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2012
MARKET RESEARCH
REPORT Market research report of exporting Dutch raw milk cheese to Poland (Project M7)
Darie Gavrilut S1055277
Marta Kaczmarek S1051831
Judy Lindemann S1055281
Bas Schrotenboer S1041220
Jennifer Ying S1041251
Dutch Raw Milk Cheese Project
supported by Slow Food
2
2012
MARKET RESEARCH
REPORT Market research report of exporting Dutch raw milk cheese to Poland (Project M7)
Darie Gavrilut S1055277
Marta Kaczmarek S1051831
Judy Lindemann S1055281
Bas Schrotenboer S1041220
Jennifer Ying S1041251
IBS2B
Group 10 ‘’Poland’’
Project M7
Dutch Raw Milk Cheese Project
supported by Slow Food
Windesheim University of Applied
Sciences
Ms. R. Kok
16th of March 2012
3
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Hereby we’d like to present you the research of the Polish market. We focused on diary
segment (milk products) and provide the detailed information about MACRO- and MESO-
environment. We also draw a potential target group and persona. At the end of the work we provide
our conclusion and recommendation.
In the first t part we were focused on the macro environment and provided the DESTEP
analyses. In the ‘demographic’ we point out that Poles value traditional products but at the same time
are very price sensitive. Most of Polish people belong to the older age group which is less price
sensitive. 61% of the society is urbanized which is important for producers of more sophisticated food
due to the fact that this kind of food is more available in big cities. The economic part shows that the
Netherlands is one of the important import partners and the import of cheese in 2008 had a share of
29% of all the country’s import. In social/cultural part we have indicated that the most important
criteria in Poland is price, then it’s the quality of product. Poles prefer to eat polish products, value
polish food and most of this segment’s market share is taken by national producers so it is a challenge
to create the brand awareness. 36% of the population are hard consumers of cheese which means they
eat it almost every day. In technological part we show the means of available transportation in Poland
like railways and roads. Ecological part describes that the awareness of organic food is rising in the
country but there is a problem with distribution system of it and its high price. In the political part we
present the short information about the law system and VAT rates in Poland.
After that, we presented our criteria for selection of the cheese. We chose Romero
IJsselsteijn because it is cow-milk cheese, it’s not Gouda (in Poland there is already a lot of it) and its
price is not higher than 20euros/kg
In import barriers part we indicated that Poland as a member of EU has to follow its trade
regulations. There are some labelling requirements, language requirements for allergen information
and some procedures connected with products of animal origin.
In the ‘overview of the current main cheese/food production and consumption’ we pointed
the most popular eating patterns in Poland and presented polish cheese market (about 90 kinds of
cheese divided into a few groups like hard cheese, curd cheese, processed cheese and blue cheese. ).
We also described a traditional polish raw-milk cheese Oscypek in that part. There is also information
about food industry in Poland.. There is a majority of medium and large farms.
In part 2.5. we provide the study of Poles’ attitude towards food in general and towards raw-milk
cheese. There are very dynamic changes in diary market. There is a rising awareness and attention to
healthy food. Poles people spend about 101PLN monthly for diaries (about 25 Euros) which cannot be
compared with the Netherlands due to much lower food prices in Poland. We distinguished 4 main
types of consumers in Poland: open and innovative consumer, stabilized consumer, average but
rational consumer and traditional consumer. Poles consumes about 0.86kg of cheese monthly. There is
a big consumption growth in the country but organic food market is still in its early stage of
development.
We then presented cultural differences between Poland and the Netherlands following the
Hofstede Model. Tradition is very important for Poles which is relevant for raw milk cheese that is
produced in traditional way.
To research emotional image of the Netherlands in Poland we made a little surway (full
questions and answers in appendix). Generally Poles had a good image of the Netherlands but they
were also aware of the unfriendly issue with the Dutch website against East-Europeans. Most of Poles
linked cheese with the Netherlands and could point out Gouda and Edam as Dutch famous cheese.
We finished this part with a brief information about Slow Food Poland. The NGO exists there since
2002 and is not very popular yet. Its most famous project is supporting the production of Oscypek.
4
We divided competitors for those that you can find In the supermarket- most famous brands
In Poland like ‘Mlekovita’, ‘Piątnica’, ‘Hochland’ and for small producers of raw-milk cheese who
say they products locally. All of them produce cheese in ecologic, traditional way and their prices vary
from 50 to even 200 PLN/kg. We suggested some distribution channels such as own online shops and
platforms (like Allegro- similar to E-bay) and already existing food on-line shops. We also suggested
sophisticated Delicatessen (most popular: ‘Alma’ and ‘Piotr I Paweł’), specialized shops (like
‘World’s cuisine’) and restaurants.
Since Poland is in the European Union, Dutch Raw Milk cheese producers won’t face any
export barriers related to legal aspects.
As a motivation to sell Dutch raw milk cheese you should always be aware that Dutch raw
milk cheese can be considered as special and sophisticated food as well as healthy food and so it can
attract a lot of customers who are interested in these facts.
Even though the consumption per capita in Poland is of a medium level but, due to the fact
that Poland is the only country in the EU that isn’t facing an economic crisis, the consumption of raw
milk cheese is expected to grow. Even though there are many categories of consumers, we have found
out that the most suitable category to which to sell this product is represented by working class, middle
aged, but with higher studies women. Another fact that can contribute to the increase of cheese
consumption is the fact the salary level in Poland has increased constantly since 2008. Some question
that have been taken into consideration when searching for the target group include aspect related to
their passions, past behaviours, family life cycle, life styles and personal goals. Based on this we have
come to the conclusion that the above mentioned category (middle class women) will represent the
most suitable category of consumers for this product. We have developed a persona based on this
research, named Agnieszka, that will show how we picture our perfect consumer, what attitudes they
should have, to whom we will mostly address ourselves to.
Based on our studies, we will demonstrate that the Polish market is the perfect place for doing
business for the Dutch raw milk cheese producers. Given social, political, economic and legal aspect,
Poland is one of the countries that will face the biggest growth when it comes to cheese consumption
on a European level.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 6
2. MACRO Environment .................................................................................................................... 7
2.1. Macro Economical Factors (DESTEP) ................................................................................... 7
2.2. Selection of cheese ................................................................................................................ 11
2.3. Raw Milk cheese import regulations ..................................................................................... 12
2.4. Overview of the current main cheese/food production consumption .................................... 13
2.5. Attitude towards (Artisanal high quality) and towards Raw Milk cheese ............................. 15
2.6. Cultural differences relevant for promotion (Hofstede Model) ............................................. 21
2.7. The Emotional image of the Netherlands (Country of origin image) .................................... 23
2.8. How is the NGO Slow Food perceived in Poland ................................................................. 24
3. MESO Environment ...................................................................................................................... 25
3.1. Current export barriers .......................................................................................................... 25
3.2. Consumer market segments for Raw Milk cheese ................................................................ 25
3.3. Competitors ........................................................................................................................... 28
3.4. Available distribution channels for Raw Milk cheese ........................................................... 30
3.5. Motivations for selling Dutch Raw Milk cheese ................................................................... 31
3.6. Main publications relevant to the consumer or distribution channels ................................... 32
3.7. Societal participants .............................................................................................................. 33
4. Individual motivation for buying Raw Milk cheese ...................................................................... 35
4.1. Potential consumer target group ............................................................................................ 35
4.2. Persona based on research ..................................................................................................... 38
5. Final ............................................................................................................................................... 40
5.1. Conclusion and recommendations ......................................................................................... 40
Sources .................................................................................................................................................. 41
Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 42
Project contract .................................................................................................................................. 42
Blog ................................................................................................................................................... 46
Research findings .............................................................................................................................. 47
Feedback form ................................................................................................................................... 52
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1. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, cheese contributes in healthy balanced diets; it contents lots of protein, vitamins
and has a low glycemic index. There are a lot of different kinds of cheese which differs in a lot of
tastes of cheese. Apart from that, cheese is one of the most natural foods in this world. We all know
Gouda cheese, which is very popular all over the world. But who does actually know Raw Milk
cheese? Raw Milk cheese is produced in a more natural way than industrial cheeses are, like Gouda
and Edam. It is a delicatessen.
Slow Food is an international organization for eco-gastronomic. It is a company which thinks
that food has to be fair, pure and of course good-tasted. Food should be produced without creating
damages to the environment we are living in, to our wellness and to the wellness of animals. Slow
Food is actually the opposite of fast food, which are good-tasted products without caring for the
environment. Slow Food shows a lot of varieties of biological food, which includes Raw Milk cheese.
Slow Food is already known in the Netherlands, but in Poland not as much because it is present there
much shorter.
This is what this project is about: exporting Raw Milk cheese to Poland. Will this be
successful and realizable? That is the main question which this project answers. In our work we are
going to present background information about Polish market; its potential customers, possible
competitors, distribution channels and overall economic or social/cultural situation. It’s a detailed
study about all the important factors for Dutch Raw Milk cheese producers eager to export their
product to Poland.
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2. MACRO ENVIRONMENT
2.1. MACRO ECONOMICAL FACTORS (DESTEP)
In this chapter a research has been described to the country Poland.
Demographic
Poland is a country that is in the central of Europe, its border countries are Germany, Belarus, Russia,
Slovakia etcetera. It is on the 70th place of the country comparison of the world with its total area of
312,685 square kilometres.
Population
Poland has a population of 38,441,588 people (July 2011). There are not a lot of ethnic groups and
nationalities in Poland. 96.7% of the people are Polish and less than half a percent is German. The
official language of Poland is Polish.
Below the age structures of Poland has been given. The percentages are of the whole population. The
raw milk cheese belongs to the group of artisanal high quality food. Polish people are traditional and
price sensitive. Even though high qualitative food is getting more popular, the price is still the most
important criteria which influences their purchases. The younger aged target group is in general the
most price sensitive. As you can see in the figure below, the Polish population is on average not very
young. Most of the Polish people belong to the older age groups. So this could be an advantage for
exporting the raw milk cheese products, since the older age groups aren’t as price sensitive as the
younger age groups. Another thing that has to be pointed out is that pensioners eat most cheese. But
they tend to prefer the most affordable fresh cheese, such as quark. They got used to this type of
cheese, because they ate this type of cheese a lot in their childhood. So it is affected by habits. There
are some more age groups which have the same habits, such as farmers’ households. They used to
produce cheese by themselves, but nowadays a lot of farmers quit producing dairy products.
Age groups Percentage of the population
0 – 14 years old 14.7%
15 – 64 years old 71.6%
65 years and over 13.7%
0-17 years old 24.1%
18-24 years old 11.8%
25-39 years old 20.3%
40-59 years old 27.1%
60-79 years old 14.7%
>80 years and over 2% (Source http://en.poland.gov.pl/Age,Structure,and,growth,rate,314.html)
61% of the total population are urbanized. That means that those people live in a big city as result of
moving from the countryside, also known as the suburbs, to the country itself. This is relevant to be
taken in account for the distribution channel. The products could be sold in the cities, since most of the
people live in those cities and not in the suburbs.
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Economic
Labour force
The labour force of Poland is approximately 17 million people (2009). Most of the people has its
occupation in the services sector (63%). 31.8% of the labour force have its occupation in the industry
sector and the remaining 3.9% has its occupation in the agriculture sector.
Import and export
Polish export rate is approximately €121,9 billion Euros. 7.6% of the total export products are food
and live animals. The major export partner of Poland is Germany (26.06%). But Poland also has the
Netherlands as one of its export partners (4.14%).
Polish import rate is approximately € 126,9 billion Euros and Poland imports a lot of products, for
instance machinery, transport equipment and food. The major import partner is also Germany
(28.08%) and one of the other import partners is also the Netherlands (5.59%) This has a positive
effect on the export team, because Poland is already familiar with the Netherlands.
Dairy products
Below you can find a table of the import of milk dairy
products in Poland. The import of Poland includes the
import of cheese and curds. In 2004 the import of cheese
and curd was 25,7% of the importation of dairy
products, but this increased till 29,8% in 2008. So this
means that the demand of cheese is increasing.
Social - cultural The Polish climate isn’t comparable to the Dutch
climate. Poland has a land climate. That means that it
could be very cold in winters and it could be very warm
in summers.
Language
The official language of Poland is polish. Most business people often speak English on a
conversational level. But the business people from an older age group are less good at speaking
English, and then it is recommended to bring an interpreter during negotiations.
Eating habits and customs
Polish consumers are traditional and price sensitive.
First of all is the price of the products the most
important criteria for the consumers. Even though
high qualitative food is getting more popular, the
price is still the most important criteria which
influences their purchase. The brand has an
important role in the food sector. It depends on the
brand awareness of the consumer either or not they
buy a product. Polish people also prefer domestic
products, that means that they prefer their national
‘’own’’ products. But they are open for new
products in a certain way. Polish people are
traditional, because they prefer to eat more
traditional food that is made at home. But the food and drink habits are slowly becoming more similar
to the Swedish habits. 85% of the market still belong to national producers. So it would be hard to
compete with the national producers, because they have advantages in particularly the food
production. It would take some time to create brand awareness. After creating brand awareness it
would be possible that Poles are willing to buy the product of Slow Food.
9
Polish people buys approximately 6.3 kilograms of milk, milk products and cheese.
Poland has a certain position in production of for instance cow’s milk. So it is possible to produce the
cheese of Polish cow’s milk, since they prefer their own products.
Frequency of hard cheese consumption
36% of the population belongs to heavy consumers of hard cheese. Heavy consumers mean that they
eat it almost every day. 35% of the whole population which buys hard cheese, eats it once or twice in a
week. So they are the moderate consumers.
The second most popular cheese is fresh cheese which is often consumed by 25% of the population.
The older age groups usually purchases this kind of cheese. 15% consumes often melted cheese and
the last 9% of the population consumes frequently mould cheese.
Even though the fresh cheese dominates in the Polish cheese consumption, but the hard cheese has the
largest group of heavy users. This means that the consumers will buy or eat this cheese more often.
Ethnic groups
The biggest part of the population are Roman Catholic with 89.8%. But there are also other religions,
for instance Eastern Orthodox and Protestant. So the biggest part of Poland is allowed to eat/drink
milk products.
But there is a small number of vegans in Poland which aren’t allowed and don’t want to eat/drink
products of animals. Approximately 386,000 Polish people are vegans, that’s approximately 1% of the
total population.
Technological
Transportation
Raw Milk cheese is a product that will stay good for a long time, it won’t rot very fast. So the
transportation could be over railways or roadways.
There is a total railways of 19.428 kilometres in Poland. There is a total roadways of 423.997
kilometres in Poland.
Industries
Poland also produces several agricultural products, namely potatoes, fruits, vegetables, poultry, eggs,
pork and dairy products, which includes milk products as cheese. Poland is good at food processing.
Every year, the industrial production grows with 7%.
