Table of Contents

1) Executive summary

2) Introduction

a) Mission Statement

b) Brief History of Firm

c) Description of product and other products marketed

by the firm.

d) Recent sales/profit history of the firm

3) Marketing plan

a) Industry overview

b) Situation Analysis

c) Segmentation base

d) Marketing Mix:

i) Product

ii) Price

iii) Promotion

iv) Place

4) Strategy to build and cover customer – relationship

5) Implementation procedures & timing

6) Recommendations

7) Conclusion

8) Appendix

9) References

1

Executive Summary

This project is about marketing plan for the mineral water which is produced by

Masafi Mineral Water Company. At the beginning we will write about the mission

statement of the organization as a whole and then we will analyze the mission to

know whether it consist of the characteristics of a good mission or not. After that

there is a brief history of the firm and the description of the products produced by the

firm. Next there is a marketing plan which consist information about the overview of

the industry, key competitors, situation analysis, segmentation bases, marketing mix,

strategy to building a strong customer-relationship and the Implementation

procedures. Finally, we are going to write our recommendation, conclusion and

reference.

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Introduction

Mission statement: "We resolve to continue our drive towards achieving the

highest levels of excellence in the health and hygiene sectors through constant

improvement and innovation in our product mix. As market leaders, we remain

committed to deliver beyond the expectations of our customers, with a conscious

concern for the environment".

This statement tells what the company wants to accomplish, it want to achieve highest

levels of excellence in the health and hygiene sectors which consist of all characters

of the good statement; its realistic because these goals are challengeable as well as

achievable, also it’s realistic because it leads to hierarchy of objectives including

business and marketing objectives. Specified; specified to be excellence in health

sectors, this specification support marketing objective. Fits the market environment;

market environment require from all companies to pay attention to the health and

benefit of customers and real consideration to the environment. Its stand on this

critical issue is reflected in its eco-friendly PET packaging. PET or Poly Ethylene

Terephatalate, is a material that has been used for years to bottle soft drinks and other

foods and medical products. And the mission is motivating; motivating through the

commitment to deliver beyond the expectations of the customers. Because this

mission consists of characters of good statement it well helps the company to specify

its detailed objectives and goals for each level of management.

Brief history of Masafi : the leading producer of pure natural mineral water in the

Gulf, was established in 1976 with a paid-up capital of approximately five and

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half million dollars. As a unique brand that has been holding the market leadership for

the past 30 years, Masafi has today become a generic name for mineral and bottled

water in the entire Gulf region. It has acquired this status symbol by providing world-

class products known for their pure natural freshness.

The origin of Masafi Water lies in several rich underground springs of Masafi, a

mountainous region in Ras Al Khaimah, one of the seven Emirates that make up the

United Arab Emirates. The natural mineral rich water is packaged at a modern

bottling and manufacturing facility near the source in Masafi.

Masafi's strict adherence to international quality standards has been well rewarded;

these are some of the rewards and accolades Masafi received:

Masafi was the first recipient of the ISO 9002 certification in the region.

Masafi awarded the (ISO 9001:2000) certification for developing and

maintaining a high standard Quality Management System.

The company was also awarded the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control

Points) certification.

Masafi has also received accolade "Plant Manager of the Year".

Through its 30 years history, Masafi has invested heavily in projects that benefit the

community and also helped sponsor international sporting events held in Dubai

including the Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament. Masafi Water has been consumed

by top stars like Tiger Woods, Colin Montgomerie, Boris Becker and Martina Hingis.

Masafi has also made a partnership with the international humanitarian and medical

relief organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres to help for creating awareness and

generating funds for refugees around the world.

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Description of the product and other products marketed by the firm :

The product that we chose is a mineral water which Masafi produce it in different

designs, sizes and specification bottles.

