Question

Sterilized milk & the Japanese Market

Dairy pride, a U.S. manufacturer of milk-sterilizing equipment, wants to introduce its equipment

into Japan but has encountered numerous problems. Sterilized milk is a recent innovation that

offers two main advantages over fresh milk: it can be stored at room temperature for up to three

months and has twice the refrigerated shelf life of ordinary milk after the package is opened.

Dairy pride has developed superior equipment for sterilizing milk that avoids the unpleasant side

effects of sterilization—a cooked and slightly burnt taste and a filminess that lingers in the

mouth after the milk is swallowed.

In searching for new markets for its equipment, the company sees Japan as a good candidate.

Japan has a large population, a low but growing rate of per capita milk consumption, and a

limited availability of fresh milk. As Dairy pride sets out to sell its equipment to large Japanese

dairies, it encounters the following obstacles:



It has to develop an advertising campaign to change Japanese milk consumption habits

and convince Japanese consumers of the advantages of buying and drinking sterilized

milk.



The Consumers’ Union of Japan opposes the product because of concerns about sterilized

milk’s safety.



Dairy farmers located near large cities oppose the distribution of sterilized milk. They

fear competition from faraway dairies, since sterilized milk has a long inventory life and

can be shipped long distances.



Several large retailers say they will not carry sterilized milk because of interest-group

pressure. Milk specialty stores, which thrive on home deliveries, also oppose the

introduction of sterilized milk.



The Health and Welfare Ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have

indicated they will wait and gauge consumer acceptance of sterilized milk before taking

action to approve or disapprove general distribution.

Please follow the steps outlined in Megamarketing and develop a plan for successfully managing

this difficult environment.

Answer 1

In mega marketing, steps must be taken by the organization to reach out to every party in the external environment and solve barriers related to each.

Hence, as the team of the brand, we have to solve barriers related to each external party involved. A cooperation campaign needs to be run for the Ministry of Health, a segmentation campaign for dairy farmers, retailers and manufacturers, and an educational campaign for the consumers in Japan.

The steps followed to overcome these barriers are:

1. Doing thorough research of the Japanese marketing where the organization is deciding to penetrate.
2. Decide upon a marketing plan for the brand. The marketing plan should have the product, pricing, place, etc. everything in place.
3. Certain goals for the marketing plan should be decided in advance. Eg. approval for distributing the products in a particular area.
4. Competitor analysis: As there is no competition of the same in the Japanese market, the brand has to study the market and working of alternative products in the market.
5. The next step will be to research who the customers will be. Understanding the right market for the brand will be extremely important as it won't be relatable to everyone in the market.
6. After identifying the niche, to whom the sterilized milk can be relatable and useful for, the focus should be converting them into customers and hence an advertising campaign related to them should be made.

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