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Ecological
Organic/ecological food
Organic farming is getting more and more popular in the European Union, but the growth of
popularity of organic farming staying behind. That means that they aren´t as notorious as in the rest of
the EU. The area of organic farms is just 1% of all the agricultural area. The regulations are not the
factor which keeps the number organic farmers from growing. A Polish research shows that there are
some obstacles which keeps the growth low.
The first main obstacles is that there is a lack of properly educated consumers. A lot of people right
now are less interested in the nature and the environment. Some people aren´t even aware of the
existence of the ecological farmers. A survey of Poland in 2000 shows that the word ´´organic food´´
is unknown or is misunderstood by over half of the respondents. Only 23% of the respondents has
bought organic products and the rest was just aware of it. They were shocked about this number and
they tried to implement programs in educations, like trips to ecological farmers. In this way they start
with students to get them aware of the existence. In 2004 this survey has been done again. But now it
shows that the Polish consumers is getting more aware of the existence of organic food. 71% of the
respondents actually recognized and purchased the products and the others couldn’t define it properly.
The number of people who knows organic food is still growing, so it shows that the implementation of
human well-being, environment and animal well-being has worked well.
Age group Organic food consumers Percentage of the
population
Below 20 years old 9 % 2,2%
20 - 45 years old 45% 37,4%
46 - 65 years old 28 % 28,9%
Above 65 years old 18 % 2,5%
Total 100% 71%
It is also proved that the organic food purchasers consist of women for 63% and of men for 37%. But
this doesn’t mean that men eat less organic food that women. The women are mostly doing the
household.
The second main obstacle is a lack of a distribution system which is efficient enough for organic
products in Poland.
The Polish people who doesn’t purchase organic food says that it has different reasons. The main
reasons for not buying the products are the high prices, unavailability on the market, limited range of
products and lack of confidence in the products.
In this survey it also came clear that the major part of the organic food consumers are people with
higher or secondary education, namely 50,8% and 33,8%. Total consumption of organic food consists
of several different kind of products, such as vegetables, fruit and animal products which includes
milk products as cheese. According to the survey the healthfulness, taste, colour, freshness and
naturalness are the most important features. Most organic food has been bought in specialized organic
food shops. It is also in the survey that the organic food in the actual farms or grocery´s are least sold.
Another survey in 2005 shows us that the people who don´t buy and don’t have interest in organic
food has three main reasons. The first one is that organic food is difficult to get, so it is about the
unavailability of organic food. The second one is that they actually don’t know that much about
organic food and would like to have more information about that, but there is a lack of information
about this kind of food. The last one is the high prices of organic foods.
So after all, prices do count in the purchases of Polish people. But with organic food they accept a
certain raise in prices, because of the nutritious advantages they have with it.
11
% consumers % price increase
53% of the consumers 21 - 30 %
22 % of the consumers 31 %
Political
Poland has been a member of the European Union since 2004. It has a civil law system and there are
changes being introduced as part of a broader democratization process.
Taxes
Poland has some certain taxes which have to be paid by consumers, such as VAT. The VAT rate
consist of three different percentages, which depends on which product it is. First of all, the standard
rate is 23%; this is for goods which are for health care, groceries, building materials and services for
housing construction, transport of persons and hotel services. The second is the 8 % rate which is for
the sale of certain unprocessed or semi-processed products of agriculture, hunting and fishery and
forestry.
2.2. SELECTION OF CHEESE
There are several different kinds of Raw Milk cheeses in the Netherlands. Below, there is a short
description of the cheeses in the short list. Since there a lot of different kinds of cheeses, there were a
few cheeses showed during project. That was the long list. You can find the short list of cheeses which
will be shortly described.
After that a selection will be made based on these descriptions.
1. Olde remeker
€22,80 per kilogram
Cow milk cheese
2. Boerengoudse oplegkaas
€19,90 per kilogram
Cow milk cheese
3. Leidse kaas
€14,98 per kilogram
Cow milk cheese with cumin seeds
4. Tesselse schapenkaas
€29,90 per kilogram
Sheep milk cheese
5. Romero IJsselsteijn
€19,96 per kilogram
Cow milk cheese
Criterion 1; Cow milk cheese
It is known that Polish people like the Gouda cheese which is made of cow milk cheese. They won’t
be able to deal with a complete new kind of cheese which is also a lot more expensive. That is why the
team doesn’t think it will be a good decision to export a kind of cheese which isn’t made of cow milk.
Another point is that it is better not to export a cheese with too many new ingredients in it, such as
cumin seeds. It is already a new thing that the cheese is made of raw milk.
Criterion 2; No Gouda cheese
Nowadays, Gouda cheese is very famous in Poland. This is why the team didn’t want to import
another cheese of the brand Gouda. Polish people may think it is quite similar (same brand) and won’t
buy the Raw Milk cheese instead of the normal Gouda cheese, since it is less expensive.
12
Criterion 3; maximum price of €20
The team set up this criterion, because Polish people are very price sensitive. €20 Euros is the
maximum price we are going to use.
After these criteria, there is just one kind of cheese left, namely Romero IJsselsteijn. The team
will export this kind of cheese, because it is made of cow milk cheese and it is below the maximum
price.
2.3. RAW MILK CHEESE IMPORT REGULATIONS
Trade Barriers and regulations
All business entities operating in Poland have equal access to international trade. However,
this access is subject to trade policy measures introduced by the EU, which Poland as a member is
obliged to observe. So there won’t be any big barriers for companies from the Netherlands that are
willing to import products into Poland, because both countries are members of the EU.
Labelling requirements
Product type like Trademarks and brand names
List of ingredients started with the word Ingredients must show all ingredients and also
including additives in descending order of weight as recorded at the time of their use in the
manufacture and designated by their specific name. In the case of those products that contain
ingredients that can cause allergies or intolerances, a clear indication should be given on the
label by the word “contains” followed by the name of the ingredient.
Net quantity in metric units
Date of minimum
Special conditions for keeping or use
Name or business name and address of the manufacturer, packager or importer established in
the European Union
Country of origin
Lot identification with the marking started with the letter "L".
Language requirements
With the exception of allergen information, which must appear in Polish, the labelling
requirements may appear in one or more official languages of the EU.
The general import procedures for products of animal origin are
Products of animal origin must be presented at a Community border
inspection post for an import control.
Prior notice of the arrival of the products in the border inspection post must
be given in advance in accordance with National rules of the Member State in which the
border inspection post is situated.
The products for shipment must be presented to the border inspection post
accompanied by all the relevant certificates required in EU veterinary
legislation
Shipments will only be accepted if the products are derived from
approved countries (Which the Netherlands are) , regions and establishments as appropriate.
In certain cases, safeguard measures introducing special import conditions or
restrictions may apply.
The procedures as laid down in Commission Regulation No 136/2004 (which the Netherlands
apply) need to be followed.
Food of animal origin may also be submitted in border inspection posts to controls for other
issues than food hygiene and animal health such as: Food additives, materials that got in
contact with the food and food irradiation.
13
Product safety
Producers and sellers of goods purchased by consumers of Poland have special
responsibilities. In general, they must ensure that their products are as safe as possible and that they
comply with all the required standards. A safe product is that, under normal or reasonably foreseeable
conditions of use, presents only minimal risks to human health and safety.
2.4. OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT MAIN CHEESE/FOOD PRODUCTION CONSUMPTION
Food in daily life
The mainstays of the Polish diet are meat, bread, and potatoes. For many Poles, dinner is not
dinner without meat, primarily pork. Bread is consumed and treated with reverence. Poles consume
three-hundred pounds of potatoes per capita per year. Vegetables consumed are local cool weather
crops such as beets, carrots, cabbage and legumes (beans, peas, lentils). Another important source of
nutrition is milk in various forms such as fresh or sour milk, sour cream, buttermilk, whey, cheese, and
butter.
Cheese
About 90 kinds of cheese are manufactured in Poland. The market is mainly divided into hard
cheese, curd cheese, processed cheese and blue cheese. The AC Nielsen’s report demonstrated that
from December 2007 to November 2008 - 73,123 tons of hard cheese were sold for a total amount of
347,5 million EUR. A profit from the sale grew by 8.8%, whereas 3.2% less hard cheese was
purchased in terms of volume. The Gouda-type cheese had the highest value and volume shares in the
market of hard cheese – 28.2% and 30.5% respectively. This type of cheese was followed by the Edam
cheese, salami cheese and Podlaski cheese.
The sale of hard cheese at supermarkets constituted 42% of the total value with a 2.1%
increase, whereas the sale at hypermarkets remained the same and amounted to 29.3% of the total
sales value. It is clear that the modern channel of distribution plays an important role. SM Mlekpol,
Mlekovita Group, Hochland, Spomlek, Bongrain Poland, Lactalis Poland, Polmlek and Arla Foods
offer a wide selection of cheese products. Amongst the hard cheese producers who promoted their
products in the brochures of commercial chains from January to October 2008, SM Spomlek (8.2%),
SM Mlekpol (7.7%) and Polmlek (7.4%) were the leaders.
Curd cheese
The previously quoted report prepared by AC Nielsen showed that the sale of curd cheese rose
by 16.7% last year and amounted to 405 million EUR. Almost 129,000 tons of curd cheese were sold;
natural curd cheese had the biggest share in the market (32.1%) in terms of sales value, while the
products packed individually were most popular (62.9%). Cream cheese constituted 36.2% of the total
sale, whereas cottage cheese had a share of 21.5%. The least popular curd cheese types were Feta,
Mozzarella, ewes’ milk cheese Bryndza or smoked ewe’s milk cheese Oscypek.
14
Processed cheese
According to AC Nielsen, from December 2007 to November 2008, Poles spent 157 million
EUR on processed cheese, i.e. 15.5% more than in the corresponding period of the previous year. The
sales volume totalled 33,300 tons and rose by 2.1% as compared with the same period the year before.
Products sold in blocks, which had a 36.5% value share and a 40.6% volume share in the market, were
the best-selling processed cheese types. Cheese in slices was the second most popular product with
respectively 32.5% and 30.5% shares in the market. It was followed by portioned cheese, which had
an 18.2% value share and a 15.8% volume share in the market. Polish customers most often bought
processed cheese at supermarkets (almost 34% of value share in the market). The said products were
also purchased at small and medium-sized groceries, which altogether had a 41% share in the market.
Blue cheese
These types of cheese products were increasingly popular among Polish gourmets and cooks –
their sale grew by 16.4% in terms of value and 6.8% in terms of volume. In the analysed period, 7,467
tons were sold for a total sum of 57,5 million EUR.
Oscypek cheese
Oscypek, Oszczypek is a smoked cheese made of salted sheep milk exclusively in the Tatra
Mountains region of Poland. Oscypek is a protected trade name under the EU's Protected Designation
of Origin geographical indication.
This type of cheese has been manufactured in the Podhale region in southern Poland for over
400 years. Throughout this time the production methods have not changed much, and this traditional
artisan craft has been passed down from generation to generation. At the moment this product can be
sold in Poland to such hypermarket chains as Geant, Hit, and Biedronka. Once the details of the
authentication process with the European Union are finalized, the product will be available in all the
countries of the European Union.
According to Slow Foods, an organization specializing in issues related to Geographical
Indicators, points out that Osypeck has been introduced to the world at the most recent Paris Food
Show. In order to be marketed in the European Union, however, the authentication process needs to be
completed. Michal Jeziorski mentions in his Warsaw Voice article that: "Oscypek, or sheep's cheese
produced by Polish highlanders, may also soon become an export hit. After European borders open,
Oscypek, as a regional product, may conquer European markets. For the time being, efforts are being
made-by the interested local governments and organizations-to reserve the trademark for Polish
highlanders, who have been making the cheese since the 15th century" (warsawvoice.pl). Hence, it
will be interesting to see if Oscypek will be as popular in other parts of Europe.
Food industry in Poland
Food industry is one of the key sectors of the Polish national economy. Its share in GDP
stands at about 6%, and the gross added value it generates fetches around EUR 6 billion. The
importance of this branch is also reflected by the fact that it holds an approximately 20% share
products sold by the entire industry and an about 16% share in total employment of this sector. On its
accession to the EU, Poland has grown to become the sixth biggest food producer and a major net
exporter of agricultural and food products.
Polish dairy sector faces a process of deep restructuring as well at the level of farming and as
at the level of dairy industry with growing concentration and modernization of production and
processing are the main outcomes. The changes are targeted at the improvement of in the sector’s
economic efficiency which is the basis for a long term competitive position. Changing market
environment make able to produces and process milk only the most effective and competitive units.
The above hypothesis is confirmed by a considerable decline in milk procurement prices (farm gate)
and thus the profitability of production in 2009.
15
The restructuring and modernization processes in Polish agriculture concerns particularly the
concentration of production in medium and large farms. Over the period of 2004-2009 the number of
farms with cows dropped by 30% to 495 thousand. Average size of dairy herd increased from 4 to 4,5
cows. The rise in concentration is also confirmed by a significant decline in the number of milk
suppliers to dairy industry. According to the Agricultural Market Agency (AMA) in the 2009/10
marketing year the number of farms with milk production quota totalled 192 thousand, i.e. 46% down
on 2004/05. Presently an average milk producer (supplier) owns 10 dairy cows and delivers 43 tons of
milk to the dairy industry versus 6 dairy cows and 27 tons respectively in 2004. On the other hand the
concentration process is not finished yet and as compared major competing countries in the EU milk
producers’ structure in Poland is quite fragmented.
Over the period of 2004-2009 Polish dairy farms only once exceeded the milk quota by 1,8%
in 2005/06. Procurement accounts roughly for 75% of milk production versus 90-95% in the EU. In
consequence the efficiency of production factors (land, labour and capital) is low. The smallest farms
produce milk using extensive methods with very low productivity of labour and capital. In 2009 milk
procurement has been increasing on a regular basis and in the whole year is likely total ca 9 millions
which would be 3,5% up on 2008. The economic crisis and a decline in the world prices eroded the
profitability of milk production and processing. Since the second half of 2008 milk procurement prices
in Poland (at farm gate) have show a downward tendency. In 2009 the prices were lower than in 2006
and one of the lowest in the EU.
2.5. ATTITUDE TOWARDS (ARTISANAL HIGH QUALITY) AND TOWARDS RAW MILK CHEESE
Dairy market in Poland has a great potential in a comparison with other markets of food product due to
the popularization of this category of products in the recent years. The changes are very dynamic and
are mainly affected by the degree with which market offer matches changing preferences of buyers
which on the other hand are altering together with a change in lifestyle of consumers that manifests
itself through:
increasing attention to the health and nutritional values of food products,
reduce of time spending on household activities, including preparing meals,
expectation of the convenience of food products,
expectation of the facility of preparation,
Expectation of the availability of food products (Adamczyk, 2005).
The consequence of these changes is that consumers choose convenient food and food such as “light”
or “diet”. Both of these groups include dairy products, especially modern, because modern products on
dairy market have a great potential and there exists a low market saturation of this category of
products.
