Consider the following scenario: Eden Dairy, a major Australian dairy company manufactures and sells standardised breakfast yoghurts to countries all over the world. To appeal to local needs, minor changes in attributes such as sweetness and flavour are made. The main products and labels, on the other hand, are standardised. Eden Dairy first entered the Chinese market a few years ago and has been very happy with the results. In China, the company's revenues are still increasing at a rate of about 50% per year. Eden Dairy began operations in India by manufacturing and selling its goods, based on its marketing success in China and other Asian countries and market reforms that were taking place in India.

The initial response to the product was extremely positive in India, and the company was considering rapidly increasing its production capacity within a year. After a year, however, sales slowed and began to decline. The product was aimed at the upper-middle class in India, especially families with two working spouses.

According to extensive customer research, the target market experimented with flavoured breakfast yoghurt as an alternative meal (i.e. breakfast) for a short time before returning to the conventional Indian breakfast. Non-Indian snack items and the restaurant market, according to the CEOs of some other food companies in India, are the areas in which MNCs can hope for success. Attempting to replace a complete meal with a non-Indian food has a lower chance of success.

You're a senior executive in Eden Dairy's foreign division, with experience in product management in a variety of countries. The CEO intends to despatch you on a fact-finding mission to India to address these unique questions.

Question

In your response, what would your answers be to the following questions below:

A) Was it a mistake to enter the Indian market with a standardised product? (3 marks)

B) If so, was it an issue with the product or with the way it was presented? (3 marks)

C) Given the benefits of exploiting global brand equity and product awareness, as well as the drawbacks of varying local preferences, what would be your strategy be for entering new markets? (4 marks)