The company is in the catering industry and serves customers within the Philadelphia market. Philadelphia Catering strives to penetrate the current market by targeting the Jewish community with a repertoire of kosher food products. The kosher market in this area is virtually stagnant. However, Philadelphia has come with unique service that present a paradigm shift compared to the existing kosher catering caterers. The company understands the prevailing mindset of the Jewish community in as far as the kosher market is concerned. As a result, the company’s resolve is to bring into the market a new approach by leveraging existing culinary skills in order to provide innovative catering options. Indeed, with the current level of expertise and the large market within the Philadelphian area will help the company break-even in less than one year.

Situation Analysis

Philadelphia is a new company and its marketing approach is critical to the company’s survival in the turbulent market arena. The company will have to cover many events with its brand new kosher service. The market for kosher service is driven by high-quality product offerings and the company expects to meet the demand by providing innovative range of kosher meals. Indeed this is essential to beat competition and survive in the competitive market arena.

Mission Statement and Market Overview

Mission Statement

The mission of the company is “to provide affordable custom catering to businesses and institutions in the Philadelphia area” (Philadelphiacatering.com, 2012). The company exists to provide services that exceed customer expectations.

Market overview

Philadelphia has up-to-date information concerning the market in which it operates. The company gathers information in the market to aid in planning and meeting the needs of the customers

Market Analysis

Year	2013	2014	2015	2016	Growth
Potential customers
Middle Class	130, 000	141, 390	166, 112	180, 162	9%
Upper Class	90, 457	96, 890	121, 300	119, 300	8%
Other	0	0	0	0	0%
Total	220, 457	238, 280	287, 412	299, 462	8.5%

Market Needs

The company understands the needs of the market well and seeks to provide food products that fulfill these needs. Essentially, traditional kosher meals are far from being creative and do not appeal much to the Jewish community. Philadelphia Catering will overcome this challenge by providing a wider variety for customers to choose from in events that require kosher catering. Indeed, the company endeavors to meet the following advantages to its clients.

Selection: The Company will provide more products in their menu to appeal to the customers.

Accessibility: the company will prepare its food items within its certified kitchen. However, it will increase access to their food by providing catering events within the greater metropolitan area.

Customer service: this is critical in the success of the company. Indeed, customers will be impressed by the level of service provided by the company.

Pricing: pricing is a strategy that competitors use against the company. Philadelphia Catering will offer a competitive price that will keep customers coming for more.

Market Trends

Discrimination is the current trend in the kosher catering market. Today’s customers in this market segment are complicated. The following two attributes summaries the character of the catering patrons.

Quality: Catering customers demand more quality products. Therefore, the preference for high quality products is pushing company’s to keep up the spirit, otherwise, they will lose customers to the competition.

Innovation: kosher food items should not be dull; otherwise, customers will shy from buying them. Today’s customers are demanding innovative food offerings.

The reason for these trends is that over the last five years, other companies have applied their culinary skills to kosher offerings. They recognized the potential of developing this market segment and as a result, they came with innovative products. As customers get these new meals, they claim that complacency cannot be entertained any longer.

Market Growth

In the last year, the kosher catering industry boosts about $ 40 million in annual sales (thenibble.com). As more products and increased marketing skills are introduced into the market, it is expected that sales volumes will increase significantly. Previously, people had a vain idea of the kosher food. They saw it as boring and food that has no flavor. However, as more offerings will be placed on the table for consumers to choose from, it is anticipated that people will demand more products.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is an analytical tool for gauging a company’s strengths weakness, opportunities, as well as threats in the market. The following analysis captures the company’s strengths and weakness in the Philadelphian market. The company has a superior brand that resonates well with the customers. However, there is a need to invest in the training of employees to boost the company culinary skills. In addition, there are opportunities that the company can exploit to achieve its mission. For instance, the company has a long learning curve, which means it can continue adding value and increasing customers along the product lifecycle.

In doing so, the company must keep vigilant of the threats it will encounter in the market. The recent slump in the economic activities posed by the global financial crisis means the company must provide meals that match the limited budgets of the consumers. If the company fails, then competitors might as well snatch a good chunk of the customers from the company.

Strengths

Strong relationships
Highly skilled workers
Superior product
Customer loyalty

Weaknesses

Struggle to build brand equity
Limited budget
Limited culinary skills

Opportunities

There is a high market potential
Steep learning curve
Ability to have a long-term customers

Threats

Stiff competition
High cost of production
The threats of the global financial crisis

Competitor Analysis

Competition in the kosher catering is stiff since there are other companies in Philadelphia that provide the same service. Competitors in this market, to some degree, use price wars as a strategy in their marketing effort (Cant, Strydom, & Jooste, 2009). However, quality is the main facet of competition among the caterers. However, Philadelphia Catering is expecting to receive stiff competition from Fressen that serves the high-end market. However, the company is not worried because the competitor has not been offering upper-end service and its fortunes have been dwindling in the recent months. Most customers are not happy with the Fressen because it has a premium price for its services, which are of low quality. Philadelphia Catering was looking forward to get a good rating because of its high-quality service and reasonable pricing. In addition, there are competitors from other states like New York, who were called to provide kosher services when cost is not an issue. Philadelphia Catering will have to take cognizance of this fact and keep competitors at bay by having services and products that resonate well with the customers.

