic hardship, sales of larger luxuries such as cars and television often decline, being replaced by smaller luxuries such as chocolates and flowers, so a product such as a small luxury item is likely to appeal to a wide audience. It will also be harder to get any necessary finance in order to raise capital for our products; this is due to banks being wary of lending money to new ventures. If a loan is available, it is likely to have a high interest rate due to the banks Due to the recession our research showed that there has been a significant change in consumer behaviour consumers are being more thrifty, being greener and spending more time at home and online. This poses a threat when we are selling our skincare oils. Consumers no longer live to shop, they shop to live. (Imogen Matthews, 2010) This means that consumers are more likely to question whether they really need to buy our product or not, this is worrying because skincare oils are classed as an unnecessary item and this may negatively impact on our sales.

Social
Over the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in the sales of organic and fair-trade products, this started with products such as fair-trade fruit and coffee and have filtered through into the cosmetics sector. One of the reasons for this is that consumers have become more concerned about green issues such as the

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origin of the ingredients of their products. Companies such as Liz Earle naturally organic skincare and The Body Shop have always had a strong ethical ethos and thus their products have sold well. This is good news for us as it means that we are more likely to have a large target audience who are concerned with the green nature of their products. However research showed us that consumers ethical and green concerns are directly related to their income stream, this means that we need to ensure that we market our product to customers of a higher socioeconomic status who are likely to have a higher income and can therefore afford to purchase our product. Secondly consumers have become much more aware of the health and safety standards of the products that they buy, and this extends to skincare. The media has reported that certain cosmetics ingredients such as parabens are harmful to skin, especially children and babies skin. This means that our product will have to be rigorously tested in order to make sure that it does not cause any harmful results such as rashes to consumers. This will therefore increase costs.

Technological
AAK already has vast facilities and resources dedicated to the manufacturing of oils for various purposes. Integration of the Natura range to AAKs production line will be as seamless as possible as methods of production of the Natura products do not differ greatly from what is currently produced. Automated processes including mixing, packaging and delivery are already available and in use across the globe as well as at AAK. An exponential boom in social networking and use of the internet will provide a fantastic opportunity for promotion and communication to potential and existing customers.

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Competition Audit
Having researched the cosmetics market for potential competitors, we discovered a vast range of companies selling similar products at various prices. It was important that we found a gap in the market to explore and not delve into an already saturated industry where several companies have large market share. Going toe-to-toe with well established brands such as The Body Shop and Cowshed is unlikely to bring success. This highly diversified market ranged from own brand or value products, including bath and shower oils from the chain retailers of Tesco, Boots and Superdrug offering products for as little as 0.90 to 1.10 per 100ml. These products offer little in luxury and are an everyday solution to people who do not often spend large amounts of money on showering and bathing products.

[From L to R]: Boots Extracts Fairtrade Cocoa Butter bath cream, 4.19 for 300ml; Boots Extracts Fairtrade Mango body wash, 4.19 for 200ml; Superdrug Naturals Coconut & Shea butter bathing milk 2.54 for 250ml

A crowded middle sector comprising of The Body Shop, Origins and Sanctuary all occupy a large portion of the UK market for cosmetic products. Their products offer value for money for everyday use and are easily accessible to purchase, mainly via the internet, or in the Body Shops case, their own shops across the country. Products from these three range from 2 to 7 per 100ml.

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[From L to R]: The Body Shop Deep Sleep Comforting Milk Bath Float, 14 for 400ml; Origins Gloomaway Grapefruit Body wash and bubble bath, 18.00 for 250ml; Sanctuary Foaming Bath Soak, 5.10 for 250ml

The luxury market has a much smaller number of brands, however there is a steep jump in price from the middle market as companies such as Decleor and Liz Earle offer similar products at over 10 per 100ml. These however incorporate luxury packaging, and a high-quality feel to accompany their natural products. Liz Earle particularly excels at marketing its Naturally Active Ingredients ethos.

