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Assignment 1: Company Description and SWOT Analysis
Due Week 3 and worth 100 points
In this assignment, you will conduct a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and
Threat) analysis for the type of beverage you have selected, and for your company
overall. As you work on the assignment, consider why you have chosen one type of
non-alcoholic beverage over another and the reasons for that choice. As you complete
your SWOT analysis, be sure to include external factors such as industry / market
trends and competition, and internal factors such as your capabilities or abilities to
reach certain market segments.
Write a three to five (3-5) page paper, in which you:
1. Create your revised NAB company name and explain its significance.
2. Develop your revised company’s Mission Statement and provide a rationale for
its components.
o Hints: Use the Statement of Mission template on pp. 72-73 on the course
textbook: Successful Business Plan to aid your development. Click here
for help accessing a specific page number in your eBook.
o Extracting appropriate information from the NAB company portfolio,
where applicable. You should fill in other required items in the template
using your personal preferences.
3. Describe the trends in the non-alcoholic beverage industry, especially the
specific type of beverage category you have chosen. Justify at least three (3)
reasons why you have chosen this type of non-alcoholic beverage.
o Hints: Research and outline beverage industry trends. Consider the size
and growth rate of the industry overall and the specific beverage type
you have chosen. Use the worksheet in the course text (p. 88 | Past and
Future Growth of Your Industry) to help you project the future growth
rate. Consider the use of industry associations and search engines to find
reliable, recent data. 4. Choose one (1) strategic position from the course text (pp. 142–143) that you
believe is the best strategic position for your company. Explain the approach
you will use to implement this strategic position in order to distinguish your
beverage from other non-alcoholic beverages.
5. Provide an overview of your company’s distribution channels. Explain the
manner in which your product will reach end users. Provide a rationale for your
chosen method.
o Hints: For example, will you sell your beverage in grocery stores,
restaurants, or sports venues? If so, describe the types of resellers and
distributors who will sell to resellers and fulfill their orders. If you are
attempting to sell direct-to-consumers, such as online via a monthly
subscription, how will you manage warehousing / fulfillment / shipping?
6. Outline at least three (3) types of risks (including any regulatory risks) that
your business faces. Describe your company’s plan to mitigate such risk.
o Hints: You may refer to the types of risk listed in the course text (pp.
148–149) as well as any risks not listed in the text. Regulation weighs
more heavily on beverage and food businesses than many other types of
companies, so be certain to consider any regulatory risks your type of
beverage faces. For example, what kind of regulation and / or risks are
you likely to face if you make health claims about your beverage?
7. Develop a SWOT analysis for your NAB company using the SWOT matrix
worksheet in the course text (p. 153 | SWOT: Strengths / Weaknesses /
Opportunities / Threats)
o Hints: What are your company’s likely strengths? Have you chosen a
beverage segment that is growing and lacks an entrenched competitor?
Are you in a niche market that has great potential? What are the
strengths that you and other team members bring to your company? Do
you or other team members have previous experience in the food and
beverage industry?
o Hints: What are your company’s likely weaknesses? Is the competition
in your industry segment entrenched? Is your own management team
inexperienced? Will it be challenging to actually produce your product
and maintain quality? o Hints: What are your company’s opportunities? Does your segment have
more demand than supply? Have larger corporations stopped serving
smaller or niche markets that you could enter? Is a new market emerging
because of demographics, immigration, changing tastes?
o Hints: What are your company’s threats? Is there a clear market leader
that will be hard and expensive to displace? Are downward-pricing
pressures in the segment making profit margins slim? Are there little or
no barriers-to-entry for new competitors; if you have a novel idea that
succeeds, can the competition easily enter your market? If you have a
global aspect to your company, do factors such as currency fluctuations,
political instability, offshoring or outsourcing pose threats?
8. Format your assignment according to these formatting requirements:
a. Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with
one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or schoolspecific format. Check with your professor for any additional
instructions.
b. Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s
name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover
page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.
c. Cite the resources you have used to complete the exercise. Note: There
is no minimum requirement for the number of resources used in the
exercise.
