Marketing of soft drinks: a case study of Kool Bootling Factory (NIC)

In this papers the marketing activities of Kool Bottling Factory, a soft drink manufacturing firm, is examined. This firm is a nationalized firm, however, there ar. other state -owned as well as privately-owned companies engaged in this business. Some of these firms import their raw materials while others have theirs locally. Generally, soft drinks are non-alcoholic beverages with alcoholic content not exceeding five per cent. There are carbonated and non-carbonated drinks. Carbonated soft drinks are drinks containing carbon dioxide. They are readily taken without dilution and are generally of shorter life-span. Examples of carbonated drinks are Pepsi and Coca Cola, Mirinda, Portello, Fanta, Lola lemon, Frouta Orange, etc. On the other hand, non-carbonated drinks which are also known as cordials are, soft drinks without carbon dioxide. They can only be taken after being diluted with water, and are of longer life-span as compared to the carbonated drinks. Examples of cordials are Tono, Lime and Orange drink. The usefulness of soft drinks is not farfetched. Firstly, they serve as both food and refreshment to consumers, and since they are rich in victims A, B, C and D, (this is true with the cola drinks like, Portello, Coca, Pepsi and Pee Cola), as well as citric acid (this is applicable to the orange drinks), they provide the body with these food substances when taken Others like Guinness Malta and Super Walt contain proteins, and therefore provide this food substance to the body if consumed. The fact that soft drinks ar. useful to the health i supported by a report from Nielsen Market Research, Northbrook, IL, U. S. A. According to this report, diet soft drinks are international leader in the health and fitness movement. It reports that diet soft drinks are the number one health product in Australia, with 32.8% growth in 1989, and also in Canada with a 7% growth in the year. They showed a 46.1% growth in • Soft drinks are also used in Ghana for social gatherings like, funeral., weddings, parties, etc. It is said that market directs flow of goods and services from the producer to the consumer. Marketing therefore link, production and consumption; it provides dynamism in any modern economic system. The importance of marketing in the soft drink industry lies in the fact that it is mainly through marketing activities that these products get to the consumers in the northern part of Ghana. Every firm depends on its environment for success just as human being depends on their environment fox survival. The interdependence of the company and its environment stems from the unceasing drive towards specialisation as a potent factor of survival in a world of scarce resources. In the world of scarce resources, man has basic n.eds for which he has evolved basic systems for satisfying. Thus religion meets spiritual needs; children assure propagation of the race, personal interactions fulfil ego requirements, knowledge serves intellectual, appetites, and food and material goods meat physical needs. The field of marketing plays a significant role in the provision of men’s physical needs. Every economy requires a marketing system and the more complex the economy, the more complex the marketing system. In the predominately Low-income developing countries, a large portion of the population lives by subsistence farming. The volume and variety of goods exchanged is small, there is little flexibility in buyer choices and the channels of distribution are quite simple. The individual’s market need may be met by itinerant traders, village, markets and a small number of middlemen. Above the low-income level, is the medium income category which is illustrated by countries like Spain and Greece. In this system there is the ability to purchase, many items beyond the bare subsistence level. The magnitude of the marketing system i. correspondingly greater and there is increasing use of advertising and sales promotion to boost sales. On the top of the ladder are the high-income societies of which Japan and United States are examples. The marketing system in these societies are very complex, and distribution and sale promotion systems are used on still large scale to influence the buyer. MaCarthy stressed the importance of marketing when he observed that ‘where a well-organised market economy is operating, there are opportunities for new investment and the level of business activity, employment, etc. is high. But when marketing activities are neglected, the result is often and social changes which tremendously affect decisions of marketing executives as well as those of all top managers. The Ghanaian market witnessed extreme scarcity of all basic commodities in the early 1980s. This scarcity caused an increased government intervention in trade, and this affected the purchasing pattern of Ghanaians. However, with the introduction of the Economic Recovery Programme [ERP], with its attendant trade liberalization policy in 1983, the pattern has changed favourably. There has been a lot of goods on the market, including assorted soft drinks, canned and bottled, imported as well as locally-made ones. Another important factor which influences marketing of products is the weather. The weather also dictates the extent to which a particular product can be marketed. All things being equal, in cold climatic countries hot drinks sell faster; and in hot climatic countries, cold drinks are expected to sell better.

Source: KNUST