Masafi produce water and mobilize them in different seven sizes; the biggest is 1.5

liters bottles; The factors looked into besides visual appeal were to make them easily

portable at time of use and crushable at time of disposal. Besides choosing eco-

friendly PET bottles, Masafi has also been innovative in introducing smart packaging

ideas for more convenience & easy handling. The second size is 1-ltrs bottles; the 1-

ltr bottle was introduced to cater to people looking for easier storage and lesser

wastage. Yet again, the 1-ltr bottle was quickly embraced by consumers, serving as

the perfect choice for small families.

And other sizes like;330ml, The 330 ml was previously available only as a sports cap

which was reintroduced in 2002 with regular screw-on caps, 250 ml cup, 200ml cup,

125ml cup and 100 ml cup.

Other products marketed by the firm:

Tissues: Masafi has launched different types of tissue; Boutique Fragrant

tissue, facial tissues and car tissue.

Boutique Fragrant tissue: Masafi has launched a fresh new range of Boutique

Fragrant tissue in four subtle fragrances: Oud, Rose, Jasmine and Lavender.

Even softer, even gentler on sensitive skin, they add a refreshing touch to the

unmistakable quality of Masafi tissues. And their lingering pleasant scent also

makes them ideal for leaving in vehicles or bathrooms to freshen the air.

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Facial tissues: there are two types of facial tissue the first one is Mosaic and

the second one is floral. Masafi tissues are made from 100% high-class virgin

pulp. These tissues are produced with high-speed fully automatic and state-of-

the-art technology to achieve a very soft and very hygienic process. This

makes Masafi tissues extremely soft yet making them strong & wet resistant

with high absorbent properties. Great care is taken to ensure zero fluorescence

is used while processing, making Masafi tissues gentle and safe for your skin.

Car tissue: The new car tissue box has been specially designed for use in

vehicles and comes with a handy side pocket, which allows drivers to reach

for a tissue quickly and easily. The car tissue box with an attractive design,

opens at the side, and will sit neatly on the door side pockets in cars. The new

box will also help drivers avoid waste and discomfiture, which are usually

associated with the standard car tissue box.

Juices: Masafi starts producing juices in different sizes and flavors, in term of

flavors it produce orange, apple, luscious mango and exuberant tropical. In

term of sizes, the biggest size is two littler and the smallest is 200 ml.

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Recent Sales/Profit history of the firm

Masafi has been making more and more profit every year thanks to their clever

business sense and solid market penetration. In the second quarter of the year 2002

Masafi announced an increase in sales growth by a whopping 8%. Although the

bottled water industry has witnessed quiet a sluggish growth, never the less, Masafi

has managed to sell over 3.6 million liters of bottled water in the second quarter of the

year 2002 alone topping its rate in the previous years. Experts expect numbers to go

up as the company continues its growth and expansion to new markets and new

product lines.

Industry of Mineral Water:The water Industry considered as a one of the oldest Industries in marketing since it is

one of the main basic need of the human being. Humans use water everyday specially

drinking water. As a result, many people start their investment in this industry, so

they can deliver the human need of water. The water Industry depends on the source

and the size of water. Marketers can get water from the seas, rivers, underground,

dams, and snow. Today, there are many companies which provide drinking water in

many bottles shape to the people. This Industry also has a wild range which one

company can reach at least the nearby countries. This Industry is very important

because the human spending is increasing as reported in “Water Industry News”

website, In addition, some scientist think that the future wars are going to accrue

because of the lack of water. By the fact that this business is increasing, many

international mineral water companies entered the UAE market and made this

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business very competitive in this market by the quality, bottles, and healthy and the

market mix of this business. Masafi as one of the first mineral water companies in the

UAE established in 1979 and by a big support from people. The main source for

water for the company is the Masafi Mountains which gave the company good

positioning since the area is well known as a very good source of drinking water.

Competitors of Masafi Company:There are a lot of important competitors that compete with Masafi Company as

leaders market in the UAE and some of them are:

1- Al Ain water

2- Oasis water

3- Riwa water

4- Gulfa water

5- Nestle water

6- Aquafina water

7- Evian water

A study case of Al-Ain drinking water bottle as a competitor product

against Masafi mineral water

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Classifications:

the classification of both Al-Ain and Masafi water are convenience products

which means both products needed every day which make them frequently purchase

by the consumers. The price is low and fixed; the products are always at convertible

places or everywhere which make them very easy for the consumer to reach and get.