[From L to R]: Decleor Relax Intense Shower Oil, 21 for 250ml, Liz Earle Energising Body Wash, 8.25 for 100ml, Espa Body Smoothing Shower Gel, 22.50 for 200ml

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Customer Profile
When trying to design and produce the perfect product, it was important for us to work out the ideal customer that would be buying our product. From this information we would be able to work out how our product would be able to fit into this made-up characters lifestyle. It was important for us to segment our market in order to find the perfect mould in which our customer profile would fit. We started off by trying to work out why our customer would buy the product, whether they would be buying the product for everyday use or for a luxury item. We also wanted our product to have the allure of a luxury product, and wanted the consumer to look forward to using our product instead of just having it as part of their daily routine. We aimed to create a product that had a treat yourself feel to it. In addition, we wanted to work out where it would be best to sell our product in order to make it easily accessible, but to still make it seem like its exclusive to the person that is purchasing it. This is why we were planning to sell the product on the companys own unique website, but we also plan to try and sell it in Boots. We chose Boots instead of Superdrug as we think Boots is seen as being more higher end than Superdrug but yet still accessible to the average person. We would also like our product to be seen at higher end supermarkets such as Waitrose. We think that our target audience would likely to be purchasing the product every 2 to 3 months, this would mean the customer would be using the oil a few times a week. We decided that our perfect customer would be a 25+ city professional that commutes to work for her 9-5 job and spends the nights and weekends relaxing at home. This professional would lack time during the weekday but would want to treat herself whenever she gets the chance. This is ideally when our product comes into place. However, we dont just want to limit our product to just this one person, we want to appeal to others such as mums, pregnant women and women who want to be treated.

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Positioning
With the large gap between the middle and luxury sectors, this is a market that should be explored. Consumers can be offered a quality product with a sophisticated feel to it at a price towards the top end of the middle sector and lower end of the luxury sector at 8-10 for 100ml. This will allow a large return for Naturas products. Hiam (2006) states that a ...high-class image can boost price by 20 to 100%. Therefore the prices can be justified by a luxurious image.

Luxury

Middle

Value or Own Brand

A diagram illustrating the intended positioning of the Natura brand in relation to competitors.

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Product
Our objective of marketing a masstige product can be achieved with strong branding and creation of a luxurious, individual and sophisticated identity that deliver the functional and psychological benefits (Brassington & Pettit, 2006 p.305) sought by consumers. We wanted a simple, easily recognisable brand name with strong connotations of sophistication and luxury. Having focused our attentions back to our initial discussions with regards to the customers wants and needs and working on several identities we decided upon the brand name of Natura. Natura, simply is the Latin translation for nature, which in ancient times literally meant birth. The use of Latin and connotations of the Latin language are of high class as the language itself is taught in the most prestigious of schools, it is distinctive yet also acceptable due to its memorable quality. This branding will reassure customers of the products quality and prestige. It also allows for AAK to branch out into other markets with varying products similar to the way Proctor & Gamble have achieved with Fairy, Camay, Olay and Zest brands. (Brassington & Pettit, 2006, Table 7.2) The relation to the word natural can also be beneficial as has been found that customers brand preference is often based on the health and safety of the product. For example Pot Noodle, Sunny D and McDonalds were found to be amongst the top four least preferable brands in a survey conducted by Joshua Agency (2004, cited by Brassington & Pettit 2006). This is due to the high amount of negative media attention regarding their health impact. Our philosophy of using natural ingredients can be also highlighted due to this branding. The three natural-oil based products at launch offer the consumer different options to satisfy their needs. We highlighted three uses for bath and shower oils from the general public and existing products and developed products for each. We termed these as Moisturise, Relaxation and Energise. A coconu t and vanilla scented oil is the main product line and uses the same colour scheme as the brand itself, it offers an intense moisturising experience using the clinically-proven benefits of natural oils including shea butter and vegetable oil as a skin moisturiser. Grapefruit and orange provides consumers with a fruity, energising and revitalising product perfect for stimulating the senses and giving the day a boost, whilst lavender and peppermint presents the consumer with a chance to unwind with a beautiful blend of relaxing aromas.

