Vegemite

A product of Kraft foods

In 1922, a Melbourne man called Fred Walker (who started the Fred Walker Company which eventually became Kraft Foods Limited in Australia) had the bright idea of using yeast extract left over from the manufacture of beer to create a wonderful source of vitamin B and a tasty new spread that every Australian will grow up with.

It is the registered brand name for a dark brown -- almost black -- salty food paste mainly used as a spread on sandwiches and toast, though occasionally used in cooking.

Its taste and manufacture are similar to the British Marmite, and indeed the product was for a short time known as "Parwill" as a rather unfunny and unsuccessful pun on Marmite's name (as in the sentence: "Ma might not like the taste, but I'm sure Pa will"). Vegemite's current name was picked at random out of a hat of other possible choices by Fred Walker's daughter, Sheilah.

The spread is extremely strongly flavored, and a little goes a long way - most people spreading vegemite as thickly as jam or butter will get a nasty surprise when they bite into the resulting product

Nutrition

Yeast extract is four or five times more concentrated than yeast, making it one of the richest known sources of the vitamin B group.

In addition to being rich in vitamin B, yeast extract also contains other essential proteins and minerals

It is also fat free

Prior to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Vegemite gained official product endorsement from the British Medical Association. This endorsement coup allowed Vegemite to be advertised in the British Medical Journal and for medical professionals to be able to recommend Vegemite as a Vitamin B-rich, nutritionally balanced food for patients

Vegemite's rise to popularity was helped by highly successful marketing campaigns in the 1940s, using groups of smiling, attractive healthy children singing a catchy jingle entitled "We're happy little vegemites". Indeed, many Australians still use the phrase "happy little vegemite" to describe such children.

In April 1984, a 115g jar of Vegemite makes grocery store history by becoming the first product to be electronically scanned at the checkout in a supermarket in Australia. It was scanned in Woolworths at Chullora NSW and the price was 66 cents. The product is on display at Woolworths head office in NSW should anyone feel inclined to make a pilgrimage.

Today Vegemite, which remains relatively unchanged in recipe and label, now sells over 22 million jars every year. Vegemite may have started on toast but it remains a vital ingredient in many contemporary recipes such as risotto.

Did You Know?

22.7 million jars of Vegemite are manufactured in Australia every year - that's 235 jars per minute.

30 jars are sold in Australia for every one exported.

Vegemite is in nine out of ten pantries in Australia.

Kraft launched Vegemite snack abouts in 1999"Snack abouts" was created for children and adults so that people could snack on Vegemite anywhere, anytime.

With four buttery crispbreads in every pack and a handy red stick for spreading, Vegemite snack abouts are a popular addition to Aussie kids’ lunchboxes.

More information:http://www.vegemite.com.au/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.welcome

This includes old ads for the company in the Our Heritage section

For the first time in 85 years, Vegemite has now launched a new product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wVmuUEOZe8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lK4ADMuj8k

Issues for International Sales

What market entry method would you use?

Would you change the product or keep it the same?

Who would you market to? How would you promote the product? What would your promotional message

be? How and where would you sell it? What kind of a price would you attach to

it?

4 P’s of Marketing

Product Promotion Place (Distribution) Price

Adaptation vs. Standardization

Standardization: keep product the same across countries

Adaptation: change product to meet local needs

McDonalds

Q. How many restaurants does McDonald's have and in how many countries?A. There are more than 30,000 McDonald's restaurants in 119 countries.

Menus vary around the world.

Product Adaptation

Packaging Color Size Usage Labeling Features Technical issues

Factors which drive standardization

Cost Brand Name Control of Image Economies of Scale Globalization of marketplace

Factors which drive adaptation

Use of product Legal differences Buyer behavior patterns Cultural differences Economic factors

Coca-Cola http://www2.coca-cola.com/

brands/brandlist.html Electricity http://www.voltagevalet.com/

country/all.html

Global Segmentation

Identify a market segment that crosses country lines and sell a standardized product to it

Barbie in Middle East http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/

middle_east/4605334.stm

Possible Segments

Global segment: MTV generation, global business travelers

Regional segments: Asian edition of Microsoft word

Unique segments: first-time parents, sophisticated photographers; working women

India

http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/ourfood/veg/mcaloo_tikki.html

Malaysia i'm lovin' it! McDonald's® Malaysia

Middle East http://www.mcdonaldsarabia.com/

english/uae/nutrition_inov.asp

Uruguay

http://www.mcdonalds.com/countries/uruguay/food.html

Greece

http://www.mcdonalds.com/content/countries/greece.html

Signage

http://www.mcdonalds.com/corp/news/media/multi/Rest/signage.html

Alternative International Product and Promotional Strategies

The World’s 10 Most Valuable Global Brands

Source: BusinessWeek 8/26/2007http://www.finfacts.ie/brands.htm