5. Swedish Culture
• Interested in Organics
• Live for Health &
Wellness
• Cook at Home
• Bake for Celebrations
• Fika – Love Coffee
• Pro-America
6. Target Demographic
• Young (25-45)
• Educated
• Mid/Upper Income
• Health-Conscious
• Progressive
• Environmentally Aware
• Professionally Employed
• Loves Family
• DIY
• Independent
7. Orkla Dagsmeja I Love Eco
Large Swedish
B2B and B2C
producer
B2B & B2C Private Label,
Bob's Main
Competition
Food not their
main focus
House of Brands Relatively New
Vertically
Integrated
Target Organic
Lifestyle
KRAV Certified
Competition
8. Bob’s Red Mill Brand Ladder
Brand Purpose Whole grains from the heart
Personality
A hard working, next-generation American farmer who
takes pride in their food and the environment.
Reason to Believe
Intrinsic: The processes and traditions that Bob created
make superior products., like stone-ground milling.
Extrinsic: The Swedish organic certification KRAV and
endorsement by Tina Nordstrom (celebrity chef)
Brand Benefit
Emotional: I’m doing good for myself and others by
choosing something natural and long-established
Functional: Stone-ground milling leads to superior quality
goods
Brand Insight
I want to make healthy choices for me and my loved ones,
but with so many new options in the market, it can be hard
to know whom to trust. Bob's was organic before organic
was a trend.
Target Audience
Young, 25-45 professionals who are willing to spend a
premium on healthy choices
10. Entry Strategy:
Product & Price
Product:
• Major Offerings Initially
(10 Grain Flour, Gluten
Free Oat Flour, Yeast)
Price:
• Slightly above I Love
Eco
11. Entry Strategy: Cities
• Stockholm
• Most populous and most visited city
• By 2020, 17% population increase
expected
• Premier talent and investment hub
• Retail sector worth €73 Billion in 2012
• Gothenburg
• Malmö
13. Entry Strategy: EMCs & Indirect Export
• Bob's Strategy: In-direct Exporting with EMC and a
three member team
• Send product via an export management company
(EMCs) to facilitate entry and produce organic
certification
• EMC will establish marketing presence
• Soliciting orders from Swedish customers
• Manage transactions and distribution
• Local Sales, Marketing and contracting local team will
seek local hospitality and café customers, plus
develop best practices and establish marketing
campaigns in addition to the EMC’s role
14. Promotion
• Sponsor local baking contests and events
• Introduce in-store displays at partner bakeries
• Host celebrity baking events
• Sponsor "Cinnamon Bun Day"
• Baking and Shopping Discount Day at Ikea
15. Promotion (cont'd)
• Media:
• Celebrity Cooking Shows: Tina Nordstrom
• Cooking Blogs
• YouTube Channel
• Digital: Display ads on big name sites; scale
display targeted ads
19. Bob's Next Steps Abroad
• Diversify product line offering
• Introduce "Bob's Whole Grain Store" into Stockholm
• Local sourcing: buy grains and products from local
farmers
• Participate in Community with CSR activities
• Expand into Scandinavia, then Europe
25. Company
• Company founded by Bob Moore, late 1960’s
• He began milling in North Carolina
• Moved to Oregon City, Oregon in late 1970’s
and purchased a mill where the company
took off by grinding flours and cereals for
locals
• Fire destroyed the mill in Oregon city (1988)
• He started again in Milwaukie, Oregon in a
320,000 square foot facility
• Currently in US & Canada
28. Context - Market
• Economic
• The inheritance tax was eliminated in 2005, the wealth
tax in 2007 and taxes on residential property in 2008.
• Thanks, in part, to these tax changes, capital income has
soared.
• For the past two years, economic growth has been 4
percent on average, and the current account surplus was
6.7 percent in 2011.
29. Context - Market
• Demographics
• The population is about 12 million
• In recent years the significant net migration has been the
largest contributing factor to population growth. This
trend is expected to continue in the near future.
• The share of older persons is expected to increase. 19%
of the population in 2011 was age 65 or older.
30. Context - Market
• Psychographics
• Swedish consumers’ interest in organics continue to
increase and is gaining market shares on behalf of
conventional food products.
• The major retailers in Sweden are actively promoting
organic products and their own organic labels have
gained broad recognition.
• Notice boards at Stockholm’s suburban railway stations
are filled with advertisements for cleaners, a once an
unheard of luxury.
• In general, Swedish consumers are very interested in
health and wellness.
31. Context - Culture
• Swede’s Eating Habits
• Most people eat at least one home-cooked meal a day, either
lunch or dinner.
• Most Swedes do not dine out more than once or twice a
month.
• High interest in food and cooking – due in part to the large
number of popular celebrity chefs, cooking shows and
cookbooks
Chief among them is Tina Nordström.
• Many single person households are resulting in ready to eat
meals containing organic ingredients to grow in popularity.