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Product range

[From L to R]: Natura Coconut & Vanilla, Grapefruit & Orange and Lavender & Peppermint in the three available sizes of 50ml, 100ml and 200ml, showing off our luxurious design

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Price
In such a highly diversified market, it is crucial to ensure that pricing is effective and suitable for the product being sold. For instance, attempting to sell a small Korean hatchback at luxury Italian supercar prices is extremely unlikely to be successful. Even in the beauty and cosmetics industry, where admittedly the price gaps are nowhere near that of six-figure sums produced by some car manufacturers, a small variation in price from a competitor can be the difference between success and failure. As found in our Competition Audit, we discovered a large variety of products with various prices targeted at various markets, and as a direct result of our investigations we found a small gap in the to position the brand between the luxury and middle sector. Brands such as Liz Earle and Decleor offer luxury bath and shower products at high prices upwards of 11-12 per 100ml, for example Liz Earles Vital Oils for the Bath range, whilst highly concentrated formulas are priced at 8.95 for a small 10ml bottle. Both Liz Earle and Decleor amongst others utilise stylish and luxurious packaging to complement their products. It is known that a high -class image can boost price by 20 to 100% (Hiam, 2006). We feel that effective use of a luxury image is a powerfool tool to use in launching the Natura range. Additionally, the crowded middle market of bath and shower products should be avoided, with well established businesses such as The Body Shop, Cowshed and Origins all operating with products between 3 and 8 per 100ml, it will be difficult for new brands to enter this highly competitive area. The three launch products will each be available in three sizes, totalling nine new Natura products on the market, with each combination priced the same at its respective size. Offering three sizes provides the consumer with a choice, a 50ml bottle retailing at 5.95 will be beneficial to a traveller due to its reduced size, or as a consumers first trial of a Natura product. The standard 100ml size will be available to all, retailing at 8.95, slightly below that of the aforementioned luxury brands, followed by a larger 200ml bottle priced at 15.95. The latter will provide a greater value for money offering compared to the smaller two sizes, with a value of 8.48 (rounded) per 100ml. Furthermore, introductory offers will be available to distributors and consumers as incentive for purchase. This will include a 5% introductory discount for distributors upon purchase of their first batch, with additional discount for cash payment. Consumers will be offered free samples and gifts of other Natura products upon direct purchase from the company, as well as introductory price promotions including buy-one-get-one-half-price. This competitive pricing strategy will aid Naturas initial venture into the market and ensure the brand has a foothold to progress from, with a view to raising prices once a good brand equity has been created and move to a prestige pricing tactic.
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Place
Using an intermediary for the distribution of products can be useful to increase efficiency and minimise costs created by dealing directly with consumers. For example if AAK wanted to sell to 100 customers, it would require 100 transactions. Each transaction would involve delivery, administration, packing and marketing costs. Alternatively, using an intermediary would cut this number down to just one or however many intermediaries they choose to provide their products to. The simplest intermediary to use to deliver the products to the consumer is to user a Producer-Retailer-Consumer path. This is ideal for large retailers and manufacturers (Brassington & Pettit, 2006). This is especially applicable to AAK due to their existing relationship with the large chain supermarkets including Sainsburys, Tesco and Morrisons. By utilising AAKs connections with the big four, this will ensure that there is no interference with current clients such as Avon and The Body Shop as they use alternative methods of distribution. The advantage of using large retail supermarkets is that their labour costs are 10-20% lower than independent stores and their buying advantage is 15% higher (Brassington & Pettit, 2006). This will assist us in ensuring our products achieve a masstige level and it will help minimise costs. By selling our products in supermarkets, it will allow our target consumers to be reached. Implementation of Natura products into inner-city and larger supermarkets such as Tesco Metro and Sainsburys Local stores will mean that our products are easily accessible to the hard-working professionals targeted. These easily accessible stores have large footfall so the product will also be available to members of the public on their general shop so opens up opportunities for new consumers. There is a possibility to set up a Producer-Consumer path. This would be achieved through the use of telephone and internet sales. Online shopping has grown significantly in recent years, with a 39% rise between December 2008 and December 2009 in Health and Beauty sales online. (IMRG.org) However, it may prove to be uneconomical to set up a company-owned sales and distribution force to deal with the resulting sales. However, we must ensure that a balance between exclusivity and accessibility is maintained in keeping with the brand strategy. Selling Natura products in every shop possible will devalue the brands luxury appeal. Restricting the number of stockists is a technique used to great effect in the luxury industry, particularly in the jewellery market.

