Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Analysis
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is celebrating its 27th year in the coffee business this year. Through the years, this coffee business that began roasting in Vermont, has gone through several changes and innovations in their product. To date, they offer more than 100 coffee selections to their customers and has even created a wholly owned subsidiary, the Keurig, Inc. The subsidiary company is basically focused on manufacturing the brewing systems particularly the single brewing system for the coffee sold by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.
The creation of a subsidiary company has been a good move for the company because it expanded the business and created a bigger clientele for the coffee the company sells. However, doubts are posed on the stability of the subsidiary company because the Nicholas Lazaris, Keurig President has recently resigned and desires to pursue other career opportunities. Despite having a transition period in the management, the President’s resignation has a big impact on the stability and reliability of the enterprise because changing the company President will be like overhauling the company because the new President will also be introducing his own marketing plan and strategies and it would be a great adjustment for the company and its employees.
According to the article, 10 Principles of Change Management (Jones, Aguirre; Calderone, n.d.), when there is a change in the company like the resignation of the President, the company will definitely face many changes. Among these changes are the promotion or demotion of employees, the development of new skills and changes in the strategies that the company will employ. It is very difficult to undertake all these changes if the company has no good transition plan and have no dependable people who will continue with the programs that the past administration has implemented.
It would have been healthier for the company to have retained his services and let the business to take root first before allowing a drastic change in the company.
The introduction of a new President
Another negative aspect in the company is the fact that it does not grow its own coffee instead it only purchases from coffee farmers. Although the vision is good in the sense that they are able to help coffee farmers earn a living and produce a variety in their coffee products, the down side of this policy is that the company has no control with the quality of coffee that they brew. It may be true that the decision to purchase is dependent on sensory quality characteristics and market pricing, still this does not guarantee the quality of beans the company brews. It would be better if the company maintained its own coffee farm and have a direct involvement in the cultivation of coffee plants. This does not only heighten quality control but it also provides stability to the company because they are not dependent on the produce of the farmers. With this kind of strategy, the company will be able to cater to a greater number of audience and produce more products commercially.
With regard to their investment strategy, the offer of the company to investors is not at all luring. If they want to attract more investors they should promote interesting packages or offers where the investors can find an optimistic view for the future of his money. The more investors there are, the more stable the company is.
As for the positive side, it is impressive for the company to be socially active in helping the community and not drowned by commercial competition. Aside from this,the continous innovations in the products they produce and the wide array of varieties to choose from is engaging for the company as their choice is not limited. Providing varieties in a product every now and then is a healthy business practice because it will cater to more taste buds and keep the interest of the customers to try something new.
The innovations they introduced and the quality of coffee they produce and the low price they offer may have been some of the reasons why they have a positive market growth. Prior to their recent price increase, the coffee company’s prince increase was last 2005. It is significant that the company does not introduce price increase too often because this will create a higher patronage for the company. A company which changes the prices of its product too often is less likely to develop more patrons than one which does the opposite because the consumers know what to expect with the products they buy. In this day and age where the world is facing too many problems like food and water scarcity and economic instability, people would prefer a product which they can enjoy at a quality price wihout sacrificing quality.
The company offers a wide selection of coffee and food products providing the consumers variety and choices. Among the coffee selections they offer are the single cup selections specially made for the Keurig brewing system, the signature blends which have been the favorites of the customers for the more than 25 years, seasonal flavors and blends to celebrate every season, Newman’s own organics for those who want all natural coffee produce, single origin coffees to experience the different tastes of coffee in various parts of the world like guatemalan and jamaican coffee, and the fair trade and organic coffee which are both good for the farmer and the coffee lovers as it does not only provide a healthier form of coffee it even aids farmers for the share they get from the produce.
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also has a good marketing performance in the past years as the figures in the company profile would show. In 2006, the company has an increased sales of 39.5 percent as compared in 2005. Organic coffee sales also grew by 69 percent in the same year as compared in the previous.
It is also interesting that aside from coffee and brewers, the company also offers different food products such as cakes and cake mixes, biscotti, cookies, pancake mixes and syrups. They also sell kitchen wares like pots, aprons and canisters; ornaments; purses; knitted toys and K-cup carousel. However, if the comapany really wants to compete in a bigger market, then it must introduce more innovations in its products, something which the other coffee companies like starbucks offer tot its clientele.
References
- Jones,J., Aguirre, D., and Calderone M. (2008). 10 Principles of Change Management. Strategy+business. Retrieved April 11, 2008 from http://www.strategy- business.com/resilience/rr00006?pg=4
