Candy and Confectionery Industry

No time to do your Candy and Confectionery Industry research paper? Here is an example of what we can do for you.

1. The Industry's Dominant Economic Features

Features may include: market size, scope of rivalry, growth rate and what stage of the life cycle is the industry in, number of rivals and their relative size, prevalence of forward/backwards integration, channels of distribution, pace of process and product technology change, whether products are highly differentiated or very similar, to what extent are economies of scale in purchasing, distribution, advertising, etc. important, to what extent do learning curves exist, are high rates of capacity utilization important for profitability, and what are the historical levels of profitability.

Further, are there segments within the industry? If so, what are they, and how do they effect firms, strategies, competition, and levels of profitability within each segment?

2. Porter's Five Forces
For each force, go through the issues that represent high or low power.

• Threat of new entrants high, moderate or low?
• Bargaining Power of Buyers-High, Moderate or low?
• Bargaining Power of suppliers-High, Moderate or low?
• Threat of substitute Product and services-High, Moderate or low?
• Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors- High, Moderate or low?
  Determine whether or not, collectively, the force affects the attractiveness of the industry. After you have gone through all five forces, be sure to include a summary of your analysis and what it means for the industry. If the industry is segmented, be sure to include a brief discussion of that fact and how the forces might differ across the different segments.

The Confectionery Industry and Change

3. The Drivers of Change in the Industry and Impact They Will Have

Most common drivers include:

• Long term growth rate
• Who buys the product and how they use it
• Significance of Product innovation & technological change
• Marketing innovation
• Entry/exits of major firms
• Diffusion of technological know-how
• Extent of Globalization
• Changes in costs and efficiencies
• Emerging buyer preferences (shift towards differentiation or commodity)
• Regulatory influences
• Changes in societal concerns, attitudes, lifestyles
• Reductions in uncertainty and risk in the industry over time.

4. Companies in the Strongest/Weakest Positions

Identify at least three different firms (or types of firms) in your industry and
• Discuss how each has positioned, or tried to position, themselves, in their industry.
• Are there positions in the industry that are more attractive than others?
• What strategies do each of these rivals pursue?

Strategic Group Mapping is just one tool to help you here -
• Identify characteristics that differentiate -

• Quality/price
• Geographic coverage
• Vertical integration
• Product line breadth
• Distribution, service, or costs, to name a few.

5. Key Success Factors for Competitive Success

• What are the 3-4 key issues/factors that have the strongest relationship with success and profitability?
• Do these KSFs vary by segment?
• How are these KSFs likely to vary over time
• What are the implications of this evolution?

6. Industry's Attractiveness and Prospects for Long-Term Profitability - 15 percent

Examples for Candy and Confectionery Industry

• Growth potential
• Will competitive forces strengthen
• Will driving forces increase/decrease profitability
• Which company's strategic position will improve/decline
• How can firms insulate themselves from the unattractive forces in the industry
• Degree of uncertainty and severity of problems confronting industry
• Which types of firms/strategies seem to be most lucrative
• Is this an attractive industry in which to participate? In this section, you must integrate all the information from your prior sections and provide a reasoned forecast of the future attractiveness of this industry.

Paper Format for Candy and Confectionery Industry Research Paper:

• Double space, using a 12-point font
• 1 inch margins all around
• It should take about 15 pages of text to do a thorough job on this analysis. You can provide appendix material like charts, graphs, etc. but these should not be considered part of the 12-15 pages of text.
• Use headings and number each page. Include a table of contents (this page is not considered part of your 12-15 pages of text)
• Grammar and punctuation count. You will lose points for your errors.
• Clear writing reflects clear thinking.
• Staple in the upper left-hand corner of the paper. No binders, notebooks, etc.