These products use mass promotions trying to take the consumer attention.

1- Quality of Natural Facts:

Masafi mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:-

PH 7.8

Calcium 3.4

Magnesium 19

Sodium 10

Potassium 0.2

Bicarbonates 27

Sulfates 19

Nitrate 0.4

Chloride 47

Total Dissolved Solids 130

Al-Ain mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:-

Calcium 8

Magnesium 13

Sodium 8

Potassium 2

Bicarbonates 30

Sulfates 5

Nitrate 0.3

Chloride 40

Total Dissolved Solids 110

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As we can see there isn’t much different in the quality of the water mineral

products of both companies. Consequently, both companies tried to register their

products in many health organizations to prove their quality to the costumers. These

organizations can make the consumers more confident when buying the product

which would increase the profit of the companies.

2- Price:

Both companies Al-Ain and Masafi have the same price which is 1 Dirham

to get 0.5 liter Masafi bottle or 0.5 Al-Ain bottles. We note the price is fixed at 1

Dirham which makes it more comfortable for the consumers. We are going to talk

about it more later on the paper.

3- Product:

The product for both companies is a mineral drinking water in a bottle which

is used by almost half of the earth population. Now the companies want to add more

value to its product, so it can hit the highest satisfaction with its customers.

4- Features:

Features will differentiate between two companies. Companies should studies

the customers needs or values of pure water and add it to the product to take

customers value. For Masafi Company, they use bottles that are deeper in blue than

Al-Ain water, so it can take the attention of the customer than its competitors.

5- Style and Design:

Style in Masafi and Al-Ain Company is about the style of the mineral water

bottles. The appearance of both bottles is good. However, we as a group like the

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design of the Masafi bottle more because it is more creative and handy same as

the other bottle. Inundation, to these differences between two bottles, there are

little more basic differences between the two.

Masafi mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:- - The bottle is 1.5 inch taller than Al-Ain

- The bottle is easy to carry.

- The bottle can be compressed after used

- You can see the water through the bottle

- The bottle has more of blue color

Al-Ain mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:- - The bottle 1 inch more width than the Masafi bottle allow to put bigger

label

- The bottle is easy to carry.

- The bottle can be compressed after used

- You can see the water through the bottle

- The bottle has more of the white color

6- Labels:

The labels on the product should be able to take attention of the customer. The

label should not have very long description. It also should have the brand name or the

sample of the product. For example, if the product is orange juice, the label should

have orange on it. On our case, the labeling in both products is so similar to each

other. Both labels have same think except that Masafi added little mountain and palm

as a background. These add differentiate to a track the attention of the customer.

There are other appearance differences such as...

Masafi mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:-

- The label has many different things

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- Brand name: Masafi written in English and Arabic

- The Natural Facts

- Promotion of Masafi wining the GMR effectiveness in marketing awards

Gemas 2006

- The ability to be compresses

- Brands of certificates

Al-Ain mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:- - The label has many different things

- Brand name: Al Ain written in English and Arabic

- The Natural Facts

- The ability to be compresses

- Picture of old places in the UAE.

- Brands of certificates

7- Packing:

Packing is important because it decide how much the company can carry on its

trucks and containers. The smart packing can increase profit by shipping more

products and faster which would save money for less oil use. In our case, we can see

that the same amount of bottles in one carton is used in both companies Masafi and

Al-Ain. However, because the carton of Masafi is little taller, the container would

carry less than Al-Ain company. As a result of the long-term run, Al-Ain water

would make more profit from packing because the container can carry more cartons

than Masafi.