This paper presents buying behaviour of consumers who gave opinion about traditional and modern
dairy products. The basic criterions for the selection of the respondents were market saturation level
for each product and the degree of processing of a product, which includes traditional (low-level
processing) and the modern products (with a high degree of processing). When examining the degree
of saturation, milk desserts and milk drinks are included in the group of modern products ("new
generation") with high flexibility of income and consumption expenditure (1.0 and above 1.0). In
contrast, yoghurts and cream cheese were among the traditional products with a higher saturation level
and flexibility close to 1.0.
In 2010, a survey has been realized in Mazovian Voivodeship (Poland) on a number of 100 people, out
of which, 61 women and 39 men. 35 percent of the trial subject comes from big cities (with over
100,000 inhabitants), 44 percent from smaller towns and 21% live in the country.
16
Analyzing shopping habits of the examined people one can observe varied preferences regarding
frequency of buying dairy products and amount of money spent on it. 35 percent of the trial subjects
buy dairy products twice a week. A similar number of people buy more than twice a week and 30
percent less. Average expenses for dairy products are approximately 101,5 PLN, however gender
differentiate this amount – women spend over 120 PLN per month while men monthly buy dairy
products for almost half of this sum (69 PLN). It may follow from the fact that in Poland women do
the shopping more often buying also for other members of the family. Majority of respondents (over
60 percent) declare buying dairy products in self-service stores (supermarkets and megastores).
Interesting is that almost 30 percents of the people point to small neighbourhood shops and markets as
the places where they buy dairy products. It seems like these places may correspond to consumer
preferences of safe places to buy food necessities. Preference for buying in self-service stores reflects
results regarding sources of information about dairy products (fig. 1). The majority of respondents
choose impersonal forms of acquiring information, i.e.: advertisement or product packaging (almost
60 percent).
Consumer asked about knowledge of the brands and producers of chosen dairy products first of all
pointed Danone, Bakoma and Zott. Such results confirm existing distribution of shares on polish dairy
market since there are three groups of producers – group of the main leaders (indicated above) with
overall share of 75 percent of the market, group of the local leaders (especially noticeable in analysis
of cream cheese) and local producers with low market position (Szwacka-Salmonowicz, Chudzian,
2007). In the questionnaire survey however most popular brands differ considerably with reference to
particular product categories.
When it comes to types of consumers, in Poland we distinguish 4 types of consumers, each with
specific characteristics:
I. Forward-looking, open and innovative consumer. He follows with the fashion and market
trends, pays attention to new types or new brands of dairy products just launched into the
market. He is interested in modifications of products being already in trade, concerning e.g.
packaging. This is not a loyal consumer, always in search for novelty. In his structure of
consumption of dairy products there is no traditional product. This consumer eats or rather
tastes e.g. cottage-like cheeses, cheese spreads, the so-called sandwich cheeses, milk desserts,
17
sliced, foil-packed, convenient products. Buys flavours new on the market, i.e. ementaler,
ham. He looks out for promotion and marketing, but only for information on market news.
II. Stabilised consumer. He has a rather high income, declares his intention to increase the
amount of consumed cottage cheeses, cottage-like cheeses and cheese spreads. This consumer
is rather loyal with respect to types of dairy products like cottage-like cheeses and processed
that he already tried. His decisions concerning purchase are based on the functionality of the
product, convenience of use, flavour preferences and preferences of specified types of cheese.
III. Average but rational consumer. He does not pay attention to producers but rather to the
price of the purchased product. This factor is more important for him than preferences of
particular dairy products. This consumer appreciates tasting organised in stores and special
price promotions. He won’t pay a higher price for the better quality and functional packaging.
This group of consumers prefers traditional farmer’s cheeses, homogenised cheeses, processed
cheese in cubes and aluminium and plastic cups.
IV. Traditional customer, both with respect to the type, taste and form of the purchased product.
Therefore, this consumer usually purchases traditional products like farmer’s cheeses and
homogenised cheeses with traditional flavours, processed cheeses in cubes and bars. Middle
age or elderly person, rather with low income. He or she does not pay attention to novelties
and product innovations.
In the case of cheese consumption, the smallest changes related to level of consumption were
occupied. In last year the average consumption of total cheeses (cottage cheeses, processed cheeses,
rennet cheeses and moulded cheeses) equalled 0,86 kg per person per month. Traditional cheeses like
farmers’ cheeses, processed cheeses in typical packages are replaced with cottage cheeses, cream
cheeses, homogenised cheeses with fruit chunks and so on.
Due to the economic slowdown, the global forecast for luxury goods is rather modest. However, the
future is much brighter for the Polish market as luxury goods have become increasingly desirable and
in greater demand. This will be further fuelled by the addition of new entrants to the Polish market,
such as Italian luxury car giant Ferrari and global luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, which is set to
open its first store in spring 2011, and Carolina Herrera, which opened its first boutique in 2010, along
with the development of new distribution channels and infrastructure.
Polish society’s growing wealth manifested itself in rising sales of an array of consumer goods,
especially pronounced in 2007 when a total of 292,000 new cars were sold, of a combined value of
US$ 7 billion (Maciejewski, 2007). Purchases of apartments and houses, especially in big urban
centres, received a boost from cheap mortgage credits, whose 2007 value reached 57 billion zloty, or
some US$ 18bn, according to figures from the Polish Banks Association. The real estate market began
to show signs of overheating towards the end of 2007, and in 2008 it was brought to a standstill by a
tumbling domestic demand, responding to the global financial crisis, tighter access to mortgage loans,
etc.
Other factors influencing consumption growth in recent years include an increase in real incomes,
appreciation of the domestic currency, broader access to consumer credit and growing consumer
aspirations among large segments of Polish society. With a stronger zloty, imported consumer goods
got relatively cheaper, as did foreign travel, attracting more and more Poles. These trends were
checked in 2008, especially in the latter half of the year, reflecting the crisis fallout and a depreciating
zloty. Recent years saw powerful manifestations of a globalization of consumption in Poland, fed by
the expansion of the internet, peoples’ increased international mobility, a persuasive hedonistic
pressure in the media and the increasingly popular practice of
shopping in pedestrian malls, those temples of consumerism, where many Poles engage in their
popular pastime, described by sociologists as recreational shopping.
Eating out is another trend characteristic of developed consumer societies. Owing to factors such as
changing lifestyles (with emphasis on work and career), fashion, rising incomes and growing wealth,
18
Poles have increasingly been turning to restaurants, catering establishments, etc. Eating-out
expenditure rose 19% in 2006 and is more likely to continue growing in coming years.
The idea of sustainable consumption and production is embraced by government programs, such as the
“Strategy for changing production and consumption patterns towards sustainable development”,
adopted in October 2007.
The Strategy proposes to launch and popularize arrangements, which will further a sustainable pattern
of economic growth and minimize its adverse impact on the environment.
An important element of such new environment-friendly consumption patterns is provided by organic
food. Its sales in Poland are put at US$ 65 million by 62 International Consultants, and at between
US$ 100 million and US$ 200 million by the Institute for Healthy Lifestyle Research and
Development. Even if one finds the actual level to be higher than these estimates, it will still be less
than 1% of the food market, which the PMR research agency values at US$ 65 billion in 2007
(Drewnowska, 2007). According to estimates of IERiGŻ farm economics institute this proportion is
going to increase to between 3% and 4% by 2013.
While doing the shopping, how often do you
think about the following:
Percentage of respondents
Rarely Often Always Never
Who produced the product, and who profits from it? 42 24 6 28 Do I really need it? 13 46 30 11 Instead of buying this product, could I buy a second-
hand one, or turn to hiring/leasing instead? 27 31 2 40
Were nature conservation principles observed in the
production process? 31 29 10 30
Are its components safe for the environment? 33 33 9 25 Can it be recycled; is it biodegradable? 32 38 10 20 Can I buy a similar product made locally? 26 38 6 30 Does the producer support local communities? 26 15 2 58 Do direct producers get fair pay? 32 16 2 50 What are the working conditions for those making the
product? 37 22 5 36
Does the producer comply with the principles of fair
advertisement and information? 23 42 8 27
Was the product tested on animals? 23 30 16 31
To 76% of those surveyed, sustainable consumption means reasonable budget management, debt
aversion, and living within one’s means, and 88% identifies the notion with reasonable shopping and
resisting pressures from people around them, the media, etc. These attitudes largely seem to be more
declarative and not quite reflected in actual consumer behaviour, given the level of household
borrowing and the Polish consumer’s high susceptibility to advertising, as indicated by empirical
research findings. As the present survey demonstrated, the respondents have no problems in
associating sustainable consumption with what could be termed as ‘politically correct’ behaviour,
promoted by the media and various institutions involved in public education. Typical associations set
in motion by the ‘sustainable consumption’ notion have to do with the following areas (cf. Table 3):
• water and electricity consumption
• treatment of waste products
• food consumption
• renewable energy
• organic farming
In addition to consumer awareness, the implantation of sustainable consumption requires much of
multifaceted action in the spheres of production, distribution (including retailing) and – last but not
least – widespread educational campaigns. In practice, behaviour compatible with sustainable
consumption standards still faces a host of barriers.
Asked about such impediments, the respondents pointed primarily to eco-friendly products’ high
prices and also to the mental barriers reflecting insufficient knowledge and ignorance of benefits from
19
purchasing eco-friendly products (27%). Some 30% of those questioned fingered the causes for which
consumers are responsible, such as:
idleness and lack of consumer awareness
consumerist attitudes
Poles’ individualism and egocentrism
Organic food market in Poland is still at the early stage of development, despite the significant growth
of the number of organic farms and area under organic production. Underdeveloped processing
industry, dispersed agricultural production, lack of appropriate infrastructure and organization of trade
in organic products and low market orientation of Polish organic producers are all considered as the
factors hampering development of domestic organic market in Poland.
Polish consumers increasingly express concern about how their food products are produced,
processed, and regulated (Ozimek et al., 2005). They tend to consider organic food as the safest food
category (Zakowska-Biemans, 2008b). One can argue that organic food produced according strictly
defined standards is a product that meets the expectation of contemporary consumers concerned with
various aspects of food safety and buying organic food could be a certain risk reducing strategy.
Despite the fact that there is no unambiguous evidence that organic foods are healthier than
conventional foods, organic foods contain less harmful residues and on the basis of the precautionary
principle alone, hoosing organic foods appears to be an entirely rational decision (Chen, 2007). In the
opinion of Polish consumers, organic farming and organic food have positive connotations when the
concerns of contemporary consumers come into play: the health quality of food, the safety of
consumed food, and the influence of production methods applied in agriculture on the natural
environment and genetic modification of food products (Tyburski & Zakowska-Biemans, 2007). Other
concerns such as animal welfare were ranked lower in all the three surveys. However, ethical concerns
that belong to credence attributes, meaning that they cannot be experienced directly through
consumption are playing increasingly important role in contemporary consumers’ food choice.
The growing disposable incomes of Poles will continue to boost demand for luxury goods and
services, and although the Polish luxury goods market is not forecast to sustain the stellar growth
experienced over the review period due to its enhanced base, its projected trajectory is nonetheless
impressive. The performance of its luxury goods will allow Poland to maintain its ranking of 20th out
of the 26 markets covered by Euro monitor International's luxury goods research by 2015, whilst it
will continue to remain as one of the top 10 growth markets (+38%) over 2010-2015, ahead of eighth-
placed Singapore (+34%).
Recent scientific studies have shown a dramatic change in polish consumer behaviour.
Nowadays, polish enthusiasm towards foreign brands is declining and this is especially visible in the
case of food. Some explanations might include their patriotic, nationalistic, ethnocentric tendencies
among Polish consumers and their fear of foreign capital domination in their national economy.
Studies have shown that the tendency to buy or use domestic products is more widespread among
women, older people, with lower incomes, that come from smaller towns.
The changing structure of household expenditure in recent years also shows that Polish society
is becoming wealthier. The average spending on food and clothing is decreasing systematically – in
2000, this amounted to almost 40% of all household expenditure, whereas in 2004 it amounted to only
34%.
The average household spending pattern seems to have remained relatively stable within the
space of the recent years. Food and drinks still constitute almost 30% of the entire household budget
and expenditure connected with rent and electricity constitutes a further 21%.
The following table shows in percentages how the average spending of a household. As we can see, a
normal household, out of its total income, allocates 24 % on food, this category being the second, after
housing and household fuels.
20
Also, recent studies have shown that in Poland there is a fast growing demand for ready to eat
goods, conditioned by the fact lesser and lesser people wish to spend their time cooking and shopping
for utilities.
A study in 2005 has shown that every 3rd
polish person claims to be buying organic food,
meaning that, nowadays, the market for organic food has well developed and that much more Poles
are now buying organic food.
Based on recent surveys, it has been shown that Polish people believe that branded goods are
of better quality, availability and are much safer. Although some polish people have declared that they
would be willing to buy their favourite brands regardless of their price, in figures, this population
represents only 3% of the total population.
The tendencies and preferences of the polish consumers are also reflected in the share of
goods sold by supermarket under private labels, a figure that amounts only 4%. These products that
are produced under private label are perceived as being cheap and of low quality. Only 35% of polish
consumers believe that these products can be compared to branded products as relies their quality.
The next chart shows the average monthly per capita consumption. (In kilos)
This last table is meant to emphasize factors that influence the polish consumers to buy certain
goods.
Composition of household expenditure
Food, beverages and tabacco
Household goods and servicesr
Leisure and education
Clothing and footwear
Percentage 20
0
21
There is some information that we can draw from this table. Only 8% of the consumers claim
that they buy whatever they desire, regardless of its price. More than 50% (56%) claim that they do
not care about the brands. And about 46% claim that they tend to buy illegal copies of famous brands.
This also shows that young polish people are the most brands conscious.
2.6. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES RELEVANT FOR PROMOTION (HOFSTEDE MODEL)
In times of globalization it is very important to be aware of cultural differences and the
knowledge of the impact of the cultural differences and how to handle them is one of the keys to
success in global business.
A culture is being developed by several people, minimum two persons, who share some same
ways of behaviours or rites. Of course every person is also an individual and sees life with different
eyes but still there are some shared values and behaviors of some people. Comparing different
countries you can see that there are some kinds of behaviours or sentiments that are shared by the
people of this country. This is what we call a culture of a country.
These cultural differences will be meet at companies. People react in different ways about
what they think a company and the culture of the company has to look like. The sentiments of power
and uncertainty are very important aspects of the opinions of a company.
Hofstede, a Dutch expert of cultural sciences, divides the cultural differences in six parts.
Power Distance Index ( PDI )
The PDI describes how the power is distributed in a culture and how the people react to an unequal
distribution of power.
Individualism versus collectivism ( IDV)
In countries with a high IDV- index values like self-determination and individual responsibility are
valued very highly and in countries with a low IDV-index people care more about a corporate feeling
and the integration in a community is more important.