An Idea for a New Product or Service for the Company

New product development is not an easy task for any company (Karol & Nelson, 2011). However, Philadelphia Catering has decided to provide a new service to the Jewish community living in Philadelphia. The kosher catering will target Jewish events such as weddings and Bat Mitzvahs. Kosher is a set of rituals that were held dear by some sections of the Judaism in the preparation and consumption of meals. This will require the setting up of a new kitchen or catering services to provide kosher meals. The preparations require that pots and utensils used for cooking be separate. There is a Jewish regulation that prohibits serving of dairy and meat together. Indeed, the word kosher means something that is fit. It originates from the dietary requirements in the book of Leviticus. In the book, the Jews were permitted to eat certain animals, while others were prohibited (Lazarus & Sulivan, 2011). Specifically, the combination of meat and fish was not allowed. Therefore, the preparation of the same meals requires two sets of pots and utensils for the customers. Another critical issue pertaining meat preparation is the way the animal is slaughtered. There are several ways of slaughtering the animal and all require specific adherence to details (Lazarus & Sulivan, 2011). For instance, only a certified individual by the Rabbis is allowed to slaughter the animal. The animal should not be subjected to pain at all. Another significant fact is the prohibition of preparing meat and dairy in the same kitchen. This is not allowed in the Torah. To avoid any conflict, the Rabbis have prohibited the eating of meat and dairy products at the same time. Indeed, it would be a violation to prepare them using the same utensils. A person should wait at least 6 hours before eating the other product.

Kosher catering is a new business for the company. As highlighted, it is also not an easy venture because of the numerous requirements inherent in the Jewish Torah and which must be adhered to at all times in the preparation of kosher meals. In addition, the start up costs for the service is high because of the additional equipments required to prevent the mixing of dairy and meat products. However, the key to success will be in creating repeat business for the company by providing high-quality services.

The Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy is a critical tool for any company. It helps an organization concentrate it resources on the optimal opportunities with the aim of boosting sales. In addition, the marketing strategy helps a company a competitive edge in the market (Cant, Strydom, & Jooste, 2009). Without a good strategy, it would be impossible for Philadelphia Catering to realize its goals and objectives within the Philadelphian area (Fitfiled, 2012).

The company’s marketing strategy will revolve on devising visibility among the kosher community within the targeted market area. This was done in two ways: The first method will be using advertising as a tool of informing customers about the company’s presence in the area. Advertisements were targeted to the Jewish community in the Philadelphian areas. In addition, it will be done in letters or words that can be understood easily by the community, and in the specific newsletters. In addition, selected Synagogue’s specific newsletters did advertising. The community that uses kosher catering was reached easily by these communiqués. Therefore, it wasexpected that the advertisements will provide an avenue through which the company will receive more enquiries concerning its services.

Apart from the formal method of advertising, the company will also engage in informal ways of attracting clients to its products. One way is to use networking as a way of reaching the kosher community. Some of the employees are active members of the Philadelphia Jewish community for over 4 years and can provide a sizeable market for the company. The Jewish community is a well-knit outfit consisting approximately around 400, 000 individuals. Therefore, the employees can provide an advantage within the community and raise awareness about the company’s presence and its products. The advantages of networking is that it is less costly compared to advertising. Although networking might not have a large effect as advertising, it nonetheless will help the company cut costs significantly.

Marketing Objectives: The following are the objective that the company wishes to achieve

To realize a positive and continuous growth every month
To continuously attract and convert customers into long term clients
To realize a decrease in operational expenses as sales continue to increase over the years.
To achieve a double-digit growth in the succeeding years
To reduce the variable operating costs significantly within the first two years
To maximize the profit margin in every event

Financial Objectives

Target Marketing

Philadelphia will target two classes of customers. However, to reach the two groups will not necessarily require different marketing strategies (Schenck, 2011). Differentiation between the two classes will require different menu offerings that meet the needs of each group (Ferrel & Hartline, 2010). The middle class kosher clients have less disposable income. Although they believe it is prudent to have a kosher dinner, they prefer to minimize the cost of such events. On the other hand, the upper class is the opposite of the middle-class. They have more disposable income and are willing to go any length to enjoy a kosher event. Accordingly, their meals will be provided at premium price.

Market Positioning

This is the method, which marketers use to create an image in the minds of the targeted group for its service or product (Dahlen, Lange, & Smith, 2010). Philadelphia will position itself as a caterer that provides high-quality service compared to other caterers within the Philadelphian area and even beyond. Indeed, the Jews who live within this area will attest to the unique and high quality services provided by Philadelphia Catering.

