the Happy Snack company

I want you to read the case about the Happy Snack company and choose which strategy does this company use ( Global standardization Strategy or Localisation Strategy or International Strategy) and explain why this strategy is used, with the use of evidence from the case.

The Happy Snack Company: This happy, healthy message is too good not to share

The Happy Snack Company was founded by Jonathan Davies and Edward Goddard in 1992; they started the business in a converted dairy shed in Maleny on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. The company was then called Partner Foods and they called their product Chic Nuts. But this changed in 2015 when Craig Agnew and his wife Megan bought Partner Foods. Craig Agnew, with his previous success as CEO of Gourmet Gardens in Palmwoods, realized that they had to rebrand Partner Foods to accelerate the growth of the business. They started this process by changing the name to The Happy Snack Company and by expanding the product range. To expand they had to relocate and moved from Maleny to Landsborough into a $2 million purpose-built facility. This larger, more advanced and modern production facility enabled the company to increase production and better manage logistics. They also ramped up their marketing campaign and sought support from the local Sunshine Coast Council to position themselves for exports. In addition, they received guidance from Trade and Investment Queensland to support them through the export process.

Australian legumes are already renowned in countries across the globe. Legumes are common in Australia and are the most common flowering plant. Some types of legumes include soybeans, black beans, adzuki beans, anasazi beans, fav-va beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans (better known as chickpeas) and lima beans; they are high in protein and fibre, but low in carbohydrates, sodium and sugar. The Happy Snack Company offers two lines of legume products: locally produced, processed and roasted fav-va beans (broad beans) and chickpeas. The products come in a variety of flavors, such as lightly salted; salt and pepper; pizza, red pepper and chili; tomato, onion and basil; salt and balsamic vinegar; lime and cracked pepper; and spicy tomato and chili. They are packaged in bundles of either 10 x 15g or 6 x 15g packages. This ensures that portion control can be managed through the individually packaged and convenient grab-and-go option.

Craig Agnew had to make decisions early on about how they could successfully propel The Happy Snack Company into an international market. Identifying a number of trends early on gave them the angle for their marketing campaigns and helped them to shape their value proposition and decide on the audience and how to communicate with them. This message and direction then influenced how they could build the brand, their reputation and the market presence.

The health trend

Even before the current health trend started, The Happy Snack Company offered healthy alternatives for people who follow a restricted diet and for parents to consider healthier snacks for school and work lunchboxes. The health trend is not limited to food choices, but rather the promotion of a healthier and more sustainable lifestyle. Some products that resulted from this are exercise and fitness apps, new diets, products to promote ecofriendly practices, and allergy-aware products. The spotlight on obesity and the overweight pandemic in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States also fuelled the market for more wholesome and healthy alternatives to fill young tummies and fight obesity. The health trend is a global phenomenon.

In 2017 the wellness industry was estimated to be worth $3.7 trillion. Famous chefs like Theresa Cutter, Pete Evans and Sarah Wilson (known for her movement ‘I Quit Sugar for Life’) have already changed the way most people think about purchasing and preparing food as well as organizing their lives. Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Alba (founder of the Honest Food Company), so-called health bloggers Madeleine Shaw and Jessica Sepel and vegan recipe book author Angela Liddon fuel this scene with healthy food choices, endorsing new habits and new products.

The Happy Snack Company responded to this trend by promoting the health benefits of its products as being allergy aware, healthy, and sustainably produced. Rather than using a narrow marketing approach focusing only on the products as a healthy snack alternative, the company launched a message of inclusivity and promoting a healthy, happy lifestyle. The company increased its social media profile by adding video clips where the company features on Australian television shows such as The Today Show, short tutorials with an educational message on how to manage food allergies, and clips on promoting a healthy and balanced lifestyle. The company uses LinkedIn as a medium to provide information on its awards and marketing campaigns and also has used a more personalized approach to build a community of followers on Facebook. The Facebook site is promoted as a community of healthy lifestyle followers.

The sustainability trend

To be internationally competitive the company had to comply with all necessary food, health and industry standards. The ingredients it uses are of high quality and are sourced locally from across Eastern Australia. Australia is already well-known and well-regarded for legume produce. Therefore, the company had to emphasize the health benefits of the allergen-free and healthy ingredients in terms of their high-fiber and low-sugar advantages. The products are nut-free and gluten-free and tick most of the boxes for all eight allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy). The Australian federal government gave the company a five-star health rating. This rating is based on the ingredients in the products. This adds legitimacy to the product claims, and internationally some of these ‘labels’ and measurements are required before the products can be marketed as health foods. By promoting and benchmarking these features, the company earned international acclaim. In 2016 it won Healthy Food Magazine’s Best Allergy-Friendly Snack and Best Packaged Kid’s Lunchbox awards.

The sustainability of production and keeping up with growing demand also needed to be addressed. The processing plant had to meet specific standards and the new purpose-built facility received HACCP Certification. HACCP Certification stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points that assist the company to control and manage risk and hazards better throughout the supply chain. This accreditation is issued by SOI Global. This accreditation is also required by some companies and countries for benchmarking and quality control purposes.

Agricultural and ecofriendly production processes are also important to The Happy Snack Company and its direct market. The company communicates and promotes the sustainability aspect of the production of its products. It can use the natural benefits of legumes and the positive impact on the soil in which they are planted to its advantage. Most agricultural processes have some negative side effects or long-term impacts on the environment, but legume crops restore atmospheric nitrogen to the soil, which makes the soil more fertile and future farming more sustainable. So the company’s environmental footprint is low compared with other producers and this sits well with the company’s audience and for its export efforts to build the brand.

The company has now expanded into New Zealand. The products are available via most major food retailers, but also health stores and specialty stores. The company won the Cracker & Snack Category at the New Zealand Healthy Food Guide Awards in 2018. This emphasizes the popularity of this snack and the healthy alternative options it represents, and also how this resonates and translates across markets.

In 2018 it also expanded into the United Kingdom, with its healthy snacks on the shelves of 350 Sainsbury stores across the country. Sainsbury is the second-largest and second oldest food retailer in the country. The products had such an impact on this market that they were nominated for the Best Up and Coming Brands awards as part of the Sainsbury Magazine awards for 2018.

The Happy Snack Company will continue to grow for as long as healthy eating and quality products are important to consumers. Where to next? Perhaps larger and faster-growing markets such as China, Japan and other Asian markets

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