0 20 40 60 80 100
Price
Quality
Aestethics
Habits
Brands
Polish image
Advertisment
Fashion
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Masculinity versus femininity (MAS )
The MAS describes the shaping of the characteristics of the two sexes. There are some values which
are considered as feminine characteristics and some values which are considered as masculine.
Feminine values are for example values like solicitousness and corporation and as masculine
characteristics ambition and competitiveness are regarded.
Uncertainty avoidance index ( UAI)
The UAI explains the feelings about uncertainty. In some countries people feel very uncomfortable
about uncertain situations and they try to avoid them with setting up a lot of rules. In other countries in
contrast uncertainty is accepted and people are not really afraid of it. They live much more tolerant
and open-minded and they don`t have so much rules to follow.
Long-term orientation (LTO)
LTO describes for how long people are planning their future. This can also be different from culture to
culture.
Indulgence versus restraint ( IVR)
In cultures with a high level of tolerance of indulgence having fun and happiness is very important for
the people. In contrast cultures with a low level of indulgence people live with much more restraint
and they are much more reserved.
Regarding the Polish culture we see that family means a lot to the polish people. Referring to
our project how to sell cheese in Poland this is a very important aspect because having a meal with the
family is a kind of celebration in Poland. For doing business in Poland it is good to know that polish
people are gregarious in character and the greeting in the beginning of a meeting is valued very highly.
Please find below a graphic of the Hofstede model for Poland.
As you can see the PDI is reaching a quite high level. This shows that power is distributed
very unequally. So for doing business in Poland you have to expect a hierarchical structure were every
position is clearly defined.
With an IDV of 60 you have to be aware that Poland is a country with a high level of individualism
and so the Polish people see themselves more as an “I” than a “we”.
Regarding the MAS you can see that Poland has also a high score which means that there are
more values which are considered as masculine values like competitiveness and ambitious. So the
people “live in order to work” and becoming a manager could be a great aim.
The highest level in Poland reaches the UAI. This fact is extremely important when you want
to do business in Poland. Polish people really try to avoid uncertainty and that’s why you will find a
lot of rules which have to be followed in order to avoid uncertainties. Unorthodox behaviour and ideas
are not tolerated and you should first know which behaviour is expected while doing business.
23
However the LTO reaches only a quite low level and so Poland can be considered as a short term
orientated culture.
Summing up all these aspects you can see that cultural differences exist, how strong they are
depends of course on the people who are working together and for doing successfully international
business it is very important to be aware of these differences and to know how to cope with them.
2.7. THE EMOTIONAL IMAGE OF THE NETHERLANDS (COUNTRY OF ORIGIN IMAGE)
The cheese trade in Poland is very strongly based on the Dutch cheese such as Gouda or Edam.
However, these cheese don’t have much in common with real Dutch cheese, most of them is basically
produced in Poland.
It is very hard to generally estimate emotional image of Holland with respect to cheese in Poland.
That is why we decided to make a little research among Polish consumers that live in the big cities or
very close to it. It’s because people that live in these areas in Poland usually have more money than
people from small towns. They also have bigger possibilities to visit specialized shops, shopping molls
and there is bigger percentage of Internet use. All of the questioned people had at least bachelor degree
or, if they were younger, they were studying in universities. We decided to divide them for 3 smaller
groups by age:
a) Young people up to 30 years
b) Adults between 31-55 years
c) Adults after 55 years.
We asked people from every age-group three questions:
1. How do they perceive Netherlands?
2. Do they know Dutch cheese and what are their feelings about it?
3. Would they be eager to buy Dutch cheese that is produced naturally and supported by
the organization Slow Food?
We hereby present you the sum up of our research. You can find the whole questions and answers
session in the appendix.
1st group: young people under 30 years:
In this group people usually connect Nederland with tulips, freedom, soft drugs and bikes.
They usually tasted Dutch cheese while travelling, know types like Gouda, Edam and they perceive all
of kinds as very tasty. A few of them also tried different, more sophisticated types of the Dutch
cheese. The reason for that is their quite big experience in travelling around the Europe. Some of them
also recognized the Slow Food organization. People that were closer to the age of 30 (so more than 25
years) who already had their own source of income were more eager to buy the cheese for that kind of
price. However, most of them indicated that it is a bit too high for the polish market.
2nd
group: people between 31-55 years:
People from this group had a variety of opinions. Some of them linked the Netherlands with
its geographical settlement, some with economic situation; they also pointed typically bikes, tulips and
windmills as typical images of the country. Most of them couldn’t really indicate any example of the
Dutch cheese and if they did they pointed Gouda and Edam. They also indicated a big price of the
cheese in comparison to polish prices. Some of them said that would buy cheese occasionally.
3rd
group: people above 55 years:
In this group people linked the Netherlands with tulips, windmills, wooden shoes. Some
claimed that nowadays it is country unfriendly for the emigrants (due to the very loud in Poland action
24
that was taken by one of the Dutch political party). Also in this group most of people pointed Gouda
and Edam as the most popular Dutch cheese, however people after 65 years old (retired) were very
reluctant to buy an expensive, traditional Dutch cheese. It’s because they are retired and do not have
such big incomes as people who still work.
To conclude, Poles link the Netherlands mostly with such images like tulips, windmills, bikes.
Many people recognize most popular Dutch cheese like Gouda. Some of young people (who
nowadays travel a lot) tried some more kinds of Dutch cheese. However, some Polish mentioned
unfriendly action against East European emigrants that was taken in Holland. It is not a good sign for
Dutch producers because it may lead to reluctant behaviours in connection with Dutch products.
People who were most eager to buy cheese and who appreciated the way of its production were about
30 to 55 years old.
You will find the complete answers in the Appendix
2.8. HOW IS THE NGO SLOW FOOD PERCEIVED IN POLAND
The NGO ‘Slow Food’ is present In Poland since December 2002. The reason for such a late
introduction this organization is that Poland keeps chasing the West habits and it forgets what is really
valuable in their origin market but finally it was a time to change that.
Structure of the organizations is based on ‘conviviums’- these are associations of people who
think the same, feel the same and aim the same: to provide possibility of having the full access to
healthy, valuable cuisine from all over the world. The first convivium was set in Krakow- it’s the city
that is the most associated with culture and good taste in Poland (not only in architectonic or art
meaning but also in food habits).
What is interesting the first project of Slow Food was connected with a famous, polish, very
distinctive cheese called ‘Oscypek’. It is with family. ally produced in the South of Poland and
appreciated all across the country.
Although Slow Food in Poland is known only for a few years, the ‘slow food’ tradition in this
country is very old. It’s because people there value for natural ingredients and they’ve been always
appreciated natural food. For Polish people- slow food is the food that was cooked by their grandmas-
so it brings to their mind tradition and a very strong value such as close relationships with family.
However, Polish people forgot a bit about these traditions due to the pace of their life, working long
hours etc. They shift to fast foods and that is what this NGO’s is trying to change. Now more and more
agricultural farms and companies try to get ecological certificate. Polish consumers become more
aware although this change is coming slowly.
To sum up, The Slow Food Organization is becoming more popular in Poland although it’s still
not a ‘boom’ of that kind of consumers’ awareness. However, we can be very optimistic considering
this trend due to the long-lasting polish tradition concerning natural food.
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3. MESO ENVIRONMENT
3.1. CURRENT EXPORT BARRIERS
To start off there are barriers on different areas, such as social-cultural, political, economic,
legal etcetera. Raw Milk cheese is a product that is not very well-known in Poland, but biological
products which includes raw milk, is quite popular. Those biological dairy products are getting more
and more popular in Poland, so the Raw Milk cheese could be sold legally in Poland. The European
Union set up several agreements which includes the agreement for Agriculture in Europe. Except for
the import and export quotas, there is a rule of free movement of goods existing. This makes the trade
within the European Union easier. Since Poland is a member of the European Union, there are no
export barriers which are hard to compete on the legal area. Before Poland joined the EU, the Polish
government maintained very high taxes for the products and services which were exported to Poland.
In this way the government could protect their own economy by raising the costs for the foreign
competitors. The prices of the goods of the foreign competitors would raise and they would become
less competitive compared to the Polish goods.
According to a farmer we interviewed, most important barriers are evaded by the membership
at the EU. As described in chapter 2.3, the products should meet a several number of requirements and
regulations before it can be exported to Poland. A couple of examples are the labelling requirements
and the language requirements. The borders are open for member countries within the EU. Besides the
legal area, there are still some export barriers on other areas.
The transport of the Raw Milk cheese from the Netherlands to Poland does need a lot of
requirements, because Raw Milk cheese should be transported in a good temperature. The cheese does
have a long expiration date, but it should be kept in good conditions. Such as the temperature the
cheese will be transported in. In an interview a farmer said it was very important that the right
temperature will be maintained, otherwise the quality of the cheese will decrease.
There are some inevitable barriers such as the long distance, the difference in languages and
cultures. All countries have their own languages and norms and values. But the different currency is
also one of the barriers. They actually did join the EU, but that doesn’t mean that they had to take the
Euro as there currency as well. So they still maintain the Polish currency PLN.
3.2. CONSUMER MARKET SEGMENTS FOR RAW MILK CHEESE
Despite low consumption per capita, dairy products sell well. Yoghurt, cottage cheese, hard
cheese, milk and cream were shortlisted among the 20 best-selling products in the last research period.
According to the data gathered by AC Nielsen, in the period from December 2007 to November 2008,
the sale of yoghurt increased by 14% in terms of value and 7,2% in terms of volume as compared to
the corresponding period of the previous year. The sale of curd cheese products (natural, cottage,
cream, mozzarella and feta cheese) grew by 16,7 % and 5.4% respectively in the same period. The net
gross profit from the sale of cheese rose by 8,8% but the volume of sold kilograms decreased by 3,2%.
Milk recorded a value increase of sales by 12,3% with an insignificant volume drop by 1,5%.
In Poland, consumption is dominated by fresh cheese. The following table will show the consumer
preferences of cheese types.
26
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION VARIABLES
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENT VARIABLLE DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS
AGE In Poland, age group of 55+ accounted
for more than 23.9% of the total dairy food
consumption.
GENDER Although the role of the man in polish
society have diversified in the late years, still, the
women are still considered the head of the family,
and therefore we shall concentrate our attention
on a female groups of consumers
INCOME Since the vast majority of polish
inhabitants have an average income, we shall
focus on exactly that category of consumers that
have a medium level of income, but that can
afford to choose from all the products placed on
the market. (The average net salary is around 700
Euros.)
SOCIAL CLASS Based on recent studies it has been
proven that in Poland, the elderly class of the
population is responsible for the vast majority of
the consumption of cheese. Although this
category has a vast majority, 55.7% of polish
population belongs to the age category between
25 and 64. We would like to address ourselves
middle and upper middle working class because
they represent the vast majority of the population.
FAMILY LIFE CYCLE Everybody nowadays understands the
importance of a healthy diet and there for we will
address persons no matter their family life cycle,
whether they are baby-boomers, sole survivor or
full-net I.
Cheese
White fresh cheese
Processed cheese
Hard cheese
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GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION OF THE POPULATION
GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
VARIABLE
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS
REGION There region where we plan to expand is the
country of POLAND
SIZE OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA Poland has a population of about 38 million
inhabitants.
POPULATION DENSITY We are interested to address ourselves to an urban
population, a population that belongs to cities that
have more than 1.2 million inhabitants. Urban
consumers accounted for 61.3% of the total
dairy food consumption in 2008.
PSHYCOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION
VARIABLE
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS
VALUES We are looking for consumers that have
strong values and beliefs, that are generous, that
are open minded, consumers with which we can
relate and build a long lasting relationship.
ATTITUDES We are looking for trust-worthy, curious
consumers, consumers with a sense of freedom,
loyal, kind and helpful future consumers.
ACTIVITIES People that bear in mind the fact that you
should lead a healthy life will be sought, and
thus, we are looking to promote those kinds of
activities as well as any other kind of activities
that are NOT harmful, abusive, that promote
mistrust, activities that promote good values.
BEHAVIOURISTIC SEGMENTATION
BEHAVIOURISTIC SEGMENTATION
VARIABLES
DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS
BENEFITS SOUGHT& BRAND LOYALTY We want to approach consumers that
seek as main benefit to improve their health and
to create a long term relationship, to become loyal
to our brand.
USAGE RATE We would like for our consumers to buy
the products at least once a week.
READINESS TO BUY We are looking for consumers that to
hesitate when faced with the decision to buy our
product.
In 2005, dairy exports grew by 50% to about EUR924 million, mainly due to high prices on the world
market. Most Polish exports were channelled to the EU market. However, the year’s success was
spoilt by the European Commission’s decision to fine dairy producers for exceeding the milk quota for
the year 2005. High dispersion of the industry remains a problem and will eventually lead to
consolidation
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3.3. COMPETITORS
In Poland you can find a big variety of cheese producers whose products are easily
available in local shops and super- or hypermarkets.
These are for example Polish producer ‘Piątnica’- that produces mostly white
cheese, and popular in Poland cottage cheese. The usual cost of one small package
of it equals about 3PLN (about 70 cents). The company
describes itself as very traditional, it exists from 1965 and
value ecological aspects of production.
Another popular company is ‘Mlekovita’. It’s much bigger company that
produces variety of milk products. The first notes about this company come from
1947. It’s the biggest company in milk business in Poland. It offers a big variety
of cheese, milk, yoghurt etc. In its offer there are also ‘Dutch type cheeses’ like
Gouda (about 20PLN/kg – about 5euros/kg) or Edam (the same price).
Next famous cheese producer whose products can be easily found in Poland is
German ‘Hochland’. It also offers variety of products from cream cheese to
popular cheese like Gouda, Maasdamer, Edam. Although it’s not Polish
producer it is so popular in this country that it was necessary to include it.
However, we wouldn’t recommend these most popular producers to be perceived as most
important competitors in Poland. Of course, on the one hand Polish consumers usually look for that
kind of products so it is important to take these companies into consideration but on the other hand
Dutch cheese farmers should be focused on the niche market. That is why we would like to present
some raw-cheese producers whose products cannot be found in popular supermarkets but only in
specialized shops. They are produced locally and their price is usually higher then price of cheese in
supermarkets.
We would like to describe Polish eco-cheese producers. These are mostly small, regional producers
who do not produce big quantities as the great companies.
A. EKOSERY.PL
It’s the website of small ecological cheese producer. It is run by the marriage couple of two
graduates of Szczecin University of Agriculture. They offer products that have Agro Bio Test
certificate- which is the proof that no kind of chemical ingredients are provided neither to cheese
neither to animals. They offer for example ‘Cygier’ cheese (a little bit similar to ricotta cheese),
‘kreuzer’ that is a kind of blue cheese and is produced in a few kinds: such as with basil, cumin,
oregano and others. They do not provide the prices on their website.