• Swedes are bakers! – common for them to bake birthday
cakes and to bake for other special occasions
• Coffee breaks - fika
32. Legal
• Ease of doing business - Ranked 20th in Index of
Economic Freedom
• Legal framework is transparent
• Low tariff rates for imports and few-non tariff barriers
• USDA certified organic is accepted in the EU
33. customers
Segment % of Pop. Demo Lifestyle Other Comments Segment
Type
Health-
conscious
That buy organic:
53% - sometimes;
19% - regularly (1)
Younger
people; well
informed
Physically active;
health & wellness
magazines; willing to
spend a premium on
quality food products
Public discussion of
high salt and sugar
content in breakfast
cereals
Existing &
emerging
Parents 30-40% 25-55 yrs old Busy; easy solutions Parental leave Emerging
Home Cooks Swedes have a strong
baking tradition (fika) &
they like to bake at
home (3); 70% dine out
less than once a month
(4)
Female skew Cooking magazines;
watch cooking shows;
moms; older women
Sales of organic
bakery products have
doubled b/w 2007-
2012 (5)
Existing
Gluten-free
Diet
2-3% 20 year olds
(boom in
celiac
disease)(6);
children
under 12 – 3%
(7)
Have to eat no gluten
and less sweet
Epidemic in the 80’s;
more common than
US and EU – gluten
free options are
common incl. in fast
food restaurants
Existing
US Fans 67% (2) Younger
people
Trendy; like and follow
US culture
Other successful US
brands – American
Apparel, Converse;
burgers
Emerging/
potential
34. b2b consumers
• Food producers
• Restaurants & Bakeries
• Hospitality Industry
• Public Sector
• Private label?
35. competitors & Collaborators
ICA
- 49.4% Market Share
-Part of ICA Group
-1,371 stores in Sweden
(December 2013)
-Has own organic line
called “I love eco”
- Sells products in
convenience stores, mid
size supermarkets,
supermarkets, and
hypermarkets
COOP
-21.4% Market Share
-Owned by COOP
Norden
-1,100 stores
-Has the largest
selection of
sustainable food in
Sweden
-Änglamark is the
leading trademark for
organic products in
Sweden
Axfood
-15% Market Share
-Retail operations
conducted through 3
wholly owned retail
chains
-840 stores in Sweden
-collaborates with a
large number of
proprietor-run stores
that are tied to Axfood
through agreements
- Wholesale products
36. Corporate Strategies
ICA
Goals as of
2013:
- Drive sales
- Develop
product
range
- Increase
percentage
of private
labels
- Ensure
competitive
pricing
- Focus on big
cities
COOP
- Introduced a
Product Lifecycle
Management
(PLM) portal
- Goal of the PLM
portal is to
increase private
label products
from 17 to 25
percent
Axfood
- Divided into 3 business
areas: Axfood Narlivs,
Axfood Snabbgross, and
Tempo
- Axfood Narlivs focuses
on active sales and
marketing
- Axfood Snabbgross is a
cash and carry
wholesaler
- Tempo is the store
name operated by
Axfood Snabbgross
37. Thoughts on competition
• Relatively low entry and exit costs
• Rapid growth of health consciousness, organic product
revenues are rising
• Large retailers have heavy branding, making direct
competition for new retailers difficult
• Weak historic growth in the Swedish retail industry
discourages new entrants
38. SWOT
Strengths
• Forward & backward
integration
• Diverse product portfolio
• Traditional stone milling
increases product quality
Opportunities
• Hotels and restaurants
organic menu offers
increasing
• Baking and cereal
consumption embedded in
culture
Weaknesses
• No KRAV certification
• No Sweden managerial
knowledge
Threat
• Distribution and placement
hurdles by competitive
retailers vertical integration
41. REFErENCES
• “Consumer Lifestyles in Sweden.” January 2014 Global Market Information
Database. Euromonitor International. n. pag. Web. 10 February 2008.
• Dahlbacka, Bettina. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Swedish Organic Market.
Washington: GPO, 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014
• “Sweden.” Passport to Trade – A Bridge to Success.” Web. 1 Dec. 2013
• “Sweden.” The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 26 Feb.
2014
• “Sweden Boosts Foreign Investments with Low Taxes.” Newsletter Invest in
Stockholm. Stockholm – The Capital of Scandinavia. Web. May 2013
• “Sweden Economic Freedom.” 2014 Index of Economic Freedom. Heritage
Foundation, 2014. Web. 10 Feb. 2014
• “The Swedish Market.” Chamber Trade Sweden. Web. 15 Feb. 2014
• “True or False: Sweden is the Most Americanized Country in the World.” The
Expat Blog – blogs.sweden.se. The Official Gateway to Sweden. Web. 6 Nov
2011.
• Wideback, Asa. U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food and Agricultural Import
Regulations and Standards – Narrative – Sweden. Washington: GPO, 2012.
Web. 13 Feb. 2014
42. References
• "Sweden, The new model." The Economist. October 13, 2012. Retrieved on
February 10, 2014 from http://www.economist.com/node/21564412/print
• Aslund, Anders. "Blooming Sweden's Free-Market Solution." Bloomberg. June
6, 2012. Retrieved on February 10, 2014 from
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-06-06/booming-sweden-s-free-
market-solution.html
Editor's Notes
Consumer Lifestyles in Sweden.” January 2014 Global Market Information Database. Euromonitor International. n. pag. Web. 10 February 2008.
Imports account for about 50% of the organic sales in Sweden.
"Sweden, The new model." The Economist. October 13, 2012. Retrieved on February 10, 2014 from http://www.economist.com/node/21564412/print
Aslund, Anders. "Blooming Sweden's Free-Market Solution." Bloomberg. June 6, 2012. Retrieved on February 10, 2014 from http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-06-06/booming-sweden-s-free-market-solution.html
Consumer Lifestyles in Sweden.” January 2014 Global Market Information Database. Euromonitor International. n. pag. Web. 10 February 2008.
