Shokubutsu Green Tea Body Shower Foam: Market Analysis And Competitor Comparison Essay.

Focussing on a chosen product/a product line from the either Hair care/Personal care/ Dairy good and cosmetics industry (take note that other industry will be given Zero marks, Coca-cola and Pepsi are not allowed to be used) that have been in the market at least 6 months to 2 years, critically assess the chose product/product line & identify the following: 

Define the competition 
Competitors Analysis 

All the discussion must be supported and justify with published facts, published journal articles & references from the creditable sources. Assignment must be written in a report format. 

This report will focus on the product Shokubutsu which contains natural skin- caring agent, Green tea extract. The green tea content in this product softly cleanses and rejuvenates skin in order to provide an appropriate balance and refreshing shower experience for skin. The pleasant essence of this product gives a serene and relaxing feeling to the users throughout the day (Osman et al. 2016). In addition to providing a refreshing feeling this product also has the ability to nourish the skin with the required quantity of nutrition. In order to use this product the user has to take a small amount in his wet hand and lather all over his body. After that it will be rinsed off and care must be taken so that it does not come in contact with the eyes and if it goes by mistake, then water should be sprinkled immediately on eyes. With further proceedings of this report, detailed information about the product and its placement will be given.    

The main objective of this report is to fulfill the complex task of managing the product of Shokubutsu which is shower foam. There are many companies which find it difficult to overcome the challenge of proper execution of management of the product (Li et al. 2015). That is why this particular Malaysian company will find out the strategies which will make their product management easy in the market.

Further in this report the market for the body wash will be analyzed which will primarily take into consideration the description and analysis of the product followed by its competitors and their analysis. There will be 4 sections in this report along with conclusion which will take care of the separate factors significant in managing the brand in the Malaysian market.

The product target market is mainly aimed at the people of Malaysia and there is no bar in gender. Both male and female can use this product and thus the scope of the product to spread in the market got widened. This is a body shower foam green tea which is specifically targeted to those who are skin conscious and likes to pamper themselves with the most amazing products in the market. This product of Shokubutsu will be one in such category which contains green tea and that is helpful in rejuvenating the skin (Chen, Saidari and Mahadi 2016).

This section will analyze the product of body wash shampoo in terms of its core value. It is a continuation of the introductory part which has already mentioned about the content of the products. The green tea content is the unique selling proposition of this product as there are not many body wash in the market that contains this healthy ingredient. Other ingredients in this body wash include water, glycerin, potassium laurate, potassium myristate, lauryl hydroxysultaine, acrylates/Vinyl Neodecanote Crosspolymer, Potassium Chloride Potassium Palmitate, Fragrance, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Steareth-11, Tetrasodium EDTA. All these organic contents in the body shower foam make the product more safe, fresh and healthy and perfectly suitable to be used in the Asian skin (Chandran, Hayter and Strong 2015). 

Market Analysis

It uplifts the natural power of the skin by removing the stresses of modern living. The improved formula with PCA- NA helps in moisturizing the skin naturally and makes the skin ready to cope up with the daily stress.  This is a unique product which helps in countering the stress of daily work life. Even if an individual is getting inadequate sleep, facing the burden of work- pressure, or damaging skin due to pollution, bacteria, fungi or effect of air- conditioned environments, or premature ageing of skin, then there is only one solution and that is Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea. This is a perfect match to prevent the damage of skin imbalance due to external or internal causes. If an individual takes care of his or her skin in the present by using this product in the present then it will give them a long term effect for the future (Hassali et al. 2015).

This particular product is available in 4 ranges of varying needs of the individual. The primary one is radiance which helps in brightening the skin. It is not only important to keep the skin healthy but also to give it a fresh and glowing look from outside. The second one is revita care which contributes in providing rich moisture along with an added amount of natural moisturizer MTO for taking care of the skin. This soap- free body shower foam is absolutely safe for the skin as tested by dermatologists (Armstrong et al. 2015). The third point in support of this shower foam is its anti- bacterial nature that is helpful in purifying the skin and protects it against the harmful action of bacteria. And last but not the least it helps an individual irrespective of the gender in providing a deodorizing and anti- bacterial protection.  