B. SERYGRADZKIE.PL
It’s also the eco-friendly cheese producer. However, here we can find a bit bigger offer of
cheese. It offers a few cheese and every of them costs 60PLN/kg (about 15 Euros), only 10-months
and older cheese costs about 100/kg (about 20 Euros). Shipping costs equals 15PLN (about 4 Euros).
We can order there both goat and cow-milk cheeses.
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C. KOPA.PL
Another ecological farm, supported by Slow Food Poland. It is situated in the south part of the
country- Silesia. All its cheese have Eco certificate. They produce only goat-milk cheese. They offer
about 15 kinds of goat cheese which prices vary from 50 to 100 PLN/kg (about 12 to 20 Euros/kg).
You can easily order any kind of cheese from their offer through the website.
D. SERYWIZAJNY.ORG.PL
It’s the association of about 17 cheese producers from the north-east region of Poland-
Wiżajna. It’s supported by Slow Food Poland. They produced typical for this region cheese called
‘podpuszczkowy’ which is connected with the producing process. They do not provide the prices on
their websites as it is the association of many producers. However, we can find offers in the Internet
that it is being sold for about 30PLN/kg (about 8euros/kg).
E. REALEARTH.PL
It’s a farm run by the marriage emigrants from Switzerland. They produce goat and cow-milk
cheese with the method used in Alps. Most of its cheese is sold in their farm but they also provide
shipping service. Unfortunately, the prices are not provided on the website.
F. SERYKOZIE.PL
It’s a family ecological farm that breeds goats. It’s situated in Bieszczady- the mountains in
the south of Poland. It’s in the region of National Park. Farms there are one of the cleanest part of
Poland which helps to provide the greatest quality of the goat milk used to cheese production. The
farm is named ‘Figa’ which comes from the name of their first goat. It is provided with the ecological
certificate. They offer variety of goat cheese such as smoked cheese, natural cheese, ‘Bryndza’ and
others. They only sell their cheese locally and rarely provide shipping service. Prices are not available
on the website.
G. SERYOWCZE.PL
It’s the ecological farm that provides sheep-milk cheese. It is situated in Mazury- a beautiful
region of Poland full of smaller and bigger lakes. It is run by a family and called ‘Frontier’s Rancho’
. They have the ecological-farm certificate. In their offer we can find variety of sheep-milk raw cheese
such as ‘Young sheep-milk cheese’, ‘Sheep-milk cheese blue’ , ‘Sheep-milk cheese in olive oil’ and
‘Bundz’. It is easy to order cheese in their website in ‘zamów do Twojego domu’ butto (translation:
order to your house). Minimum order is 1kg. Shipping costs varies from 10-25PLN (from 2,5-7
Euros). They also offer their cheese on traditional food markets in Warsaw, Gdynia and Gruczno. The
cheese prices starts from 55PLN/kg (the cheapest cheese- about 13 Euros/kg). The most expensive
cheese costs 120PLN/kg (about 30euros/kg).
However, the most famous Polish traditional cheese
is OSCYPEK- it’s a smoked cheese produced in the south
of Poland- in Tatra’s mountains. Oscypek is a protected
trade-name in European Union. It’s produced by a variety
of producers from Tatras called ‘Górale’ (from the word:
Góra- mountain). You can buy them either online
(www.allegro.pl, www.e-oscypek.pl, sometimes in big
hypermarkets or in the markets in Tatras.)
Oscypek is produced in the south of Poland traditionally from many years but since joining
European Union Polish producers had to follow many technical requirements in order to obtain the
‘certified right’ to produce it. It comes with the result that in 2011 only 23 of 100 producers had
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European Union quality certificates. Since 2008 Oscypek is a protected, traditional product in
European Union. However, consumers do not really care about that and buy traditional cheese even
from producers without this certificate. The price of original Oscypek is about 50PLN/kg (about 12-13
Euros/kg).
We provided of course traditional producers of Polish cheese. Dutch farmers if want to export
will probably have to also meet with the competition of rare, niche cheese products from France or
Switzerland. Especially French cheese is perceived in Poland as a very good one. Appreciated French
cheese is especially Camembert and Roquefort.
3.4. AVAILABLE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS FOR RAW MILK CHEESE
Distribution channels for that kind of products are extremely important. It’s because Dutch farmers
have to get to specific niche group. Dutch raw milk cheese is very expensive for the Polish market and
finding the best places to sale it is crucial.
1. First of all: WEBSHOPS
As we were researching Polish competitors, many of them provided their products by on-line
selling. It is important to create the online shop in Polish language as many people above 35 do not
speak English. It is a good idea to create own online shop with providing a simple polish name such
as ‘seryholenderskie.pl’ (which means dutchcheese.pl) or ‘TwojaGouda.pl’ (yourGouda.pl). Although
buying food is still not very popular and quite a new service, more and more shops started to link its
online shops and it meets with interest. It is also crucial to notice that consumer from niche markets
mostly look for products in the Internet and will appreciate the easy access to it.
Another idea is to place the product in the
platform www.allegro.pl This is the platform like
international eBay. Although eBay is also
available in Poland, the Allegro platform is much
more popular and it covers most of online auctions
in this country. To launch the auction you need to
register and put in the section ‘delikatesy’
‘sery’ (that means ‘delicatessen’ ‘cheese’).
While visiting this platform we can see that some of local producers use it to sell its products. There
are a lot of offers from ‘Oscypek’ producers but we can also find other expensive cheeses like Spanish
goat-milk cheese or cheese from Austria.
It is also a good idea to use already existing on-line
shops for connoisseurs. One example of it is
www.go-fusion.pl . It delivers cheese only in Warsaw
and it’s a shop offering more sophisticated, exclusive
food products from all over the world beginning from
cheese, olive oils, sweats, to sushi, alcohols, teas and
coffees.
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2. Secondly: DELICATESSENS
Delicatessens exist in every bigger city in Poland. These are shops with a bit more expensive products
than in a supermarkets and a bit different assortment. The most popular in Poland are:
‘Alma’: It is an Italian company that has about 30 shops in every bigger city. You can visit its website
www.almamarket.pl . It is available in both polish and English language. Shop also offers shopping
online in the address: www.alma24.pl. They offer traditional polish products as well as special
products from all over the world.
‘Piotr & Paweł’- These delicatessen is a Polish company established in Poznań in 1990. Now it has
more than 75 shops in all Poland. You can visit its website: www.piotripawel.pl It’s only in Polish. It
offers about 300 of cheeses which can be bought both in its traditional and online shop (available on
www.e-piotripawel.pl). Still the most expensive Dutch Gouda costs there about 40PLN (10euros/kg).
3. Then… SPECIALIZED SHOPS
In the shopping molls some specialized shops offering products from across the world exists. One of
them is shop ‘Kuchnie Świata’ (‘World’s cuisines’). In their offer they have products from different
parts of the world than Poland. It’s an interesting idea to launch Dutch cheese to their offer. Their
website www.kuchnieswiata.com.pl is available both in Polish and English language. ‘ they deliver
products to gastronomy and grocery stores, directly from the renowned manufacturers from Japan,
Thailand, China, Vietnam, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, Greece and other Mediterranean countries. There
are over 3 thousand products available in our regular offer’. The do not have cheese in their offer but
we would recommend to think also about this distribution channel.
4. Finally… RESTAURANTS!
There are many restaurants in Poland that offer starters called ‘deska serów’ ( cheese board) and other
dishes with cheese. It is a good idea to contact some most popular of them. Our recommendations are
very sophisticated and famous in Poland Magda Gessler’s restaurants. She values good taste, runs her
own TV program and has several restaurants in Poland.
At the end we would like to present a quite interesting things existing in Poland are ‘traditional
markets’ that takes place in the big shopping molls. They are called ‘Jarmark tradycyjny’. The
example of it is ‘traditional market’ in M1 (one of Łódź’s shopping mall) that takes place ones a
month. During that events the traditional-food producers from all over the Poland have the chance to
introduce and sell their products. It would be also a good chance for Dutch local farmers.
Cheese shops in a form known in the Netherlands or France do not really exists in Poland so it is more
difficult for cheese producers to launch their product in this country. However, there are many other
possibilities that we indicated in this part.
3.5. MOTIVATIONS FOR SELLING DUTCH RAW MILK CHEESE
What are the motivations for cheese shops to sell Dutch raw milk cheese?
For a cheese shop it is mostly not possible to have a wide customer group. Not all the people
are interested in cultural food and so you first have to define a target group. We decided that our target
group are people who are interested in food, not only to eat but to experience it. Those people are
usually older than 30 and of course no students, because they buy sophisticated food and are willing to
spend more money for food than the cheapest possibility would be. They like to go to delicatessen
shops which sell better and more expensive food than you usually find in supermarkets. In Poland
there are no traditional cheese shops like you find them in the Netherlands for example. But there are
delicatessen shops where you can find fancy food. To introduce Dutch raw milk cheese in Poland we
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would suggest defining these delicatessen shops as our target group. The customers of these shops
could be interested in special cheese.
Looking at the quality of Dutch raw milk cheese there are of course many differences between
the cheeses. It depends on how the cheese is made.
Dutch raw milk cheese is a very high quality cheese. It is produced with great effort and time.
When you travel through the Netherlands you will find cow or goat farms everywhere. This is because
the landscape of the Netherlands, which is very green and rich of
water, has perfect conditions for growth. Also the Dutch raw milk
cheese has a very long history. It has been produced since 400 AD
Fout! Bladwijzer niet gedefinieerd. and so of course for cheese fans
Dutch cheese is a famous one.
We decided to sell the cheese “Romero IJsselstein” which is made of
cow milk. It cost around 20 Euros per gram and so it is in the price
range of what polish people in average spend for special cheese in
delicatessen shops.
As a further aspect for customers to buy Dutch raw milk cheese instead of any other cheese is
not only the good reputation of Dutch cheese but also that it is healthier compared with cheese which
has been pasteurized. The reason is because with pasteurization a lot of the good bacteria are also
destroyed. However people don`t have to worry that there are any pathogens in the cheese because the
cow and goat farms in the Netherlands are mostly small farms which guarantee milk of high quality.
Another important aspect for selling Dutch raw milk cheese in Poland is of course that the
import regulations are so easy since the European Union has been existing. So polish delicatessen
shops have the opportunity to sell cheese from the Netherlands, which is famous for its high quality,
without any difficulties of import regulations. Also the way of transport is not so far and you also
don`t have to cross a sea which would raise the transport prices a lot.
For all these reasons we think that a delicatessen shop could have an advantage when they
decide to sell Dutch raw milk cheese. And the first shops which begin selling it would attract new
customers because for sophisticated people who are interested in special food trying out new kinds of
food, in this case cheese, is a very important aspect.
3.6. MAIN PUBLICATIONS RELEVANT TO THE CONSUMER OR DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS
As earlier mentioned we have found some ways to distribute Dutch raw milk cheese in the best way
like web shops, delicatessen shops and in restaurants. The question now is how to promote these
distribution channels in the best way.
1. Web shops
As Dutch raw milk cheese is a kind of special food so one of the best ways to sell it is in a web
shop in the internet. But of course you need many visitors for your web shop. If people search for
something in the internet like for special cheese they will probably go to Google and search for it
there. So it is crucial that your website contains keywords which are used mostly when people search
for cheese or sophisticated food. Make sure that your page title is rich of keywords and hyperlink your
most important keywords or key phrases because for search engines hyperlink words seem to be
important.
33
Secondly it is advisable that you make use of links strategies. That means that your website
should be linked with other websites to get into peoples` eyes. You should be aware of that the number
of incoming links to your website is relevant for the rank of your site in searching engines.
Also very important is advertising in the internet in a right way. When you connect your website to
others sites in the internet you should also use sites like Face book or Xing for example. These sites
always show advertisement and why not advertisements about a new web shop for sophisticated food?
As we define our target group as people from the age of 27 to 60 years old of course not all of them
will use the internet. But at least the younger part of our target group has probably an account on Face
book or Xing. Especially we would recommend Xing because our target group is people who belong
to the upper society so also young people who graduated from university and started working in good
paid jobs and almost all of these kinds of people have an account in Xing.
To reach the older people of our target group mostly delicatessen shops or restaurants would
be the best solution to get in touch with them.
2. Delicatessen shops
Advertising for a delicatessen shop can have several faces. For example it could be clever to
make advertising in the newspaper like an economic newspaper or magazine which is mainly read by
business people with well paid jobs. To reach as many customers as possible we would recommend
running also a website of the delicatessen shop. It is crucial that people can inform themselves about
these shops in the web because some of the persons of our target group might be very busy with their
work and probably don`t have so much time for shopping or checking out new shops because they
have problems to visit the stores during the opening hours. So a good way to reach them is to offer
them some information about the shop and what you can buy there in a website.
3. Restaurants
Also for restaurants it is of great importance to make people focus them. One good possibility
is the typical restaurant tester. These are persons who know much about food and cooking and they
test several restaurants and evaluate them. They mention the restaurants in articles in different kind of
magazines for example as advertising in a business or fashion magazine as well as in special food
magazines. So if your restaurant got a good evaluation, persons who are interested in trying new
restaurants probably get interested in your restaurant.
In conclusion promotion should be considered for all kind of distribution channels. But one of
the most important is the promotion in the web as there you have so many possibilities to make people
catch an eye on your business. Also in times of the World Wide Web web-shops are probably the most
frequently used kind of distribution channels and will become more and more important in the future.
3.7. SOCIETAL PARTICIPANTS
Polish Food magazine
The "Polish Food" magazine is a magazine for restructuring
and modernizing of agriculture in Poland, composed together by the
Polish Ministry of Agriculture under the supervision of Minister of
agriculture Mr. Marek Sawicki. It appears every three months in
Poland and it is written in English, many companies share their
experiences in this magazine. This is a medium where food partners
meet. Also this magazine has its own website. The main subjects are
the milk and dairy sector in Poland and the food quality policy in
Poland.
The mission of ‘Polish food magazine’
The Polish food magazine was created to help Polish businesses to
internationalize, especially for SME’s. The mission is not only to
34
help Polish companies but also to assist foreign businesses looking to buy goods and services in
Poland or locate their activity in Poland.
The magazine provides information about the following subjects:
Legal framework for business activities in Poland
Privatisation of State-owned companies
Investment opportunities in Poland
Sales Leads
Tax regulations
Labour market and employment possibilities
Trade fairs and exhibitions
The Polagra-Food international trade fair for food
Also there is a big trade fair in Poland for all food related businesses, this trade fair is called
the ‘Polagra-food’ fair. This fair is held every year, and this year it will be held between 8-11 of
October in Poznań. manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and other persons associated
with the food industry will visit this trade fair and share their experiences. Last year the Polagra fair
attracted around 45 thousand people.
