Organizational And Marketing Strategy Of Masafi: An In-Depth Analysis

Environmental Analysis

This report includes an in-depth critical analysis of the business strategy of the consumer goods brand Masafi. The narrative offers a detailed situational analysis highlighting the strengths, opportunities and threats that are and will be faced by the company. Masafi is one of the largest producers of natural bottled water in the UAE. Their range of products also includes other consumer goods. established in 1976 it has made its place in the market as a unique brand and has held the lead in the market for 27 years. The name of the brand become a generic name for bottled water in the Middle East and has become a symbol of status by providing exclusive products.  

Political

Being a generic brand in the country for 27 years Masafi has enjoyed a separate brand value both in the market and politically (Prayag and Hosany, 2014). In its recent times of economic growth the country is looking forward to expanding their local business and the company believes that in the upcoming years the UAE government will provide the brand with the opportunity to expand on a global scale competing with international brands and catering to a substantially larger consumer base.

Masafi has been the leader of its segment in the market and thus enjoys a certain level of economic freedom to pursue other initiatives (Mohamad et al. 2017). Thus after its success as a bottled water producer, Masafi introduces other consumer goods ranging from potato chips to soft facial tissues. These products have helped the company strengthen its position economically in the market contributing to its brand value.

With its expanding market and rapid globalisation, UAE is providing new opportunities to its domestic brands. But with the markets opening up international brands are also arriving in the country and bringing new competition. This will be a new challenge faced by the brand (Pike and Kotsi, 2018). Though Masafi holds the leading position in the market and has a cultural stronghold in the country by being a generic name for bottled water with the arrival of international brands the company needs to update their strategies in order to hold on to their market value and change accordingly (Hvidt, 2015).

Masafi is completely dependent on technology to propagate their business and successfully produce their products in the market. Manufacturing plants for the company use deep underground drills to harvest the most natural water available in the country (Kirk, 2014). That water is then packaged with machines. Masafi has marketing strategies in place in the electronic media using both televised an social media for promotional purposes. It has pages n all major social media sites and frequently launches ad campaigns in the country to keep its brand value relevant and intact in the country.

Organizational Overview

Being the country’s largest and only producer of bottled water comes with its own set legal challenges. The company has its plants located in the Masafi village and uses legal authority to use these plants to harvest deep underground water reserves and bottle them at their plant (Ahmad and Saber, 2015). Depleting water reserves in a largely desert country, Masafi has faced legal challenges from environmentalists and conservationists. Though it has changed its manufacturing processes and its business ideals, the brand faces continuous legal predicaments as it holds a monopoly in the market (Malik, Abdallah and Hussain, 2016).

Masafi was founded in 1976 and is currently the country’s largest and only bottled water producers. It harvests its water from the mountainous region in Ras Al Khaimah and packages it at their manufacturing facility located near the source in Masafi a region endowed with several rich underground springs (Masafi.com, 2018).

Masafi’s tagline ‘Ask for Natural, Ask for Masafi’ incorporates all its brand ideals and values in one simple statement.

Masafi aims to provide its consumers with the purest form of water straight from the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (Bayt.com, 2018).

The bottled water company established in 1976 has been the leader in the market for 27 years. It has a become a status symbol and a generic name for bottled water in the country and is known for providing fresh water. The company has adhered to international quality standards and has become the first recipient of the ISO 9002 certification in the in the region and has also won the ISO 9001:2000 certifications.

Financial Performance

Masafi holds the largest market share for bottled water in the country. Being the only producer of bottled drinking water in a country that has not been keen in globalisation in the past the brand has enjoyed a unique brand value in the country. The company produces around 34,000 bottles per hour at the manufacturing facility (Emirates247.com, 2018). The company has a share of 34% of the $599m bottled water market in the UAE.and majority shares in the other segments that the company also has products in.

The 42-year-old company started with a paid-up capital of $5.5m and expanded its product portfolio including bottled drinking water, flavoured water, gunmen chips, basmati rice. It has also chipped some of the product lines. Masafi as a brand stands at number one in the beverage market of UAE ahead of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola, the two giants of the industry (Emirates247.com, 2018).

Mission and Vision

Being a bottled water company, Masafi is largely dependant on plastic products for its packaging and distribution. The company is committed towards environmental conservation and eco-friendly PET or polyethylene Terephthalate, which is a highly degradable and 100% recyclable material, for its packaging purposes (Khan, Hussain, Papastathopoulos and Manikas, 2018).

Being the largest shareholder in the market Masafi enjoys a unique and steady position in its brand value. With the country aiming at rapid globalisation, the brand is looking forward to targeting the international market (Al-Jenaibi, 2014). With its high quality product. Steady brand value and unique product outlook the brand believes that they will be able to establish themselves as a significant competitor in the international beverage market providing successful competition with the segment leaders like Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

Masafi though a leader in the market faces stiff and continuous competitions from giants in the segment. With a country that is changing its economic policies rapidly and aiming towards globalisation, the brand is looking forward to the arrival of major competition in the unsaturated market of the UAE. brands like Pepsi and Coca Cola have already arrived and though Msafi is still producing and selling the largest amount pf drinking water the other beverage segments are rapidly becoming the market of these companies.

Strengths

• Continuous reinvestment: as a strong market leader the company enjoys a base of loyal stakeholders that invest continuously in the company and are rewarded substantially from the profits of the company (Alsyouf, Kumar, Al-Ashi and Al-Hammadi, 2018)
• A unique source of product: Masafi harvests its water from the deep reserves located in the Masafi village which is one of a kind and cannot be found anywhere i the world

• Depleting natural water: the company faces a major environmental crisis as the water resources that the company depends on are depleting rapidly (Kumar, Srivastava, Kumar and Tiwari, 2018)
• Lack of competition: The organisation in a local market with no global competition the company does not have a gauge to measure its success

Opportunities

• Rapid globalisation: with markets opening up the company can look forward to expanding internationally
• The new competition will provide the company with a new outlook and opportunities to improve their products

Threats

• New entrants in the market: the crisis of water is daily taken as a business aspect by new organization posing a minimum threat to the already established Masafi
• Scarce resource: Dealing with water purification, the organization faces continuous threat of reusing and saving water as much as possible

In response to the operation that the organisation Masafi in UAE, operated they are to make proper amendments in terms of bringing up packaging difference. The rise in the competition asks for innovation and invention. The packaging aspect of Masafi is worth noticing as it has served the organisation for last decade.

While discussing the certainties that the organisation must pay attention is the placement of the drinking water o public places more often. The ATM for drinking water would be enough to boost the goodwill that the organisation has in the current scenario.

The organisation is well acquainted due to its operation in workplaces along with their conflict management status. However, to ensure that the organisation is more capable in terms of managing upcoming threats of competition employee satisfaction needs to be developed. Providing benefits to the Employees and making appraisal at the proper periodic time would ensure a better place for employer and employee relation.

Hiring or outsourcing for innovation objectives, the organisation could fuel the aspect of development on a more regular basis

Conclusion

The main aim behind analyzing Masafi is to understand the success of the company in the long run and implementing strategies that will provide further opportunities for the brand. The company Masafi has been the largest producer of drinking water in the United Arab Emirates and has been the market leader in the country. With markets opening up the company looks forward to expanding their business but also faces the threat of the arrival of international giants in the industry a competition.

Company Performance

References

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