Importing Commodity Foods & Beverages to the U.S.

This research examines the factors involved in the marketing of imported commodity foods and beverages in the United States. Consideration of these factors is addressed in discussions related to the tailoring of the products for the American market and to the promotion of these products in the United States.

Tailoring the Products for the American Market

The approach to the tailoring of products for specific international markets in the 1990s is through the application of the concept of mass customization (Voss, 1991, pp. 30-33). Mass customization is a relatively new concept in business strategy that, while appearing to be a contradiction in terms, is a rational evolution in competition and marketing theory (Pine, 1993b, p. ix). In effect, the term mass customization refers to a practice of mobilizing technological innovations in communications, information systems, and production processes to mass produce products that are designed to satisfy the demands of a particular market segment as opposed to being designed to satisfy an assumed universal demand (Boynton, Victor, and Pine, 1993, p. 42).

Mass customization is defined as "making products tailor-made for each individual buyer, but wherein production levels provide economies of scale (Westbrook and Williamson, 1993, p. 38). Mass production by contrast is the production in high volumes of standardized products under con

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customization strategy. A mass customization strategy depends upon an information system network that connects vendors and retailers (Knorr and Neuman, 1992, pp. 61-64). A continuous stream of information between vendor and retailer is required to enable both entities to provide superior customer service, and to permit the development of efficiencies in production management, inventory management, and shipping. The quick response concept is widely regarded as the key to growth for marketing organizations in the mid- and late-1990s and beyond in conjunction with mass customization strategies. European food marketers are particularly attentive to changes in the American market, and introduce new specialty foods to meet these changing demands (DeNitto, 1993, p. 20). Promoting the Products in the American Market International products are promoted in the American market primarily through the use of advertising. In the United States for international products, the objectives of such advertising must include the creation of both a product and a country image (Parameswaran and Pisharodi, 1994, pp. 43-56). Advertising is "any paid form of nonpersonal communication by an identified sponsor" (Murphy and Enis, 1993, p. 437). As advert
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Approximate Word count = 2265
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)