Some of the topics of the Polagra fair are:
Dairy products
Meat, cold cuts and sausages
Organic Food
Convenience food
Gluten-free food
Food for diabetics
Vegetarian food
According to these facts it can be said that this is a very big fair which is very comprehensive in the
food segments so this could be a great opportunity for Slow food.
Some facts about where the societal partners meet:
1. Polagra Premiery - Poznan, Poland February 16-19, 2012 International trade fair of agricultural mechanization like tractors, machines, seeds, and more.
2. Organic Marketing Forum - Warsaw, Poland May 7-9, 2012 This is the 7th International Meeting about Processing and Marketing Organic Products and Raw
Materials
3. 2012 IAFP European Symposium - Warsaw, Poland May 21-23, 2012 The International Association for Food Protection forum for the exchange of ideas with people
from across Europe working in industry, government and academia.
This gives an indication about the festivals, exhibitions and fairs (which are food related, especially
dairy products) given in Poland.
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4. INDIVIDUAL MOTIVATION FOR BUYING RAW MILK CHEESE
4.1. POTENTIAL CONSUMER TARGET GROUP
As mentioned above in part 2.5 “Attitudes towards food in general”, in Poland we can distinguish 4
different types of consumers:
1. Forward looking, open and innovative consumer;
2. Stabilized consumers;
3. Average but rational consumer;
4. Traditional consumer.
Each of these types of consumers has certain specific characteristic and traits that separates them from
the others.
In our case, we would like to try something new. We are looking for a combination between
all these types of consumers. Our consumers should be middle aged or elderly persons, that have a
decent income (we are talking about persons from the middle and upper middle class of society) but
also consumers that are rational. Also, our target consumers are open minded, are willing to taste
something different and also appreciate the quality of the products that we offer. Furthermore, our
target consumer is concerned with health and is willing to pay a slightly higher amount of money on
such products that can improve your quality of life. The target consumer belongs to an age group that
is between 27-60 years old.
As we have said in the previous pages, nowadays, Polish consumers have diversified their
needs and expectations. Today, Polish consumers prefer to spend a less amount of time preparing
food, due to their increase preoccupation for their career.
Based on research, the easiest way to describe the consumer target group, their motivations for
buying and also to offer support when creating the PERSONA is to address and answer specific
questions. Even though it might seem strange and useless, this has been proven the best way to
achieve this objective.
There for, the questions that we will use to clarify the issue about which consumer target group to
address are:
1. WHAT ARE THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS?
Our target consumers should come from big cities with a population of over 550 thousand
inhabitants, that come from families educated families (meaning that we are interested in consumers
that have a higher education) .Since the average net salary in Poland is about 700 Euros per month, we
are interested in consumers that have belong to this category, meaning that they earn 700 Euros or
more per month (meaning that they can afford our products). We want to address ourselves to medium
sized families (two children at most) but also to sole survivors (that are not married yet), consumers
that understand the health values offered by these products. Since the role of the females in the family
life is very important and such decisions are usually taken by females, we would like to target
specially FEMALES, especially the one that belong to the age group of 27-60 years old, working and
independent women, that spend around 7-8 hours per day at work, but still manage to take care of their
families (or if they are single, to take care of themselves). We would like to address ourselves middle
and upper middle working class because they represent the vast majority of the population.
36
2. WHAT IS THEIR LIFESTYLE?
We would like to address ourselves to rational consumers that understand the value of money.
By understanding the values of money, the consumers will understand the values of our products and
will respect it, becoming stabilized consumers that will repeat the buying cycle over and over again.
We are interested in consumers that buy our products not because it is the trend right now to do it, we
are searching for consumers that have a educated lifestyle, consumers that know and understand the
benefits of these products, and also for consumers that know how to communicate effectively and
believe in themselves, so that they can pass down the information about this product to others.
Furthermore, we are looking for consumers with a healthy lifestyle.
3. WHAT ARE THEIR INTERESTS?
Our consumers should be active individuals with a healthy attitude and mentality, but also
consumers that have come to become more aware of the importance of healthy lifestyle. Our target
consumers are individuals that engage in social activities (socializing with friends, participating at
book fair, poetry circle, participate actively in cheese tasting events), are awareness of the world
around them. This means that they are up to date with world events and novelties in certain sectors of
activity. He consumers enjoy sports, and they practice sporting activities at least once a week. Even
though religion is important, we are looking for consumers that have different religions, and therefore
different mentalities. This way, when can gain valuable information (after the purchase of the product,
we can ask them if they are willing to participate in surveys so that we can gain more information and
knowledge about their tastes and preferences). Our consumers are interested in travelling and do this at
least once a year. We would like intelligent travellers that go on trips so they can increase their
intellectual and cultural “baggage”; they do to participating in this kind of activity so that they can do
shopping abroad. The consumers should all have hobbies (collecting stamps, cups, footballs, and why
not, tasting cheese), consumers that are willing and have the possibility to increase their knowledge.
4. WHO INFLUENCES THEIR PRODUCT CHOICES?
Since we have mentioned above that we will focus on female consumers, females that play an
important role in their families, they will be the primary purchasers for the household. When it comes
to influencing their decision, they will mostly be influenced by the health issue (how healthy this
products) but also by the influence that the thought of her family has over her (issues about children
and about how and what can she do so that will develop normally and in a healthy way). There for,
this consumer will have to be a compassionate one, being concerned with the people that she loves and
takes care for, but also a person that has a global mindset. Also, another influence factor that has an
effect on her is the social media, and this is because our target consumer is a curious and open minded
person, that responds well to advertising. Overall, our target consumer is an independent and strong
person, that that is able to make decisions on her own.
5. WHAT ARE THEIR PERSONAL GOALS?
Our target consumers are people of a high educational background. There for, the target
consumers will have the willingness and ability to go through every stage of Maslow’s hierarchy of
needs. Their ultimate goal (as female individuals) is self actualization, but right now, they are only at
the beginning of the pyramid, at the stage where they are concerned with psychological needs. They
are aware of the fact that by using this product they can achieve and fulfil this need. Other personal
goals of our target groups may include: since we are talking about a majority of female consumers,
they also desire to find an optimum balance between work and family, so that they can contribute to
the development of the family while being able to develop her career. Also, by purchasing this
product, they are aware of the fact that they can also satisfy the safety need (safety from the health
point of view) and also the social need, because this product will be used by persons that have similar
traits and habits and the esteem need.
37
Our consumers are looking forward to develop their selves from all points of view:
intellectually, their careers, be an active member in the development of the society, help their families
and also to pass down their knowledge to future generations.
6. WHAT ARE THEY LIKE FROM AN EMOTIONAL PERSPECTIVE?
Our consumers are calm individuals that always think before they act. They are calm persons
that rely on their intellect when faced with certain problems. They are religious persons, they believe
in something. Their analytical skills are very well developed and they try to plan their actions ahead.
They do not think only of themselves, but also keep in mind what effect their actions might have on
others. These consumers are trust worthy, they have a sense of freedom, curious, loyal, generous, and
also they are individuals that want to build long lasting relationships. They seek to be part of groups of
people with which they can be open, persons that same attitudes and beliefs as they do. Furthermore,
they always try to make things betters, to improve themselves.
7. WHAT ARE THEIR PAST BEHAVIOURS?
A study in 2005 has shown that every 3rd
polish person claims to be buying organic food,
meaning that, nowadays, the market for organic food has well developed and that much more Poles are
now buying organic food. Studies have also shown that polish buying preferences for foreign products
has declined. On a recent study, it has been shown that out of 1000 persons interviewed, 38% would
like to buy similar products made locally. Also, based on another study it has been shown that 53% of
the consumers will accept a price increase of 20% in these products. Also, from the total household
expenditure, 69% of this is on food products. Out of this, almost 15% represent expenditure on milk
products (and ultimately cheese). Since 2006, the eat-out habit of Polish people has increased with
more than 5% each year.
8. WHERE DO THEY LOOK FOR INFORMATION FOR THESE KINDS OF
PRODUTCS?
The main sources of information that Polish people can use to get informed about this
products are: TV, radio, specialized internet sites, newspaper adds, directly at supermarkets, fairs,
specialized events dealing with these kinds of products, tasting events, co-workers, and family.
Our future customers should be able to use the internet as a mean of getting informed, of doing
business, of socializing and for relaxation. Also, they should have an active social life so as to have the
ability of developing themselves and also others. We would like to engage customers that check their
e-mail at least two a week and that are willing to do online, telephonic and face-to-face surveys. We
want our customers to acknowledge the importance of the internet and also to make this collaboration
a two sided one, so that information can come from both ways, not just from us.
9. WHEN DO THEY USE THIS KIND OF PRODUCT AND HOW OFTEN?
Our future consumers should use this product any time they want and also to acknowledge the
fact that by using this product that can also engage in socializing events (family dinner, inviting friend
for cheese tasting or participating at cheese tasting events). Since we want to create a long lasting
relationship with our clients based on trust and mutual cooperation, we would like our future consumer
to buy our product at least once a week. Most often, we would like our customers to use this product
after they have finished their work for that certain day. We seek customers that can easily mix family
life with their career, customers that enjoy life.
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10. WHAT MAKES THE INTERRACTION BETWEEN OUR CUSTOMERS AND THIS
PRODUCT FUN, RELAXING AND MEMORABLE?
The things that make this interaction memorable and noteworthy are the facts that our future
clients will be aware that by buying this product they contribute their own development but also to the
development of others. They can help local farmers develop and grow their business. They help
themselves by eating healthy they will help others by promoting such a lifestyle and such a product.
By buying and consuming this product, the consumers will be part of a community that shares the
same passions, mentalities and way of life. We seek outgoing clients that are extroverted and are
willing to interact with others.
4.2. PERSONA BASED ON RESEARCH
Agnieszka Kowalski is a 41 years old and she lives in
Poznan, Poland with her family. She is married since 1998 with
Mateusz Kowalski and they have two children: a boy, named
Lukasz, aged 9 and a girl named Karoline, aged 10. She is an
accountant and works for Procter & Gamble. Although she has
been working there since 2001, she is still working 8 hours per
day. She has graduated university in Krakow in 1996 and has
decided to move back in her home town, Poznan, after she
finished her studies. She has two degrees, one in Accountancy
and the other in Social Sciences.
Agnieszka is a hard working woman and she values her
work. She is proud of the fact that she can support her family and she would do anything so as to
accomplish that. The things that she values the most are her family, honesty, serious and reliable
people, ambition, commitment, culture and of course education. She is not a perfectionist, but she is
always striving to be the best. Besides the fact that so far she has managed to create the perfect balance
between her career and spending time with her family, she has an active social life, inviting friends
over for dinner, participating with her husband in dance classes, taking part at social events, galas,
exhibitions. She also enjoys her life. Once a year, she and her family go on a two week vacation to
certain countries, like France, Romania, Italy and other such countries. She works hard for these
vacations but she considers that they are more than worth it. She considers that this is a good way for
her children to learn new thing and to experience different cultures. Among other things, she enjoys
reading, she goes jogging at least two times a week and she is also member Board of Parents from her
daughters’ school.
She also enjoys cooking very much but since she has to work a lot, she always tries to reduce
the amount of time she spends in the kitchen, so as to satisfy everybody. She first started buying
Romero cheese at the proposal of her father. The first time she tried it she immediately fell “fell in
love”. After her recommended her this cheese and after she has tried it, she became aware of the fact
that this cheese is special. She likes the fact that by buying this cheese she can help the small producer
develop their business and since she would do anything for her family, she immediately notice the
health advantages that this product could have for her family. Since she is usually buying this product
from the same place each week, now, whenever she goes to that certain shop, she gets offered free
cheese samples. Not only that, because of the fact that she goes there regularly, she started to interact
with the other customers and now she feel like she is being part of a group that share the same values.
Agnieszka works as an accountant so she spends most of her time in front of her laptop. She
checks hers e-mail at least 4 times a day and find it as a good source of information for many of her
questions. She is not necessarily and traditionalist persons, but she has some of the values that her
39
parents have. Even so, she has an iPads that she carries with her all the time. Among other sources that
she used to get informed about topics of her choice are a daily subscription to the local newspaper, she
listens to radio whenever she can and she also has a 3 e-mail accounts, on Yahoo, Gmail and Hotmail,
so she is bound to find information concerned many topics on these websites. After she finishes her
work, she usually spends time with her family, watching a movie, playing games or just relaxing.
She believes that since she has started to buy this product, she can rely on it for its qualities.
She knows that it is healthy; she eats it whenever she can and she noticed that her children started
liking it as well. At the moment, she buys this product at least once a week, depending whether or not
she invites her friends over for socializing.
Given the products qualities, she is willing to more for this product if prices where to increase.
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5. FINAL
5.1. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In conclusion we think that importing Dutch raw milk cheese could be successful in Poland if
you pay attention to the competitors and choose the right target group. Due to the fact that Poland is
not running into an economic crisis, we can be sure exporting raw milk cheese to Poland will increase
the profits of Dutch cheese producers and promote their image of Slow Food in general.
When doing business on the Polish market we have to be careful and pay attention about
certain business related aspects. Consumer preferences, cultural differences, competitors, life styles,
all of these can have an impact on the success of this particular business.
Based on our research, we have found out that the polish market is a very competitive one.
When talking about consumers preferences, we have found out that the sales of raw milk cheese have
the potential to grow with some important percentage points. Given the fact the polish consumers are
open minded consumers and that they are searching for products that reduce the time they spend when
preparing them, we think that the polish market is a good place where to conduct business in this
sense. We have found out that nowadays, consumers are more preoccupied about the quality of the
products, concerned about how ecological and how biological they are. These are signs that it would
be a good idea to activate on this market in this country. Also, due to the fact that vey many household
decisions are still being made by women and that because studies have shown that Polish people are
ready to pay a higher amount of money for cheese products, we believe that addressing ourselves to
these types of consumers will represent a strong point when doing business here. There are also a
possibility for us to use Polish Raw Milk instead of the Dutch Raw Milk, since Polish people prefer
their own products this barrier could be easily overcome.
Given the fact that the market for home made and biological cheese products is very small, we
do not necessarily have to worry about the very many competitors that offer similar products. This
market has had a very slow growth in the past years but even so, studies have proven that this market
will still grow in the following years.
Due to the fact that there are no legal barriers of accessing this particular market (Poland is in
the EU), and because of the fact that politics will not infringe the access to this market, this represents
another key aspect of starting to conduct a business of this type in Poland. And also, the fact that the
gross salary in Poland has increased in the last years, we can be certain that will be seen in our sales.
Our studies have also shown that the best places where to sell this product will be in specialized shops,
web shops, delicatessen shops and finally restaurants.
We are not looking to sell this product to everyone; we are going to sell this product to clients
that fit our persona, our model target consumers. There for, our target consumer will be a middle aged
female that has a medium and upper medium income that has at most two children, that is calm and is
of a higher intellectual value, a person appreciates and has an active life and also a person that is
connected to our everyday reality and is informed about day to day issues. Moreover, our target
consumer is open minded and thinks before acting.
