Assignment 1 [Conducting a Marketing Research]

Product [Spiro Spathis]

Prepared by:
Mahmoud Mohamed Farouk
Ahmed Fawzy Abdel karem
Marwan Medhat Khadr
Aya rabea Ahmed

Supervised by: Dr. Moshira Gamil

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Contents
Introduction: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Marketing research process: ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Define research problem definition & research objectives ........................................................................................ 7
Secondary data collection ............................................................................................................................................ 7
Research plan ................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Primary data collection ................................................................................................................................................. 9
Data Analysis.................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Conclusion: ...................................................................................................................................................................... 23
Recommendations: .......................................................................................................................................................... 24
Resources:........................................................................................................................................................................ 24

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Introduction:

Spiro spathis

It was in 1909 that Nicolas Spathis, a

Greek Alexandrian, started a business
making lemonade soda drinks that he
sold in green glass bottles. Twenty
years down the road in Cairo, Spiro, a
nephew of Nicolas, started a bigger
business that carried his name. It also
carried the logo of a buzzing bee, an
association with the apiaries that the
family was then running.
In addition to the lemonade soda starter, Spiro, working out of his factory on the then very happening Rue
Emadeddin in Cairo, added the red apple fizzy drink that was also very popular.
Hamed, an older attendant at one of the few remaining bars in downtown Cairo, recalls that both drinks
were not just soft drinks but also served as the base for cocktails.

CHANGING TIMES: Spiro’s son and daughter kept the business running in Egypt after the death of their
father in the early 1950s. According to Hamed, it was around 1977, when he started working as a bar
attendant, that the decline of this previously buzzing bee started.
This was the moment of the Open Door economic policy that allowed big international companies to enter
the Egyptian market with heavy campaigning that attracted clients eager to explore the new brands.
It was more about the introduction of US soft drinks and fast-food chains that started opening up stores
in Downtown Cairo and elsewhere than about the declining quality of national products, Spathis included.
Hamed says that it took fewer than 10 years for demand to be almost fully directed towards the new
drinks. Local drinks, except for the famous Stella beer, were pulling out, first into limited budget markets
and then out of the market altogether.
According to Talaat, however, with the introduction of the first wave of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF)-sponsored economic reforms in the early 1990s, “what we call class B of the market expanded.”
This allowed national soft drink manufacturers, including ASPA, the company of his father and uncle, to
find a place.

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Talaat added that the fact that the 1980s and early 1990s saw a decline in the alcohol market with the
increasing association between alcohol and poor religion practices meant that “more and more people
were moving to replace alcoholic drinks with soft drinks.
“This allowed for the expansion of the market in general and also for a wide range of products at a wide
range of prices,” he added.
Talaat said that the heavy campaigning of the international soft drink companies that were joining the
Egyptian market “indirectly” promoted the concept of consuming soft drinks in general as they were
being branded to associate fun, good digestion, and leisure time.
Soft drinks became what people would share in the evenings and what they would drink at birthdays,
parties, and weddings. “This was the case in summer as in all other seasons,” he added.
All this led to the social-media campaigning that re-launched Spiro Spathis in December 2019. “In almost
every house and certainly in almost every café there is a slot for soft drinks, big or small, all year round.
This is what has been keeping the business going and expanding it for smaller firms like ours,” he said.
The Talaat’s originally started their soft drinks business in Suez in the early 1970s, aiming at the
governorates of the south. However, with the 1973 War the business moved out of Suez and was re-
launched in Ain Shams in Cairo.

“To compete in a market dominated by tycoons, one has to create a particular niche,” Talaat said. It was
the clever crafting of this niche that allowed Spathis products to slowly climb up the ladder to the higher
end of the market, “even if with just small margins”.
The test was the summer of 2021, when profits started to pick up significantly after an already successful
market performance in Ramadan and Sham Al-Nessim, among the high seasons for soft drinks sales in
Egypt.
Despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the market in general, Talaat said that the
company was “satisfied with the performance of the re-Launched Spiro Spathis during the past couple of
years.” He added that it is planning to introduce new flavors, new sizes, and diet versions of the drinks
ahead of next summer.
“Soft drinks sales pick up with every holiday season, but ultimately the summer is the real test, and in
Egypt the summer starts right after Easter and lasts for nine months. So, we are currently busy preparing
for May 2022,” he said.