Masafi mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:-- Carton = 24 Bottles

- 40 foot container = 2000 cartons

Al-Ain mineral drinking water 0.5 liter bottle:-- Carton = 24 Bottles

- 40 foot container = 2070 cartons

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Situation Analysis (SWOT)

Strengths Weaknesses- Stable political and economical

environment

- Large (and growing) target market

- Strong brand name

- Good company image (linked to

nationalism)

- Affordable price

- World-wide distribution channels

(China, Europe, Arab counties)

- Diverse product line ( water, tissues,

juices)

- Verity of water bottle sizes

- High quality and pure water

- Stylish and attractive packaging

- Almost homogeneous to other brands

available in the market

- Can easily lose market share (no

competitive advantage)

Opportunities Threats

- High demand for bottled water

- Company can try to become a price

leader by introducing a new price

(lower than the market price) attracting

more customers and gaining more

market share

- Company can target and supply

specific events in the country such as

the Dubai Shopping Festival, Dubai

Summer Surprise festival and others.

- Endless competitors

- Market price is identical. However,

market may become price sensitive, if

competitors choose to introduce

products in lower price.

- Products are easily imitated

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Segmentation Bas: To enter the UAE market, Masafi should identify all the parts of the UAE

market and choosing the right segment to get the most profit from it. It also can help

Masafi to design its products according to the chosen segment. However, it seems that

Masafi Company has a Geographical segmentation where it focuses on cities and

countries which are in Asia, Africa and Europe. The company believes that more

countries it covers would increase their profit because more people would buy their

drinking water as their natural habit.

Masafi always consider themselves and aiming for the leader market by

provides great products. To a achieve this goal, the company plan for customer

satisfaction as a long run segmentation by focusing on competing and reduce threats

which are the lack of resources and company performance in production.

Target Market: After segmentation, Masafi wanted to target the segmentation to know their

needs and wants. Target market in water Industry has a big range because all the

people need water to drink. Masafi study the need of people’s need and design the

products according to their needs without targeting a specific group. Masafi wants to

provide water to all people and according to their needs. This is called Differentiated

marketing when the company decides to target many segments in the country market

and designs a separate product for each of the segments. For example, in the UAE

market, Masafi design a sport mineral water, so people can use this product when they

exercise. Also, they have big water bottles for a family gathering. They have small

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bottles for personal use. They also have very small bottles for medicine taking which

hospitals can use.

Positioning Product:

Masafi wants to be a market leader for their target marketing. To do so, they

have to position their product as one of the best products in the Industry. The

company focused in the marking mix to help positioning and the product

performance. In addition, Masafi study and take the competitor advantage which

could help position its product as a good product. A good product gives the customers

the more value than its price.

Marketing Mix

Product: Masafi water bottles deliver a core benefit of thirst quenching. The actual

product design, features, quality, packaging and brand name are all aligned along with

the vision on the company in order to be a market leader.

The bottle design is meant to be modern and attractive; while shaping the bottle in

order to be easier to grab by hand. In addition to the various sizes available to meet

individual customer needs. The bottle is blue and clear reflecting the purity, freshness

and clarity of the water. The engraving of mountaintop figures on the bottle reflects

the freshness of the water and reminds customers of the origin of this product being

from the fresh mountain springs. The brand name Masafi (which means purity in

Arabic) also resembles the area Masafi from which the product is derived. Choosing

this brand name has built the company excellent brand equity as the public now relate

Masafi to fresh, pure and natural mineral water.

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Pricing: Masafi along with the rest of the bottled water brands in the UAE are

following a pricing strategy that has been stagnant over the past few years. The

overall bottled water market is applying almost identical pricing strategies for their

products including Masafi. For example, all standard bottles of water cost 1 Dirham.

Therefore, we can assume that a competitive based pricing strategy is applied here

since all prices for identical products are consistent.

Place: Masafi has created a unique local and

international distribution chain. Locally, the

products and shipped from the factory via

distributors to local grocery stores,

supermarkets...etc. Masafi had over

100 distribution vehicles in the UAE to

ensure local coverage. In addition, over 95% of the local stores and

retail outlets stock Masafi water. Also, Masafi implemented

a low stock policy with retailers in order to ensure that the

water supply is regularly consumed and frequently

changed. This is to ensure freshness. Moreover, Masafi was

the first company to introduce custom made chillers that are

created solely to display Masafi products in public places and retail

stores. Finally, Masafi vending machines are available all over the

country, on main routs on the streets and in highly populated areas in order to

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make the product easily attainable for customers whenever they need it and

wherever they need it!