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Promotion
As the products in question are considered to be standardised products, low value, low risk, frequent purchases the market is considered to be a consumer market. This indicates that the products should be marketed using less emphasis on personal selling with more emphasis placed on advertising, sales promotion and direct marketing (Brassington and Pettit, 2006). Borden (1975) stated that cosmetic companies with large resources utilise a pull marketing strategy for the introduction of new products. A carefully selected range of mediums will be used over a long period, focusing initially, primarily on print and web-based advertising. Television airtime is extremely expensive and it is unlikely that radio advertising will convey an effective message. As AAK rarely have had to deal with advertising directly, it may be more effective to work in conjunction with a full service advertising agency. It is important to use an agency which is experienced yet innovative. Companies should seek the best service possible to maximise returns via a reputable company. We discovered that our target audience are most likely to be subjected to advertising through glossy magazines and general internet browsing as some of their spare time is used by these mediums. Effectively utilising these sources with half and full page spreads in selected national glossy magazines such as Elle, Grazia and Cosmopolitan are likely to have a beneficial effect on raising initial brand awareness to our target consumers. Additionally, the boom in social networking provides ample opportunity for promotion, a promotional Facebook page with information, news and exclusive offers can be setup free of charge and used effectively to promote the brand. Additionally, there is a growing number of DIY Reviewers on video websites such as YouTube and Daily Motion. Providing free samples to popular beauty and cosmetics reviewers on their channels can reach a potentially worldwide audience. Targeted advertising, particularly through Google Ads, will target people with a relevant search history; there will be little to no waste on advertising to uninterested and unresponsive people. A free iPhone and iPad app offering information and other interactive features on the iTunes store could promote interest to people on the move. It is important to advertise business-to-business in our launch stage as this will promote initial awareness and ensure orders are placed to get products on shelves.

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Conclusion
We feel that the marketing plan and outline launch strategy we have provided should present a prime opportunity for AAK to recieve maximum return on a niche, exciting product range, with little initial outlay due to its existing resources and production methods. Integration will be relatively straight forward due to the expertise already posessed by the company. Our initial research, and development has given us confidence that, providing that the brand is effectively introduced and developed to the general public, could be a great success. The gap in the market needs to be exploited quickly and efficiently before other companies seek it out. Offering a luxurious, high-quality product can justify a relatively high price as a brand premium, however, an initial competitive pricing policy will be beneficial in the brands initial introduction. By offering products at an RRP of 10.95 for 100ml, this prices undercuts the luxury brands of Liz Earle, Decelor and Neals Yard and may be seen as a better value-for-money investment by consumers. Placement of the product in inner-city and larger value chain stores will allow good access for the targeted market, yet still remain a relatively exclusive brands by limiting distribution to selected stores. Ideally, the product should remain accessible yet exclusive to allow the consumers to sense the luxury of the brand. Placement of half and full page spreads in glossy magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan and Grazia will provide a traditional source of advertisement, but the boom in social network and internet advertising must be utilised as much as possible as it as available to a worldwide audience. Other uses of technology such as an iPhone and iPad app, along with review samples to bloggers must be embraced to ensure maximum possible coverage. A quality, sophisticated and luxurious bath and shower oil at competitive pricing is the right product, at the right time.

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Appendix
Group members
Nathan Morris Rebecca Stephens Max Roberts Laura Jibson

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Bibliography
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