The body wash shampoo is a personal care product and both men and women can use it. It is also a consumer product as the end users of this product are the consumers and intends to satisfy the individual needs and wants of the consumers. The four categories of convenience, shopping, unsought and specialty products come under the broad heading of consumer products (Huang and Sarigöllü 2014). Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea is a shopping product under the category of consumer products because the consumers compares the characteristics of these products such as the price, quality and contents before purchasing. They also check the reviews of the previous users before taking a decision. Malaysia has a large business volume in the category of personal care products which is around 292 million in US dollar. In their import category the three top products are related to beauty and personal care. On the other hand the US export on an average to Malaysia was 25% in 2 years which contributed to a growth rate of 9%. It is expected that there will be a hike in demand in this specific sector in the future.

Competitor Comparison

In the personal care sector there is a huge demand for local skin products such as body shower foam rather than foreign brands. This is a great opportunity for Shokubutsu to establish their products in the local market as their target market will be easily attracted towards this local product which will be available at a reasonable price. Other personal care products in the market do not provide such a lucrative offer as 650 g for MYR 13 (Jin, Ji and Gu 2016). In general the personal care products are highly priced and that too not at such a minimum quantity. With this large quantity at such an affordable rate it will be easy for the company to capture their target market. This section will be followed by the analysis of the target market and the competitors. This analysis will be effective in studying the Malaysian market and thus plan according to place the product.    

This section will analyze the competitors of Shokubutsu in the Malaysian market of personal care products. In this particular section there will be focus on the other companies which sell body wash, or body shower foam or body shampoo in Malaysia. Watsons Exfoliating Body Wash Floral Blossom 410 g and or Topvalu body was purple iris scented 650 g is the two important competitors of Shokubutsu that are dominating in the Malaysian market with a bit of difference in the price of the products. When Shokubutsu sells a product of 650 g at MYR 13.94, Dove shower foam cucumber and green tea scent foaming body wash (pack of 3) for 16.9 Oz or 479 g is sold at MYR 255.53 and Fuji green tea shower gel for 250 ml is sold at MYR 33 (Caber, Albayrak and ?smay?ll? 2017). Thus it can be seen that the Shokubutsu Company is providing a great quantity at an attractive price when compared to its competitors. Moreover the competitors are foreign companies and studies have shown that the population of Malaysia is more attracted towards the local products than the foreign products.   

The identified products of competition are Dove and Fuji. To shed light on the analysis of competition the need based model of Lehman and Winer will be considered for proper marketing decision around the marketing plan (Lehmann and Winer 1997). This particular model recognizes four competitive levels of product category, form, generic and budget which are represented by 4 concentric circles surrounding the specific product that is under evaluation. Competitive offerings of the Shokubutsu product is placed on the diagram on the basis of their comparison and the competitive products are kept on the inner levels of the diagram. This diagram is better explained below-

As an analysis of this model it can be stated that the product needs to be identified first followed by building up of the different levels of competition as per the diagram;  then the product form, category, generic and the budget competitors need to be identified and finally the identified competitors will be placed on the diagram (Grant 2016).

In the particular case of Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea 650 g the competitive offerings of Dove or Fuji will be placed on the diagram on the basis of comparison to the product under evaluation. The competitive products that cover the inner circles of the diagram are more relative to the Shokubutsu than those that cover the outer circles.

Standard industrial classification code and customer based evaluation will be analyzed to decide on the competitors. In most of the cases the companies waste their time and money in aiming the wrong prospects of their business. To save Shokubutsu from committing the same mistake two methods were used so that they can choose their perfect prospects in terms of business. By using SIC or standard industrial classification codes the company can easily target and put stress on their marketing efforts as the companies get classified by their industrial codes. With the use of these codes the specific businesses get classified which requires the product or service from the other end (Dawes 2016).  It is very important to look for the present clients or competitors in order to recognize their industries. Thus it becomes easy to build up a targeted and authentic business list on the basis of the odes and implement the same on the marketing campaign of the business.