COMPETITION: The challenge that the new owners of Spiro Spathis had was not just about re-branding,
but also about plans by the multinationals to expand in Egypt.
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“This was a tough challenge because they work with big budgets and big promotional campaigns that no
local company can afford,” Talaat said.
According to Salma Hussein, Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional research manager at the
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German NGO, the hegemony of the multinationals over the soft drinks
business in Egypt cannot be underestimated, and their ability to force much smaller local businesses to
sell or sink is only too obvious.
“Their domination of the market is clear, and smaller businesses are allowed to survive for as long as they
remain within the limited range of five per cent or so,” Hussein said.
This is not just a function of the power of the budgets of the multinationals. It is, she explained, also a
function of the lack of efficient mechanisms preventing monopolies. “There is a monopoly authority in
Egypt, but it is unfortunately short on capacity and on efficient legislation that could enable it to act
promptly to defend local industries,” Hussein added.
She said the dominance of multinationals, big regional companies, or very large Egyptian companies is a
feature of the food industries in Egypt. The negative impact of this goes beyond the limits on expansion
and profits of smaller local companies, she argued.
The business patterns of the large companies significantly limit profit margins for medium-sized traders
in favor of augmenting the profits of companies that divert their profits out of the local economy, she
concluded.

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Marketing research process:

1- Define research problem definition & research objectives

2-Secondary data collection
3-Provide the research plan
A-Research approach
B-Contact method
C-Sampling plan
D-Research instrument
4-Primary data collection
A-Design the questionnaire for sample of a minimum of 30 respondents while using as many types of
questions as possible (20-25 questions)
B-Collect the data (online survey)
C-Present data analysis of research results by using diagrams, tables, Bar chart, Pie chart relevant to
every question, each with its specific comment
d-Provide a list of conclusions and a short list of recommendations

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 Define research problem definition & research objectives

To identify consumer segment and increase the market share

Objectives:
1- Get to know Customer demographics (age - gender - income)
2- Get to know Customer Social and lifestyle trends
3- Get to know Customer attitude towards spiro spathis and another competitors
4- Get to know customers’ expectations for spiro spathis to continue in the competition

Secondary data collection

The carbonated soft drinks market in Egypt was equal to 524.00 million USD (calculated in retail prices)
in 2015. Until 2025, the drinks market in Egypt is forecast to reach 4.08 billion USD (in retail prices),
thus increasing at a CAGR of 19.00% per annum for the period 2020-2025. This is a decrease, compared
to the growth of about 27.04% per year, registered in 2015-2019.

The average consumption per capita in value terms reached 5.72 USD per capita (in retail prices) in 2015.
In the next five years, it grew at a CAGR of 24.56% per annum. In the medium term (by 2025), the
indicator is forecast to slow down its growth and increase at a CAGR of 17.09% per annum.

One of the most important trends on the carbonated soft drinks market is linked with the surging demand
for healthy and sustainable products. Consumers’ preferences have shifted to more natural products with
“clean label”, including fermented drinks, teas, lower sugar beverages and fortified drinks with health
benefit claims. As a result, the major players have been significantly challenged. In order to remain
competitive, they try to reduce their use of sugar and to include fortified carbonated soft drinks, as well
as zero-calorie drinks in their portfolio. In addition, the number of people, who are paying attention to
labelling is increasing. Thus, companies also need to focus on transparency and simplicity regarding
information in order to gain customers’ trust.