There for we ask this question: can we do business in Poland? Yes we can! Can we be
successful? Yes, we shall. Even though it may seem difficult to do business in a foreign country (even
more today because of the issues with the website that criticizes polish workers), we are confident that
by choosing Poland, local producers can develop their business and make a good profit out of it.
41
SOURCES
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pl.html
http://www.swedishtrade.se/PageFiles/158896/Polish%20Food%20Market_Final%20Report.pdf?epslanguage=sv
http://www.eatinghabits.org/geographical-eating-habits/eating-habits-in-poland.html
http://www.polishforums.com/food-drink-8/polish-eating-habits-17624/
http://en.poland.gov.pl/Age,Structure,and,growth,rate,314.html
http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/info/howmany.php
http://www.ivu.org/news/95-96/general.html
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/milk/hlg/acadbl12_szajner_doc_en.pdf
http://www.jard.edu.pl/pub/17_4_2005.pdf
http://www.jard.edu.pl/pub/9_4_2005.pdf
http://www.arr.gov.pl/data/00321/milk_market.pdf
http://www.euroqualityfiles.net/AgriPolicy/Report%202.1/Poland%20Agripolicy%20D2-1.pdf
http://www.eau.ee/~agronomy/vol061/p6105.pdf
http://www.ifoam.org/
http://polishtax.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Tax-system-in-Poland.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/markets/milk/hlg/acadbl12_szajner_doc_en.pdf
http://www.foodfrompoland.pl/magazine_more.php/ed_id,5/aid,7/title,Poland-8211-a-land-flowing-with-milk-and-honey/
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Poland.html
http://www.jard.edu.pl/pub/17_4_2005.pdf
www.eau.ee/~agronomy/vol07Spec2/p7sII29.pdf
http://www.inderscience.com/storage/f683421279101511.pdf
http://www.swedishtrade.se/PageFiles/158896/Polish%20Food%20Market_Final%20Report.pdf?epslanguage=sv
http://www.pwc.com/en_GX/gx/retail-consumer/pdf/poland4.pdf
http://www.polandforvisitors.com/travel_poland/culture
http://www.slowfood.pl/index.php?s=str-cotojest
http://www.ekoquchnia.pl/2009/09/czym-jest-slow-food/
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Poland.html#b
www.piatnica.com.pl
www.mlekovita.com
www.fresh24.pl
www.hochland.pl
http://serygradzkie.pl/cennik.html
http://www.kopa.pl/?page=13
www.allegro.pl
http://seryowcze.pl/cennik.htm
http://www.forbes.pl/artykuly/sekcje/wydarzenia/tylko-23-bacow-ma-prawo-do-oscypka,13836,1
http://e-oscypek.pl/oryginalne-sery-goralskie-oryginalny-oscypek-podhalanski/p,1276
http://www.kuchnieswiata.com.pl/ang/product.html
www.magdagessler.pl
http://www.lodz.m1-centrum.pl/aktualnosci/aktualnosci/szczegoly/archive/2012/january/article/jarmark-tardycyjny-w-
sierpniu-zapraszamy-zawsze-w-ii-i-iv-weekend-miesiaca.html
http://dutchfood.about.com/od/aboutdutchcooking/a/SayCheese.htm
http://www.dutcheese.com/webshop/kazen/Boerenkaas/romero
http://www.foodfrompoland.pl/c_article.php/cmkid,3/title,Food-from-Poland/
http://www.polagra-food.pl/wyrobyspozywcze/en/
http://montreal.trade.gov.pl/en/aktualnosci/article/a,17947,Polish_Food_magazine_Spring_2011_edition_now_available.html
http://www.wilsonweb.com/articles/checklist.ht
http://www.forummleczarskie.pl/RAPORTY/154/ser-holenderski-gouda-edamski-podlaski-morski/
http://www.exporthelp.co.za/modules/1_considering_exporting/barriers_to_exporting.html
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/08/tariff-trade-barrier-basics.asp#axzz1otQ1mcv2
http://www2.jordbruksverket.se/webdav/files/SJV/trycksaker/Pdf_rapporter/ra01_9.pdf
http://www.kvk.nl/ondernemen/internationale-handel/beginnen-met-exporteren/wetten-en-regels-bij-export/
http://www.agentschapnl.nl/onderwerp/polen-producteisen-product
http://www.agentschapnl.nl/sites/default/files/bijlagen/Polen%20D&B%20december%202011.pdf
http://www.cokz.nl/Diensten/Export_certificates.aspx
Books
Understanding Cultural differences by Edward T. Hall and Mildred Reed Hall
Intercultural collaboration, cultures—organizations—management by Geert Hofstede
Intercultural communication by Geert Hofstede (summarization in Wikipedia)
Netherlands and Germany—dairy goat products by Clara Hedrich in 2009
Study guide IBS1 project 1 Dutch raw milk cheese marketing strategy
42
APPENDICES
PROJECT CONTRACT
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
We are going to make the research of the one of European countries- Poland for our client -
Slow Food. Slow Food is the non-profit organization which was founded in 1989 in order to counter
the rise of so called ‘fast food and fast life’. It works as a worldwide network of people eager to
improve the way food is produced and distributed. We are going to choose the right kind of cheese
that would be most suitable for Polish market. Food or strictly cheese business is involved in our
project work. It means that we are going to make a study of this part of business and be more familiar
with it. The reason of the project is to help local Dutch cheese farmers to develop their strategies
concerning exporting their products to Poland. That’s why we are going to make the DESTEP of this
country, examine its environment and trading barriers.
DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM
Slow Food would like to gain market share and export their products to different countries.
The assignment we’ve got is to research the Polish market whether or not a cheese market exists for
Slow Food in Poland. We’ve to research this for the ‘cheese’ organization Slow Food. By the end of
this project the organization would like to have a clear view if it is feasible to export their products
(cheese) to Poland. Important to know is for how many Euros the cheese can be offered in Poland, to
see if this is too expensive, this can be a problem because people from Poland don’t like to pay high
prices for cheese. Also a problem could be that there are too many competitors for Slow Food in
Poland. Also the requirements that the government of Poland will have for food products have to be
researched well.
FORMULATION OF THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND PROJECT RESULTS
Each project or task has a main purpose, a main goal. When trying to answer the questions “What are
we going to deliver?” or “What is the outcome of the project going to be?” one can find many
answers. There for, during the project, and by the end of the project, we will promise to deliver the
following:
A clear report about the development possibilities in that certain geographic region (Poland);
A statistical analysis about the total possible number of sales and revenues, taking into
consideration the preferences of the population;
A SWOT analysis taking into consideration all internal, external, political, geographical,
cultural, economical that can influence the activity and performance of the NGO;
A clear description of all possible partners;
A clear description about the target market;
A clear budget;
Advice about the products that will be sold (Exactly);
The pricing strategy for the products that will be delivered and sold;
A clearly formulated advertising campaign (examples of banners, flyers, TV commercial).
An advisory report about the future activity and the performance of the NGO in that particular
geographic area.
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PROJECT ACTIVITIES + PLANNING + DEADLINES + RESPONSIBILITIES
Week Activity Responsible person
Week 1 Kick-off and introduction
All project group members
Week 2 Project contract and blog name
All project group members
Week 3 Desk research part A Macro environment:
1. Relevant macro economical factors
2. Import regulations
3. Overview of current main cheese/food production
related issues in Poland
4. Attitude towards (artisanal high quality) food
5. Cultural differences (Hofstede)
6. Emotional image of the Netherlands (Country of
Origin image)
7. How is NGO Slow Food perceived in the
Netherlands?
1. Marta
2. Judy
3. Darie
4. Bas
5. Jennifer
6. Marta
7. Judy
Week 4 Desk research part B Meso environment
8. Current export barriers with Dutch raw milk
cheese farmers
9. Description of the consumer market segments for
raw milk cheese
10. Description of the competitors
11. Description of the available distribution channels
for raw milk cheese
12. Motivations for selling raw milk cheese
13. Consumers’ attitudes towards raw milk cheese
14. Main publications relevant to the
consumer/distribution channels
15. Description of the societal participants
16. Where and how do the participants meet each
other?
8. Darie
9. Bas
10. Jennifer
11. Marta
12. Judy
13. Darie
14. Bas
15. Jennifer
16. Marta
Week 5 Desk research part C Individual motivation for buying
raw milk cheese
17. Selection of the promising potential consumers
target group and describe the final potential
consumer target group
18. Describe motivations for buying
19. Develop a persona based on research
17. Judy
18. Darie
19. Bas
Week 6 Part D Final
20. Conclusion and recommendations
20. Jennifer
Week 7 Presentation of the project All project group members
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PROJECT BOUNDARIES
Even though we have engaged ourselves into delivering all of the things stated above, there
are certain BOUNDERIES that we must also take into consideration and respect for the good
development of us as a group and the NGO:
The period of time in which we have to meet all the above mentioned responsibilities is
during the following 6 weeks, until the 23rd
of March.
The result of our analysis will apply to Poland only
This marketing strategy will include only cheese products
The budget will not be exceeded.
QUALITY
We only want the best. We will follow our code of conduct to guarantee the quality of the
project. We will guarantee the quality because we will check each other’s work and make use of
reliable sources. We are the business students so our general knowledge will assure the high-scored
quality of our work. We are also interested in international trade what will help to make the work more
efficient.
PROJECT ORGANISATION
The group members all have their own activities they should have done at the end of the sixth
week. A Gmail account is made by the members, so the finished work could be sent to this account.
With this method the finished parts of the project could easily be put together.
Darie Gavrilut will take notes of every meeting with the tutor, so the project group won’t forget the
things which have been talked about. The notes will be uploaded on Gmail.
Marta Kaczmarek will take notes of every meeting of the project group itself. Everything that has been
discussed will be uploaded on the Gmail account as well, so every project member is able to get the
files.
Judy Lindemann will update the Social network the project group is going to join, for instance
Wordpress (blog).
Bas Schrotenboer will be the captain of this project group. He will lead the meetings. The planning of
activities should be taken seriously, so he will keep an eye on if the planning will actually be realized.
If not, there will be consequences (See: Code of conduct).
The central contact person for the tutor will be Jennifer Ying. She will email the finished work to Ms
Kok and if there are any questions after the meeting, she will contact Ms Kok. Every week the project
members will have a meeting with the project tutor R. Kok. During these meetings, the work that has
been done will be discussed. Questions will be answered by Ms Kok and adjustments will be made if
necessary.
Project members
Name Darie Gavrilut
Student number S1055277
Country Romania
Field of study Business
45
Telephone number +40 (0) 741330621
E-mail address [email protected]
Name Marta Kaczmarek
Student number S1051831
Country Poland
Field of study International Economic Relations
Telephone number +48 (0) 607 637 654
E-mail address [email protected]
Name Judy Lindemann
Student number S1055281
Country Germany
Field of study Economics
Telephone number +31 (0) 6 293 53 889
E-mail address [email protected]
Name Bas Schrotenboer
Student number S1041220
Country The Netherlands
Field of study International Business and Languages
Telephone number +31 (0) 6 307 63 292
E-mail address [email protected]
Name Jennifer Ying
Student number S1041251
Country The Netherlands
Field of study International Business and Languages
Telephone number +31 (0) 6 336 74 058
E-mail address [email protected]
PROJECT COSTS
To fulfil the project we are going to work ten hours a week. Four hours at school and six hours
we work for ourselves.
It is € 8, - per hour so that will be (8*50) € 400, - per week (for whole group)
Total amount: € 400,-* 6 (weeks) = € 2400,-
RISK ANALYSIS
The biggest risk will be the mismanagement of time. To avoid this we need to communicate
with each other effectively. We created the Gmail account that every member can use to make the
communication easier. We also exchange phone numbers, e-mail addresses and Face book accounts.
To prevent the lost of our work we have to make a back up of it. We will do it after finishing
each part. This back up will be available at the Gmail. So even if our computers crash at the same time
we still have the document.
If someone becomes sick, the other members in the group will compensate it. We are going to
help each other if any problems occur.
46
CODE OF CONDUCT
1. When we don’t show up without any contact we get a penalty. We decided that if someone
doesn’t show up he/she will have more work to do next time and he has to buy a bottle of wine
for the whole group. When it happens more than once he/she will get the last warning.
2. When it happens three times he/she will be kicked out of the group.
3. Everybody has to work equal. So it means that everybody has the same input in the project.
4. If not everybody is working with the same attitude on the project the basket of points will be
used.
5. Everybody is responsible for this project. Not only for their own part. This means that we have
to read everybody’s work and give feedback to each other.
6. Communication goes through Gmail. Everybody loads their part up on to the email. And every
week somebody else put it all together.
7. We will create the ‘feedback table’ for each other and every week we can put comments to our
work there. It will be available on Gmail.
8. At the end of finishing each part we will put the work together into the one report.
9. If the way of working will fail we immediately regroup and take a different path.
10. We are going to discuss problems and misunderstandings that occur during our work.
BLOG
As group 10 Poland, we have kept a blog up to date with several things of the group, such as
back ground information. Also the final report can be find on this blog, some interesting pictures and
our experiences. We also visited a farmer, further information can be find on the blog.
http://10ibs2bpoland.wordpress.com/
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
QUESTIONNAIRES
1st group:
Age: 22
1. Holland – wonderful country with affable and helpful people in it. Country which is famous for
their windmills, tulips, bicycles, pointy roofs, and wooden shoes and free approaches to
controversial matters.
2. Yes, naturally I know Dutch cheese and tasted many times. Dutch cheese is delicious. There is a
huge diversity like Gouda, Edam, and Smoked cheese. From more spicy, a strongly flavored
sweet/salty to soft and with nuts in it.
3. I appreciate slow food organizations, its huge commitment in community by supporting farmers
and the environment. However the prices of cheese are too expensive especially comparing prices
in Poland.
Age: 25
1. The Netherlands make me think of tulips. I also connect this country with a certain level of
liberation and drug acceptance that may not be so visible in other European countries.
2. I’ve tried some Dutch cheese when I’ve been there for a week. I loved yellow cheese with
tomatoes and basil, a bit sweet cheese with cranberries and Gouda.
3. I might buy it once in a while but I do believe it's very expensive and because of the price may not become a popular item on the Polish market. Age: 25
1. Nederland brings tulips and wind mills to my mind. I’ve never been there but I consider it as a
friendly, open country.
2. I know for example Gouda- which is delicious.
3. I can only buy it once for some time because it’s very expensive.
Age: 27
1. I think that Holland is country where live is easier and slower. I have the impression of such clean
streets and public places. I’d like to get to know its culture closer one day.
2. Unfortunately, I don’t know any names of Dutch cheese but I’ve tried two types. One tasted very
spices; the second one was very original in its taste.
3. I would eagerly like to buy it but because of the price it would be a small quantity.
Age: 29
1. For me Nederland is country of windmills, cheese, tulips, it’s very liberal country (for me too
liberal in some aspects).
