Market Analysis - Macro level: PESTEL

After deciding that US market is the best market to enter, we started conducting thorough market analysis to be able to conduct a clear marketing plan for Ambro.

First, we examine the macro environment with the PESTEL analysis. Such environmental analysis is extremely important for marketing in an international environment, as marketing activities and tactics are largely affected by the certain business environment.1 

	Opportunities	Threats
Political	On average low government regulation and intervention: a historically laissez-faire mentality	Strict regulations regarding food safety and marketing messages Labeling the product as food supplement instead of substitute?
Economic	High GDP per capita (purchasing power) Heathly GDP growth rate; averaging at 2-3%, which is higher than the average inflation rate (1-2%) High labor mobility	Heavier than average fiscal regulations Not fully recovered from economic crisis
Socio-Cultural	62,1% of the USA is overweight.2 Americans in general eat unhealthy. Americans are increasingly health conscious which results in a growing interest for products like Ambro.	The majority of the population is not, or only to a minor extent physically active which might indicate a reduced interest for healthy drinks.3 US citizens are quite used to taking dietary supplements, Ambro needs to put extra effort in standing out.4
Technological	Highly developed country with good infrastructure and major opportunities for internet distribution	The relative number of Startups in the U.S. is on average higher than elsewhere which might make it more difficult to reach consumers.
Environmental	Slowly increasing interest towards green or ecological products. 5	The mentioned benefit also means an increased interest in a green production of these products, so extra effort there would be needed
Legal	Import taxes can be avoided when producing in the US. On average lower corporate taxes than in Europe	Abeyance to various health and safety laws Possible trademark problems on the use of “Ambro” in the US Definition of organic is more strict in the US; requirement for 95% organic ingredients

PESTEL analysis often ignores some very important factors such as history and language, which are crucial for companies exporting to other countries. PESTEL looks at the market from the domestic point of view and ignores the international trade rules. Therefore, IMEA (International Marketing Environmental Analysis) would be a better tool for international marketing; it includes factors such as History, Economic, Language, Politics, Social, Financial, Rules (International trade), Environmental, Demographic, Infrastructure, Culture and Technology.1 

However, when we take a further look at this, it seems that IMEA Analysis does not provide much further value for the case Ambro; Ambro is only launching the whole product, straight in the US market. Also, their aim is to find local producers since the group does not want to start exporting to the US. Exporting might come in question later on in Europe, where production could be concentrated in a few areas. Thus, IMEA framework can be used later on when expanding further in Europe.

Sources:

1. Clarke, G. (2005). Internatinoal Marketing Environment Analysis. Marketing Review, (5), 159-173.  
2. Wang, Y Claire, McPherson, Klim, Marsh, Tim, Gortmaker, Steven L., Brown, Martin. Health and Economic Burden of the Projected Obesity Trends in the USA and the UK. The Lancet; 2011.
3. Health, United States, 2012. With Special Feature on emergency care.
4. Gahche, J., Bailey, R., Burt, V., Hughes, J., Yetley, E. Dwyer, J., Picciano, M.F., McDowell, M. & Sempos, C. (2011). Dietary Supplement Use Amon U.S. Adults Has Increased Since NHANES III (188-1994). NCHS Data Brief, 61.
5. Cherian, J. & Jacob, J. (2012). Green Marketing: A Study of Consumers’ Attiutde Towards Environment Friendly Products. Asian Social Science, 8(12), 117-126.