It is also essential to identify the competitors on the basis of the customers by analyzing their strategies in order to recognize the strengths and weaknesses and compare with that of Shokubutsu. The competitors can be evaluated by keeping them in strategic groups and compete on the basis of the money spent by the customers on the specific products (Safa et al. 2015). A list of product, profitability, growth curve, objectives, strategies, cost structure, SWOT in terms of the competitors’ business needs to be created. The customers play an important role in deciding on the competitors who will compare and buy the products. Sometimes the reputation of customer service becomes the cause of a difference in the business operating in a competitive market.

Standard Industrial Classification Code was originally developed by the government of United States for collecting the similar companies under one industry for collecting, evaluating and sharing statistical data in different agencies. It is a system by which companies are grouped into different industries. Most of the businesses use the database, which allow them to search by this SIC or standard industrial classification code and help in finding competitors. Apart from that, the standard industrial classification code is also used for gathering industry information that is not easily found in searching keywords. Competition can be defined as the factors or other business organizations that pose threat to an existing business. The competitors can be either new or old depending upon the popularity of the business organizations and the manner in which they exist in a business market. In terms of the definition provided by the SIC, it can be said that competition can be defined as the factors that provide threat in not only trying to undermine an existing business but also gain information about other business. Similar organizations that exist within a particular industry can be defined as competitors as these organizations compete with one another to gain a competitive advantage in the market. The use of SIC is to identify hackers by using the unique codes that are assigned to companies for conducting business in a competitive market.

For this particular project, Shokubutsu will be able to use the SIC or standard industrial classification code in order to find their competitors in the personal care industry of Malaysian market. Using the codes will help Shokubutsu to get additional information about the products sustaining in the similar industry and stay ahead in the competitive run. The SIC or standard industrial classification code will be beneficial for Shokubutsu to compare their own products with that of the other products in the similar industry. In this regard, it can be said that the customer method that can be used Shokubutsu is the market segmentation. Market segmentation helps companies to understand the target market based on varieties of variables. These variables include the geographic, demographic, behavioral and psychographic. Categorizing customers based on these variables can be considered as a means of filtering the customers. Various factors such as lifestyle, attitudes, geographic location, age, gender and behavior of the customers are analyzed to understand the responses that may be obtained in a market. At the same time, the market segmentation can also help companies gather information about the competitors as narrowing the field of business can help in gaining an idea about the different organizations that exist in the market. Hence, it can help a company like Shokubutsu to analyze the competitors in the Malaysian market and make proper rectifications in business based on the information.

In the case of the products offered by Shokubutsu the marketing segmentation can help the company analyze the competitors in the market. As seen from the analysis of the company, Shokubutsu provides body showers that give out foams of green tea. The application of the marketing segmentation can help the company to create divisions about the people that need to be targeted and the manner in which the targeted customers can help in increasing the sale of the company. The Malaysian market may welcome the innovative foam type that is provided by Shokubutsu as this is considered as a different approach than its competitors. The marketing segmentation can also help the company maintain monitoring on the competitors so that the products can be changed in terms of price. For example, one of the competitors of Shokutbutsu is Dove and the company is well reputed in the global market. Hence, the market segmentation that Shokutbutsu aims to conduct need to consider the threat that is received from Dove. This can help Shokutbutsu to manufacture products along with prices that are capable of competing with Dove.

The main competitors of Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea 650 g are Watsons (WLTW) and Topvalu (TYO 8267). The mentioned business organization has another way to keep a track on their competitors which is by using the method of customer based evaluation. Customers for any kind of product decide the longevity of the same. It depends on the customers that whether the product will be able to put an impact in the market or not. That is because if there is no sale on the part of the customers then there is no way the product will remain in the market. By using customer based evaluation the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors are measured. Such evaluation will not only provide the information about the competitors but also ways will be mentioned by which the specific product can improve them. Shokubutsu might conduct survey either through questionnaire or online polls in order to know about customer reaction. The response of the survey participants will help them to become aware of their needs and wants and thus they can modify their product. They will also be able to come in direct competition with other companies by aligning their policies and procedures to get the competitive advantage. Shokubutsu should get the information from customer feedback about the product features and advantages that are significant to the existing as well as the potential customers. Shokubutsu will be able to determine its competitive position by finding appropriate ways to differentiate its price and products from the competitors.

