Essay - Dole and Chiquita - Organic Bananas Introduction Production Differentiation Going...

Dole and Chiquita - Organic Bananas

Introduction

Production Differentiation

Going (Organic) *****

Introduction

***** it comes to bananas, Dole has long been at a dis*****dvantage. Dole is association for most Americans with pineapples and with various shady dealings in Hawai'i. If you want to go *****, ***** go to Chiquita.

This paper examines the marketing strategy currently employed by ***** Bananas, asking how well this company is doing against o*****rs in the banana business as ***** as asking from what other directions Dole might face competition in the future and how well it is prepared to meet those challenges.

***** is indeed Dole's major competi*****r at least in terms of banana sales (it is not a significant competitor in terms ***** pineapples, for example) and ***** two companies have clearly tried in recent years to differentiate themselves from each other so as to grab a larger share of the market. Th***** is difficult for the two companies to do because - without mean*****g to disparage the curving yellow fruit that nutritionists and kids both find to be close to the perfect food - ***** ***** companies are selling is basically the same.

What Dole and Chiquita have had to do, as a result (as would any two ***** companies in their situation) is to try to find a w*****y to convince the public that their products really aren't the same after all.

The structure ***** a ***** - of ***** m*****rket ***** is affected by the extent ***** which those who buy from it prefer some products to others. In some industries the products are regarded as identical by their buyers; this is true of nearly ***** basic farm crops. (It is, of course, also ***** ***** in some markets the products are ***** fact differentiated in some way so that various buyers prefer ***** products - ***** people want to drive VW Bugs, others SUVs, ***** *****).

Often (and arguably ***** may nearly always be true) that the cr*****erion or criteria that cause people to choose one product over another ***** a subjective ***** or a group of subjective ones. Buyers' preferences may have little ***** do with tangible differences in the ***** but are related to advertis*****g, brand names, and distinctive designs (www.tradeport.irg).

People may, for example, buy Chiquita bananas because they really loved that woman with her cool fruit-bowl hat when they were kids. Or they may refuse ***** ***** Dole bananas because of the *****'s shameful role in overthrow*****g ***** Hawai'ian royal family.

Product Differentiation

The degree of product differentiation - ***** this is generally true, not just ***** Dole and Chiquita or of ***** companies in general - as reg*****tered in the strength of buyer preferences ranges from the minimal to fairly large. It tends on a quite consistent basis to be greatest among infrequently purc*****ed consumer goods and "prestige goods," particularly ***** purchased as gifts.

***** other words, people tend ***** care very much about the ***** of car that *****y buy and whether