Marketing Case Studies And SWOT Analysis of Fast Fry USA

Question: Give a report on the swot analysis? Answer: Introduction: The fast food restaurants form the essential portion of the American Culture and have gained momentum in the recent years. It is by virtue of the fast food industry that has eased out the lives of the American as they are able to have meals at cheap rates. USA is considered to be the fattest country where a section of the residents blame the heavy advertisements and unhealthy and over sized sale of food that initiated the problem of obesity. However the other part derives positive externality from the fast food industry and states that obesity is a matter of personal responsibility and choices (Libcom.org, 2015). In this report, a popular restaurant in Texas called Fast Fry will be analyzed using SWOT analysis and discuss them along with the aspect of organizational culture of the company. Company overview: Fast Fry is a popular fast food restaurant chain around 1000 branches which serves 70 million people within the country every day. The restaurants sell fast food around the world through private ownership and independent franchisees. The Fast Fry offers a wide range of hamburgers, chicken and French fries, breakfast meals, soft drinks and desserts which is the typical meal pattern of USA. The Fast Fry has several outlets within the country which is preferred by individuals of every age group but despite the success of the Fast Fry, there are numerous strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the organization. Swot analysis: The SWOT Analysis is commenced as below: (Ahmad, 2013) Strengths Weaknesses High Quality and unadulterated food with natural processing. Brand recognition is worth $20 billion. Food menus are locally popular. Targeting the children and Teenagers Partners are reputed brands. More than 75% of the restaurants are independently owned by franchisers. Controversies related to unhealthy food options. Low advertising budget. High unskilled workers. Absence of variation in season good products. Training cost of unskilled workers are high. Opportunities Threats Expanding the chain through joint ventures with different retailers. Adoption of more healthier options by being reactive towards the social changes Increasing the advertising of the company. Being more environmentally responsible. Introduce allergen free food products. Expanding the beverage choices. Targeting children causes a concern of obesity in the country. The addictive additives in the food have driven lawsuits. Threat of Competition. Consumers becoming ethically conscious. (Harvard Business Review, 2015) Consumers preferences turning towards healthy food choices. Economic downturn affecting the sale of the company. Report on the swot analysis: Strengths- the company engages in healthy food options by processing the food naturally and unadulterated. The recognition of brand of Fast Fry is worth $20 million which is a huge amount. The food items of the Fast Fry are prepared based on the local demand and food preferences. The target customers of the company are the children and teenagers who are more inclined towards the fast food choices. Through advertising and offers of meals, the children and the teenagers are influenced to consume the fast food. The company has established partnership with the reputed brands so that the well being of the company is maintained. The expansion of the company through franchise ownership has helped them to increase the sale and revenue which in turn increased the profit of the company. Weaknesses- Fast Fry is subjected to several controversies related to the unhealthy food options like unhealthy sourcing of meat, addition of allergens and other additive which are harmful for the children. The controversies have impacted the sale of the company. In this regard the consumers are also becoming ethically conscious about the food they have and the method by which the company processes the food. This has created problem for the company as they have to be more careful now. The low budget in advertisement has hindered the potential sale of the food products. The advertisement is a way to reach out to the potential customers who could have increased the sale of the products. (Jugenheimer Kelley, 2009) Fast Fry has appointed huge number of unskilled staffs in order to cut down cost, but it has only decreased the marginal productivity and profit. Moreover training cost for these staffs have incurred high cost for the company, again lowering their profit. Opportunities- the Fast Fry must expand the restaurant chains through joint ventures that would increase the sale and fetch enough recognition and reputation of the company (nibusinessinfo.co.uk, 2015). Fast Fry can incorporate environment friendly campaigns like using paper bags, paper plates for serving meals. The companys sales can also be increased by expansion of the beverage options. Food products must be allergen free. Threats- the rise of the fast food restaurants in the US is occurring at an alarmingly rate which has posed competition for Fast Fry. The problem of obesity was initiated by the fast food industry hence the Fast Fry can face a legislation that might limit the scope of the company. Another threat can be the consumers are becoming health conscious changing their food habits towards fruits and vegetables, this will drive down the sales of the company. (Fine, 2009) Opportuities for changes: Fast Fry must change the advertising budget and expanding the opportunities by engaging in joint venture. The employee number of the company must be cut down to increase the sale and reducing the cost of the company. The company must utilize the opportunities to hire skilled employees and eliminate the cost of training. This would increase the profit of the company. Lastly, the company must be careful to ethically source, ethically produce and ethically distribute the product. (Tech Times, 2015) Conclusion on organizational culture: Fast Fry has a strong organizational culture which motivates the employees to work efficiently. The company supports the concept of youth employment that will contribute to the economic growth of the country. Fast Fry also associates with the communities through campaigns and initiatives. The company offers several employees benefits in the form of flexible shift timings, free meal incentive for the employees and provides a healthcare programs to maintain the health status of the employees. The strengths of the organizational culture is in the frequent promotional schemes and the opportunities of increment in salary. Thus, based on the SWOT analysis of Fast Fry it can be said that there is a potential scope for the company to capture the relevant opportunities and drive away the threats and weaknesses of the company to initiate growth. (Warsi Nisa, n.d.) Reference: Ahmad, M. (2013).Marketing Case Studies and Swot Analysis. Saarbrucken: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing. Fine, L. (2009).The SWOT analysis. [S.l.]: Kick It. Harvard Business Review,. (2015).Ethical Consumerism Isnt Dead, It Just Needs Better Marketing. Retrieved 14 May 2015, from https://hbr.org/2015/01/ethical-consumerism-isnt-dead-it-just-needs-better-marketing Jugenheimer, D., Kelley, L. (2009).Advertising management. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Libcom.org,. (2015).The fast food industry and how it was built. Retrieved 14 May 2015, from https://libcom.org/history/fast-food-industry-how-it-was-built nibusinessinfo.co.uk,. (2015).Joint venture - benefits and risks. Retrieved 14 May 2015, from https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/content/joint-venture-benefits-and-risks Tech Times,. (2015).Fast Food Still as Unhealthy as Ever. Retrieved 14 May 2015, from https://www.techtimes.com/articles/24368/20150102/fast-food-still-as-unhealthy-as-ever.htm Warsi, K., Nisa, S. Food Retailing: Fast Food Industry.SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.664962