2. I know ‘Gouda’ that is the most popular in our country.
3. 20euros/kg for cheese is very expensive. However, now when most of products are produced with
using variety of chemical ingredients, cheese that is made naturally I treat as special and I would
definitely choose it. I am personally very interested with natural products and I would like to buy
it. This price can in my opinion be too high for common Polish family.
Age:24
1. Netherlands for me means riding a bike a lot, it also brings to my mind tulips and great cheese
2. I know a few kinds, I’ve tried Dutch Gouda, some cheese with dry tomatoes and basil and great
goat-milk cheese with cranberries
3. I wouldn’t buy it for such a high price, maybe just a piece to try.
2nd group:
Age: 40
1. Holland is a country of tulips, windmills, cheese, bikes and wooden shoes.
2. I know Gouda and Edam.
3. It’s definitely too expensive but maybe once for some time I would buy it.
48
Age: 42
1. I see it as a country of prosperity with big chances for development of individuals. Country that
takes care about citizens, clean, ecological, without legal or social absurd.
2. I don’t know them but heard a lot that they are tasty although expensive.
3. For me this cheese is too expensive I don’t think I could afford to buy it normally although the
way of production is encouraging.
Age: 45
1. For me it’s very flat and a bit boring country despite tulips, windmills and Amsterdam.
2. I think they are very tasty
3. Yes I would like to buy it but not with that price.
Age: 33
1. It brings to my mind windmills and floods
2. I don’t think I know any
3. Yes I would like to buy it.
Age: 30
1. For me it’s a small, rich country, weird language, widely understood freedom, sophisticated sex,
euthanasia, lots of Arabian emigrants and ‘gabber’ music.
2. I think I’ve never tried a real Dutch cheese. I think they make good hard cheese but I Polish hard
cheeses are delicious and for a good price. I wonder if they make any blue cheese because it’s
difficult to get a good one in Poland. I like French, German and Czech blue cheese.
3. Poland is a country with one of the lowest salaries in Europe. The cost of living are relatively
high, however food despite of our accession to EU is still with excellent quality and relatively
cheap. Our products (included cheese) are natural and average price of hard cheese is about 5-7
Euros/kg. That is why I would normally buy our Polish cheese, however I would like to
sometimes buy a Dutch one to try it.
Age: 52
1. Holland brings to my mind depression because of its geographical settlement. Moreover, it means
for me tulips, windmills and cheese
2. Although Holland brings generally cheese to my mind I don’t think I can remind myself a specific
kind of it.
3. I would buy that kind of cheese. I don’t think that the price is very discouraging due to the fact
that it is produced naturally with traditional method which is the reason for its higher price.
3rd group:
Age: 57
1. I’ve never been in Netherlands but I think that outside the cities there are huge tulip fields and
windmills. I think cities are clean and there are a lot of cyclists.
2. No Dutch cheese comes to my mind.
3. Although the price is high, the way of production is encouraging. I think that I could buy it
occasionally.
Age: 56
1. Netherlands brings to my mind tulips, windmills, cheese and coffee shops
2. I know Gouda and Edam- very tasty
3. I would by but not with such a high price...
49
Age: 68
1. For me Holland mostly means... canals. It’s a country with big moral freedom
2. I know ‘Gouda’ and ‘Edam’ that are very popular in Poland but I think that only the name is
Dutch and they are mostly produced in our country. That means I only know them for the name.
3. Well, for the Polish pensioner the price is absolutely to high
Age: >70
1. I see it as a green country with a lot of canals and big flower fields.
2. I don’t think I know any Dutch cheese.
3. Yes, but for a bit lower price.
Age: 78
1. For me Holland means cheese, tulips, canals and wooden shoes in the past.
2. I don’t think I know any or I don’t know that they are Dutch. I don’t think that Gouda or Edam in
Poland are made in the Netherlands.
3. Not really, I think it’s too expensive. Maybe just once to try it.
Age: 55
1. Canals, windmills, tulips, bike, cows, depression
2. I don’t think I know the names but I love cheese (so maybe one of these that I eat is made in
Netherlands...)
3. I would by a piece to try it but bigger quantities only for a lower price.
Age: 55
1. It’s a country with liberal view for sexuality, but know due to some actions I perceive it as not
friendly for emigrants. A land of flowers, vegetables and cheese. It’s sometimes called ‘Venice’ of
European Countries. In the hippie years the centre of freedom.
2. I think the most famous is Gouda and after it Edam. Both of them are delicious.
3. I would like to buy original Gouda in Poland from time to time but I also think that this price is
too high for the Polish market.
Age: 55
1. It brings to my mind depression (geographical), bikes, tulips, windmills. I think Dutch people are
sporty with a bit ‘cold’ personalities.
2. I know Gouda of course but I don’t know if I’ve ever eat the real Dutch one.
3. I would really like to buy it but the price 20 Euros is very discouraging...
Age: 54
1. For me Holland means bikes and tulips. Also paintings from XVII century like Rubens,
Rembrandt... And of course Van Gogh.
2. I know only Gouda and Edam and I really like them.
3. If it comes to cheese from small producers I would sometimes buy a little piece but not very often
due to its high price.
Age: 76
1. The land of tulips, depression, very stabile country.
2. I know Edam cheese but I’ve never eaten the original Dutch cheese.
3. I don’t think I would buy it due to its price. Maybe just a little piece to try it.
Age: 77
1. I know it as a country of flowers, mostly tulips and for famous painters.
2. I perceive Dutch cheese as in very good quality, mostly fat I think and hard cheeses. I can’t recall
any names.
3. I don’t think I would by it due to its price
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E-MAIL CONTACT WITH RAW MILK CHEESE FARMERS (IN DUTCH)
We had some e-mail contact with this Raw Milk cheese Farmer. He answered our questions very well.
We also visited a farmer, but further information about that can be find on the blog.
Beste heer/mevrouw,
Ik ben een tweedejaars studente van het Windesheim in Zwolle. Voor school moet ik een
marktonderzoek doen voor Rauw melkse kaas. Mijn opdracht is om het te exporteren naar Polen. Zou
ik u een aantal vragen mogen stellen en die ik voor mijn onderzoek zou mogen gebruiken? Dat zou ik
zeer op prijs stellen.
1) Wat is uw mening over het exporteren van rauw melkse kaas naar het buitenland?
2) Denkt u dat er een markt bestaat voor rauw melkse kaas in Polen?
3) Met wat voor barrières krijgt u te maken als u uw producten exporteert?
4) Hoe promoot u uw producten in het land waar u uw producten naar toe heeft geëxporteerd? Welke
promotiemiddelen gebruikt u? En als u niet exporteert, hoe promoot u ze in Nederland?
5) Als u uw producten exporteert of in Nederland verkoopt, welke distributiekanalen maakt u dan
gebruik van? En waar verkoopt u uw producten?
6) Heeft u eerder uw kaasproducten naar Polen geëxporteerd of naar een ander Scandinavisch land?
7) Wat zijn de voor- en nadelen van het verkopen en exporteren van kaas?
Alvast bedankt voor het beantwoorden van mijn vragen. In afwachting op uw reactie.
Met vriendelijke groet,
Jennifer Ying
51
Goedemorgen Jennifer,
Wij willen wel een paar vragen beantwoorden voor zover wij het weten.
1. Rauw melkse kaas (boerenkaas) wordt al in kleine hoeveelheden geëxporteerd naar landen binnen
de E.U. Dit is dankzij de E.U. ook makkelijker gemaakt. Wij proberen sinds kort hiervan ook een
graantje mee te pikken.
2. Er is altijd wel ergens een markt voor,alleen heb je soms een kruiwagentje nodig.
Hiermee bedoel ik te zeggen dat je relaties nodig hebt. Een mooi spreekwoord is: KENNIS maakt
macht,maar KENNISSEN is machtiger.
3. Vertrouwen is een belangrijk iets. Verder is de afstand toch wel een barrière maar niet
onoverkomelijk
4. Onze kruidenkaasjes worden onder andere in Duitsland verkocht op braderieën en castlefairs. Dit is
een goede promotie, omdat men zo ook op onze website kan kijken en dan kunnen ze eventueel via
een link bestellen. In Nederland promoten we zelf ook via braderieën winkels en groothandel.
Onze website www.kleine-kazenboerderij.com wordt hierin steeds belangrijker.
5. Distributie doen we hoofdzakelijk zelf om de contacten kort te houden.
Naar Duitsland gaan ze mee met de mensen die daar op de markten staan.
6. Wij hebben nog nooit naar een Scandinavische land geëxporteerd, maar wat niet is kan soms nog
komen. Je weet nooit hoe een koe een haas vangt!
7. De voordelen van exporteren is de veel grotere markt. De nadelen voor een toch wel wat kleiner
bedrijf is dat je bijna alles zelf moet opzetten en regelen. Maar wij willen langzaam groeien om
vertrouwde klanten te krijgen en te houden.
Ik hoop dat je wat aan onze antwoorden zult hebben en we wensen je verder veel succes met je studie
en wie weet nog eens tot horens.
Vriendelijke Groet,
Roel v. Leeuwen.
www.kleine-kazenboerderij.com
FEEDBACK FORM
Based on our feedback form, we can draw some conclusions. The general teamwork
of the group was very good. Each member of the team has successfully completed all of his/her
assignments in due time, and based on the feedback received from our professor, we can could
conclude that each part done by the members of the team has been well done. Each team member has
been willing to the feedback offered by ourselves and also by the teacher so that to improve his/her
work if necessary. Even though the team members come from different countries (and different
cultures), we have managed to overpass this fact and have done our work in harmonic way, listening
to all our opinions and supporting each team member. Also, language barriers have not been a problem
for neither of the team members, and there for the communication between us has been very fruitful.
We can note that each member of the team has given his/her full interest for this project and the results
of this I think that are very clear.
WEEK 1/NAME OF TASKTASK WEEK2/NAME OF TASK WEEK 3 WEEK 4/NAME OF TASK WEEK 5/NAME OF TASK
WEEK/6/NAME OF TASK
JENNIFER Kick-of and introduction Project contract and blog name
Cultural differences-Hofstede Model
Description of the competitors and social partners. Social partners.
Conclusions and reccomendations
FEEDBACK SECTION
All persons have been involved in this part of the project, the
collaboration was very good, each member contributing to the realization of the final product. this applies to all members, there for will write this only here, and it shall be recognized as applicable for
all members.
Darie- Maybe you can add some numbers, but I realy like the work. Well done.
Marta- Very good. Very detailed but still easy when it comes to reading and understanding it. Great Job! Darie-Well done!
Marta- I like it, good approach to the subject
Darie-I agree, just the right amount of details but very good analysis of all the competitors. Marta-
I think that its complete
Judith-I liked it but maybe you can add a few details.
Judith-Very well done. Mayve some market shares for those companies? Judith- OK!
i Bas- Well done! BAs- Very well done. I think that it is complete. Bass- Its ok!
MARTA Kick-off and introduction Project contract and blog name
Relevant macro-
economic factors and emotional image of Poland
Description of the available distribution channel
s
Where and how do the participants meet each other?
Conclusions and reccomendations
FEEDBACK SECTION Jennifer- very good, i especially liked the questionaire.
Jennifer-good job, maybe you can detail a bit more about other distribution channels, but i like it very much. It's very complete.
Integrated in the Social Partners. part.
Bas-Fairly good, relevant information for the whole project, i enjoyed the fact that it was detailed.
Bas-Yeah, i agree with Jennifer, But basically its ok.
Judith- Really surprised in the good, because the DESTEP i think it was very well done.
Judith- I honestly like, well done.
Darie- Very good DESTEP and very relevant questions for the questionire.
Darie- Good job! Very complete information about the webshops.
JUDITH Kick-off and introduction Project contract and blog name
Import regulations and how Slow Food NGO is perceived in Poland
? Motivations for selling raw milk cheese
Motivations for buying raw milk cheese
Conclusions and reccomendations
FEEDBACKSECTION
Darie-well done, just the right amount of details...relevant details i might add!
Darie-very good presentation about the positive aspects aspects of Dutch cheese. I like it very much. Darie- Well done!
Marta- I like it! Not too detailed but it but they blend in just perfectly!
Marta- Very good, i like it a lot!, perfect information for this part. Marta- Yeah, its quite ok!
Jennifer- Yeah, just good! I don't think that there should be anythin
g else, the amount of details is just ok!
Jennifer-
Maybe you can add some more reasons for selling? But i like it!
Jennifer-
If you ask me i think that it is well done!
Bas- Yeah, i agree, well done!
Bas- i think that you presented the right amount of details for this part. It's oki think! Bas-
I honeslty like. Good job!
BAS Kick-off and introduction Project contract and blog name Attitude towards food
Description of the consumer market segments for raw milk cheese Develop a persona
Conclusions and reccomendations
FEEDBACK SECTION
Darie- i think that you did a very
good jobs. Although there are many details, you presented them in a very good manner. I like!
Darie- Good Job. I think that you can leave it as
it. Sufficient details.
Darie- I like the story of the persona very much. I think that you did a great job. I mean you presented how sh
e is, what she likes, what she does, her passions, it's very well done. Not too long, perfect combination.
54
Marta- I don't know, maybe you can erase something. I think that there are too many details. The information is very relevant, i like this part.
Marta- yeah, i like it. Keep it as it is.
Marta-
yeah, very well done, perfect story and i think that the picture goes very well with her overall personality.
Judith- Well, i think that we should leave it as it is....he presented the information very well. Its ok.
Judith- aren't there too many details? I mean i like it but maybe you can cut some of them out?
Judith- Great job, very well done!
Jennifer- I like it very much. I think that you should leave it as it is. Jennifer- Well, if you ask me, i think that it is ok.
Jennifer- The perfect information about the persona...i like it very much.
DARIE Kick-off and introduction Project contract and blog name
Overview of the current main cheese/food issues in Poland
Current export barriers with raw milk cheese and Consumer's attitudes towards raw milk cheese
Selection of the potential consumer target group
Conclusions and reccomendations
FEEDBACKSECTION
Judith- i like it very much. Relevant information, and even thought its a bit long, you presented it in a very good way. I don't think that you should choose anything.
Judith-
very good details, good information about the social and political aspects.
Judith- I think that its perfect. You used the perfect question for this part.
Jennifer-
yeah, i like but maybe you can make it shorter?
Jennifer-
Great job. Honestly, i think that it very ok.
Jennifer- It great. Not too long, it the optimum amount of information about this topic.
Marta- Good, very good job. leave it as it is.
Marta- Its very ok. I like it. Marta-Yeah, i agree, great job. Nicely presented.
Bas-I think its a bit too long. You presented relevant information, but still i think its too long.
Bas-
Maybe you can add some more information about the politics? But generally, i like it very much.
Bas- Good job. You used the optimum combination of questions and you presented the right information.