As stated by Safa et al. (2015) organizations fall under the portfolio of products that comprise of a large number of goods. The competitors of the product are based on a large-scale industry and because of this; it can be difficult to benchmark the profitability of products without categorizing the special characteristics that are held by the products. However, the acquisitions of markets provide opportunities to have a strong potential in the market. As such, certain factors can be categorized that add to the attractiveness of a particular product. These factors include the size of the category, growth, stage in the product life cycle, profit and seasonality of the products. The attractiveness in the product market depends upon the manner in which the responses of the people are categorized. For example, the market size and growth are considered as high attractiveness whereas the variability in profit and the seasonality of the sales are considered as low attractiveness.

Thus, it can be said that the attractiveness of the products depend upon the characteristics upon which customers can decide about the purchase of the products. As such a product life cycle can be analysed that define the category attractiveness of product.

The analysis shows that most of the fluctuations in a product take place in the growth and maturity stages. This is mainly because of the fact that the customers based on the sale determine the size and growth of the products it takes place in the market. Hence, it is necessary for every company to analyse these two stages while formulating any type of strategy that may be fit for the organisation. In the case of the products sold by Shokubutsu, the seasonal factor is not to be considered as a headache. The body foam can be used by either gender at any point during a year irrespective of the season. Hence, this is one factor that can rest as high attribute for Shokubutsu. However, the size and category of the products can be considered as a factor to deal with. This is because, the size of the company and the products may prove to be a huge disadvantage for the company. With the growth in the market, the products of Shokubutsu may find decline because of the existence of a tough competitor like Dove. Thus, despite its multi-purpose the body foam products of Shokubutsu can have a competitive disadvantage if compared with Dove.

The product can be used by both men and women which is an attractive part and the composition does not harm the environment. Moreover Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea is available to the customers at a reasonable price when compared to the competitors in the market. The green tea content in the product is healthy for the skin and does not even harm the environment in any way. This shopping product is very near and dear to the customers as it is available in a much lesser price than the competitors. It is a consumer product as it satisfies the needs and desires of the customers who are the end products (Gürhan-Canli, Hayran and Sarial-Abi 2016). 

This section will take into account the necessary details about the competing products in the market relative to the Shokubutsu product. The marketing mix will be considered in order to draw a comparison.

The product feature matrix helps in identifying the feature in which Shokubutsu should invest in order to stay ahead in the competition. The factors mentioned below include the competitive products in the market too. 

High	Key liabilities: To stay ahead in the competition To appeal to both the genders of the Malaysian population unlike other top products in the market	Key differentiators: Targets both the gender Green tea content in the product is healthy for skin
Low	Irrelevant: Could have focused on one simple content Reasonable price in terms of the quantity	Over-invested: A lot of ingredients are unnecessary because green tea is the main content so few others could be removed Should keep the price at par with the market structure
	Disadvantaged The disadvantage can be in the form of application of the products. Shokubutsu can find it difficult to continue in the market of Malaysia, if the company does not vary the prices with the quantity offered to the customers.	Differentiated The advanced manner in which the prices are formulated can help Shokubutsu to differentiate its products from the competitors. Focusing on a specific ingredient can help the company make amends with the changes in the business market of Malaysia.

Fig: Product feature matrix

Source: As created by the author

Products are considered as an important part of the marketing mix element. For an organization to succeed, quality products and services are required to be maintained so that competitive advantage can be gained in the industry. Hence, it can be said that the application of the product feature can be used for the benefit of an organization. One of the key liabilities of a product feature is the fact that it helps in staying ahead of the competition. Similar products may exist in organizations belonging in the same industry. However, it is the presentation and the innovation factor that appeals to the customers. Quality products provided to the customers can be beneficial for organizations trying to seek a competitive advantage in the market. In the case of the products offered by Shokubutsu, the biggest advantage is the fact that both the genders and customers of all age can apply the product. This is considered as a huge benefit as other top products in the market of Malaysia and in the market segment of the company manufactures products for the benefit of one particular gender.