The Marketing Mix

The marketing mix is a unique blend of the product, price, place, and promotion designated to produce mutually satisfying exchange processes with the targeted market (Zikmund & Babin, 2007). Although the marketing manager can control each variable individually, it is critical that all the elements in the marketing mix are blended in a way that provides optimal results (Lamb, Hiar & McDaniel, 2011). Philadelphia’s marketing mix comprises of the following approaches.

Price: the price of the food items is based on per plate basis.

Place: the company has a presence in the greater Philadelphia area and can reach any type of facility to deliver its products

Promotion: Promotion will be done through advertising as well as networking. These are the two most effective ways of reaching and attracting clients to the company’s products and services.

Product: The service that the company provides to its clients is mantra. The company focuses on anything possible to make the customer happy. This can be done even at the expense of short-term profits. This is done to attract and maintain customers who will become loyal customers in the long-term.

The Marketing Research

Market research is valuable in searching the truth concerning marketing phenomena (Zikmund & Babin, 2007). The marketing research information is not intuitive and requires an elaborate process to generate. In essence, it is impossible to have a positive impact in the market if the company does not have the required information (Zikmund & Babin, 2007). During the initial phases of developing the marketing plan, several focus groups were held to help gain insight on the number of people who observed the kosher. These groups provided helpful information concerning the buyer’s decision-making model (Cook, 2010). In the coming months, Philadelphia will carry out feedback research. Feedback research will give the customers an opportunity to state the quality of the services they received from the company. In addition, they will be requested to provide any suggestions for improvements. This will be achieved by having open-ended questions in the questionnaires. The feedback received will help the company to tailor its services and products to match the needs of the clients’ as much as possible (philadelphiacatering.com).

3-Year Forecast and Budgets

This section of the marketing plan will provide an overview of the financials relating to Philadelphia’s operating activities. The focus will be on the break-even analysis, expected sales potential as well as expected cost of operations. All these parameters have a direct link to the company’s marketing strategy.

Sales Forecast

The first month will not have many activities. This month will generally be used for setting the kitchen and the working office. In the second month, there will be limited catering activities. However, the second month will not generate a lot of revenue for the company. In the following two months, there will be a flurry of activities that will generate more revenue for the company, as sales will be expected to increase. In the fourth month, sales will be in excess of $12, 0000 because of enhanced advertising. Customers will understand that the new company is the new kosher caterer in their locality and is providing high-quality products. Therefore, more activities will be expected to take place on the third and the fourth month. Indeed, incremental sales were expected in the following months. It’s expected that Philadelphia will break even in the first year of operations.

Sales Forecast

Year	2013	2014	2015
Middle Class	$80, 000	$170, 000	$180, 000
Upper Class	$95, 000	$190, 000	$200, 000
Total	$ 175, 000	$360, 000	$380, 000

Expense Forecast

Marketing expenses are budgeted such that they peak five months before the busy season begins. This will provide visibility at a time when people are planning their future extravaganza.

Marketing Expense budget

Year	2013	2014	2015
Advertising	$ 40, 000	$25, 000	$17, 500
Other	$ 21, 100	$ 11, 400	$ 9, 800
Other	$0	$0	$0
Total Marketing Expenses	$ 61, 100	$36, 400	$26, 300

Break-even Analysis

It is easy to conduct the break-even analysis after accurately forecasting the costs and sales in the first year of operations. In this case, Philadelphia Catering will break even when the total expenses equal the forecasted revenues (Cafferky & Wentworth, 2010). The break-even analysis shows that about $ 14, 583 will be required as monthly revenue for the company to break-even. Indeed, Philadelphia Company will break even in the 4^th month operations. It’s assumed that the average variable cost will be about 25%.

Reference List

Berry, T. 2010. Sales and market forecasting for entrepreneurs. Business Expert Press, LLC, New York.

Cafferky, M. & Wentworth, J. 2010. Break-even analysis: the definitive guide to cost-volume-profit analysis. Business Expert Press, LLC, New York.

Cant, C. M., Strydom, J. W. & Jooste, J. C. 2009. Marketing management, Juta and Company Ltd, London.

Cook, S. 2010. Customer care excellence: how to create an effective customer focus. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Dahlen, M., Lange, F. & Smith, T. 2010. Marketing communications: a brand narrative approach. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Ferrel, C. O. & Hartline, D. M. 2010. Marketing strategy. Cengage Learning, New York.

Fitfiled, P. (2012). Marketing strategy. Routledge, New York.

Karol, R. & Nelson, B. 2011. New product development for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Lamb, W. C., Hiar, F. J. & McDaniel, D.C. 2011. Essentials of marketing. Cengage learning, New York.

Lazarus, P. W. & Sulivan, M. 2011. Comparative religion for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Philadelphiacatering.com, 2012. The Philadelphia catering company. Retrieved from http://www.philadelphiacatering.com/download/PCC_GI.pdf

Schenck, F. B. 2011. Small business marketing for dummies. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Thenibble.com. 2013. Who’s eating kosher. Retrieved from http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/kosher/lifestyle/kosher-facts.asp

Zikmund, G. W. & Babin, J. B. 2007. Exploring marketing research. Cengage Learning, New York

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