Exports of bottled water are shipped to countries such as GCC markets, Japan,

Asian, African European countries and the Far East.

Promotions: Masafi is using a mix of promotional tools in order to

maximize the company's market share and increase awareness. Advertising

campaigns are held seasonally in TV

channels, newspapers, magazines, and

billboards.

In addition, the company has invested in

heavy sales promotions such as contests,

and rebates such as the Win Diamonds

campaign, the Masafi Shopping Spree,

Uncap and Win and much more.

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Strategies to building a strong customer-relationship :

Masafi used many strategies to build strong customer relationship which help

promoting its customer loyalty, Masafi enhance its relation with the customers

by listening to customer feedback and building customer friendly culture. Also

it uses techniques for developing a customer focus and gaining the

commitment of all employees to excellent customer service therefore sales

executives remain supportive to the clients before, during and after any sales.

Other strategy Masafi uses is promotions like "Masafi Shopping Spree"; the

promotion is open to shoppers purchasing any pack of Masafi products. And

other promotion called "Pure Rewards" to create greater awareness among

grocers of the Masafi brand and to encourage them to buy more Masafi

products.

Also Masafi intended to grow its customer, their progress was vertical but now

they are primed to expand horizontally. The launch of Masafi juice was part of

this broad master-strategy, aimed at making Masafi a complete food and

beverage company by 2011. It is a natural and logical step forward from

Masafi well-known mineral water brand that is synonymous with pure mineral

water.

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Recommendations:

1. We recommend that Masafi should continue its current strategy of

global expansion.

2. Masafi should continue to introduce brand new products and product

lines such as flavored water drinks (such as cherry flavored, pineapple

flavored, orange flavored, lemon flavored), multivitamin water drinks

geared towards athletes and youth ..etc..

3. Masafi should try to apply a rand new and different pricing strategy.

By minimizing fixed costs and using brand new technology to become

more cost efficient, the company can venture and try applying a lower

price strategy that will win over more customers, causing the company

to become a price leader.

4. Masafi should try to further penetrate the local market y providing

door-to-door delivery services to local houses and apartments,

supplying them with fresh water regularly. This will be very

convenient for customers.

5. Masafi should try to create alliances with major activity organizers in

the country in order to exclusively supply water in those events such as

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Dubai Summer Surprises, Dubai Shopping Festival, Al Ain Shopping

Festival, and others.

Conclusion

In conclusion, thought-out our exploration of the different aspects of Masafi, its

strengths and weaknesses and the overall environment of this particular industry. We

found that Masafi has been performing in an outstanding way for almost three

decades. Their dedication, hard work and loyalty has built trust between the company

and its customers. Now Masafi is considered on of the top selling brands locally,

regionally and internationally. With a little more innovation, and the proper strategic

alliances, the company is yet to grow and thrive.

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Appendix (A)

Perceptual Map

Appendix (B)

Distribution Map

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Low Quality High Quality

Low RIWA WATER OASIS WATER

Price

High GULFA WATER

Price MASAFI

EVIAN

AL AIN WATER

References

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Consumers Stores & Wholesalers

Factory

Retailers

"Masafi." Masafi. 2006. 26 Jun 2006 <www.masafi.com>.

"Masafi." Strategy. 2006. 26 Jun 2006 <http://www.strategiy.com/ar/ncompany.asp?

id=20050420120142>.

"MASAFI: THE LEADING PRODUCER OF BOTTLED MINERAL WATER IN

THE GULF." African Business Pages . 2006. 26 Jun 2006 <2.

http://www.africa-business.com/profiles/masafi.html>.

"Masafi announces 8 per cent sales growth by the end of the second quarter in 2002."

AME Info. 2006. 26 Jun 2006 <http://www.ameinfo.com/10727.html>.

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