The model can provide other benefits as well to a company. For example, it can help companies to eliminate the unnecessary requirements in a product. The price of the products needs to be determined keeping in mind the prices offered by the competitors and the market segments determined by the company. In the case of Shokubutsu, the company needs to focus on keeping the components of the body foam simple. It has been established that the use of green tea is the main attractive factor for the body foam; hence, the use of other ingredients can be reduced to cut the costs of manufacture. In this regard, the cost of manufacturing the products can also be reduced which in turn may reduce the selling price of the products. Thus, this can provide the company with an opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in the market.

This section will consider the difference in the 4Ps of the selected product as compared to its competitors. The competitors of Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea 650 g are Watsons (WLTW) and Topvalu (TYO 8267) which also sells similar kind of products but at a much higher price. It is targeted towards both the gender of men and women. The core value and unique selling proposition of this product is the green tea content and the availability of 650 g at a price of MYR 13.94 (Asadinejad et al. 2018).

As per the marketing mix the 4Ps are given below-

Product- the company offers the best product which does not harm the environment and also suitable for the skin. It has a wonderful essence which rejuvenates the body by removing the daily stress of work. The ingredients contained in this product have an individual role to play in nourishing and refreshing the body.

Price- the price is set in a reasonable manner which is MYR 13.94 for 650 g. This amount is much less as compared to the competitive products in the market and therefore Shokubutsu has a chance to set their place in the Malaysian market (Dobbelstein and Zielke 2015).  

Promotion- it is a crucial tool in marketing mix and therefore helps the company to spread across the borders. The customers will be aware of such healthy body shower foam available in the market.  This can be done with the help of social media and creating outdoor banners. In the modern world, without promotion and advertisement of products, competitors cannot get an advantage in the business market. The promotional mix of a company need to focus on the type of strategies it can use to ensure that the products reach the conscience of the target audience. As such, the use of social media platforms and banners can help in ensuring that the products of a company are visible to the customers. In the case of companies seeking to gain prominence and competitive advantage in the international market, it can be said that the promotional techniques need to be ensure that the people are enlightened about the organisation. In the case of Shokubutsu, the Japanese company is seeking to establish a firm foothold in the international market of Malaysia. Hence, the use of banners and social media can help the company reach the Malaysian customers. The use of social media in the modern day can provide knowledge to the people about the type of services that it can provide. The application of green tea in the body foam is an innovative step and promotion via outdoor banner can help in attracting the attention of the customers.

Place- Apart from setting up their market in Malaysia they can also plan to spread across the border. With good promotional activities and a better marketing plan will allow them to rise above competition and flourish in the international market (Andéhn, Nordin and Nilsson 2016). 

On the basis of the analysis of the company, its marketing mix and competition it can be recommended that to set their business in the Malaysian market and spread further in the international market it is important to modify certain process and specifications. By doing so they will be able to catch hold of their target market and expand out of the border. If they can stay ahead in terms of competition then they will get the necessary exposure required for the product management.  Another recommendation for the company will be to keep the cost structure at par the market situation. Otherwise the customers might underestimate the value because of the low price of the product. A company which is struggling to stay in the competitive market cannot afford to take such a high risk in terms of its reputation. Thus they will need to think of the cost structure in relation with the content and quantity of the product. 

Conclusion

With the completion of this topic on Shokubutsu body shower foam green tea 650 g it can be summarized as the company has the potentiality to succeed in the international market by taking into consideration certain important facts. The product is common and sold by the competitors in the market so they need to be careful about that and make the USP stronger so that the current customers of the competitive product change their mind and buy the selected product. Proper marketing strategies will make the process easy for the company. The target market is aimed at both male and female which is a added advantage on their part and a good strategic move to build up their image. But for moving across the boundary they need to ensure that there is sufficient capital for sustenance. 

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