No Pork in this ‘luncheon meat'

To the casual observer, it looks just like the traditional luncheon meat familiar to everyone growing up here. Except, this new product from Thong Siek Food Industry is different in one crucial regard. When they sample it, people are surprised by the taste and the main ingredient. "It's only fish?" is a response familiar to Thong Siek chief executive Alfred Tan and his team. The firm's seafood product range is exported to more than 20 countries, particularly its flagship Dodo brand of chilled or frozen fishballs, fishcakes, crabsticks and such. "People find this product very interesting, especially when we tell them it is made of fish, not pork or any other meat."

Mr Tan said that the company embarked on developing this new product line, dubbed Fischeon, given the potential for breaking into new markets - not to mention a different retail section, namely canned goods - with it. It was also a response to a gap in the market; public confidence in traditional pork luncheon meat produced in China had taken a knock in recent years owing to food safety scandals. "It's opened up brand new horizons for us," said Mr Tan. "We've never exploited this gap in the market before, and nobody's tried doing this before."

In taking this opportunity to develop the fish meat-loaf product, Thong Siek has found Singapore's sterling food safety reputation an added boon. The firm has also benefited from its own positive track record in developing healthy fish and seafood products that incorporate brain- and heart-friendly Omega-3 fatty acids. The company, founded in 1976, has developed Fischeon with the support of Spring Singapore's Capability Development Grant as well as the fostering of collaboration with the Food Innovation and Resource Centre (FIRC) at Singapore Polytechnic. While Thong Siek was familiar with creating popular products in the chilled or frozen foods section, creating a new canned food entailed a steep learning curve. The firm worked with FIRC to develop commercial sterilisation processes to ensure the final product would have a suitably long shelf life.

As part of the product innovation project, home-grown Thong Siek, which has production facilities in Singapore and Malaysia, built its first automated canning line in its local food plant-cum- headquarters. The halal-certified Fischeon line, with original, black pepper and cheese varieties and containing DHA, a kind of Omega-3 essential for heart health, has already been launched here and is available at FairPrice, Giant and Sheng Shiong. Overseas, it is a new product for Thong Siek's existing markets such as Greater China, including Hong Kong, and Malaysia, and a breakthrough product for new markets in the Middle East, where the product first debuted at the 2011 Gulfood food expo in Dubai. The firm is also looking to the Americas, Europe and potentially Africa. (Adapted for academic purposes from The Straits Times' www.soshiok.com dated 6 September 2013)

Question 1:

(a) Analyse and describe Thong Siek Food Industry's product mix for the local market in terms of width, length, depth and consistency.

(b) The Dodo Fischeon (fish luncheon meat) is the latest addition to the Dodo brand product lines. Discuss and describe two (2) product differentiation strategies that have been adopted for the Dodo Fischeon.

(c) In the context of the Dodo Fischeon, explain two (2) advantages of brand extensions for the Dodo brand.

Question 2:

Analyse and explain how the final price was derived for the Dodo Fischeon based on the sixstep price setting procedure.

Question 3:

(a) Identify and discuss the distribution strategy for the Dodo Fischeon for the local market.

(b) While the Dodo Fischeon is sold in large supermarket chains such as Fairprice, Giant, and Sheng Siong, it can also be purchased through some online grocery shopping portals such as Gobblershop. In this situation, potential channel conflict may arise. Identify and discuss the following:

(i) Two (2) types of potential channel conflict
(ii) Two (2) causes of channel conflict applicable to the distribution of the Dodo Fischeon in the Singapore market
(iii) Two (2) mechanisms for managing conflict based on the causes you have discussed

(c) A significant number of the products under the Dodo brand are sold in overseas markets. Identify and discuss three (3) criteria when selecting channel members in overseas markets like the Middle East in order to ensure that the Dodo products are properly managed and sold to consumers according to the company's business objectives.