While in Asia cola remains one of the most popular flavored carbonated soft drinks, there is a growing
interest in the combination of carbonated and dairy drinks. In US, the sales of carbonated soft drinks in
2019 picked up, driven by the diet soda segment. When it comes to corporate restructurings, mergers and

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acquisition deals have been especially popular in recent years. Some of the largest, including Coca-Cola
and PepsiCo have been particularly active. For instance, in 2019, PepsiCo completed the acquisition of
Soda Stream, a producer of machines that carbonate home tap water. Similarly, Coca-Cola participated
in numerous merger deals over the past few years, thus diversifying its portfolio. (Williams & Marshall
Strategy - October, 2020)

Research plan

A-Research approach: Survey

We used quantitative research survey to collecting numerical data to test hypotheses or answer questions
about the status of spiro spathis

B-Contact method: Internet Survey

We used Online survey or internet survey, is one of the most popular data-collection sources, where a set
of survey questions is sent out to a target sample and the members of this sample can respond to the
questions over the world wide web. Its faster medium to reach the target audience, Saves researchers’
time and cost efficient

C-Sampling plan:
The sampling plan is an essential part of the implementation phase in market research - it is the first step
of implementing market research.
We used simple random sampling and decide the sampling unit, size, and procedure when creating a
sampling plan

Sampling unit: we targeting a different segments in age, gender and locations

Who’s mutual in area of interest in soda soft drinks?

Sample size: this survey was conducted on seventy people

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Sampling procedure: we used probability sampling method which the selection of a sample from a
population, when this selection is based on the principle of randomization (random selection), each
member in a population has an equal chance of being selected as a sample.

D-Research instrument
A Research Instrument is a tool used to collect, measure, and analyze data related to your research
interests; in this research we used online survey included questionnaire to collect quantitative data from
a large group.

Primary data collection

We have designed the questionnaire for sample of a minimum of 84 respondents using many types of
questions.
The research includes different type of questions:
 Multiple Choice
 Likert Scale
 Importance Scale
 Rating Scale
 Intention-to-Buy Scale
We have designed the questionnaire on Google forms, with total 25 questions.

Link for the survey: https://forms.gle/erkGuSQbrN4Jj71CA

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Data Analysis

During our survey, the sample covers the following points:

 Different educational levels were observed as follows:

 58.3 % having Bachelor degree while 22.6 %have Master degree, 13.1% undergraduate , 4.8 %
some college with no degree and 1.2 % with high school diploma .
 The sample covers a variety of educational levels.

 Different age groups were observed during our questionnaire as follows:

 2.4% under 18 years, 53.6% between 18 & 30 years ,44 % from 30 to 49
 No observed age above 49 years.
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 It was clear that 60.7 % were females, while 39.3 % was the percentage of males.

 We have found that 58.3 % were employed full time, 14.3 % part time, 9.5 % retired & 9.5 %
were currently unemployed.
 15.5 % are student in college & 1.2 % are high school students.
 Wide variety was found in our random sample.

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Cairo (42) – [about 50%]
Giza (5) – [about 5.95%]
Gharbia (13) – [about 15.47%]
Dakahlia (13) – [about 15.47%]
Qalyubia (3) – [about 3.57%]
Others (8) – [about 9.54%]

We have found that the majority of the respondents was from Cairo & Delta Region. [About 80%]

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We have found that the majority of the respondents’ income was less than 5000 LE [about 40.5%]

We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer drinking beverage while eating [about 47.6%]
And watching TV [about 22.6%]

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We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer drinking beverage in Can over Glass or Plastic bottle

We have found that the majority of the respondents frequently use Facebook and Instagram

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We have found that price and availability are more important to the consumer than the place where
he buy it from.

We have found that Intention-to-Buy is not too strong.

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We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer buying beverage from Super Market [about 57.1%]

We have found that the equality is obvious of types of restaurants which the respondents prefer

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We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer drinking Pepsi & Coca Cola

1 = Expensive
5 = Affordable

We have found that the price is in the middle range and nearly affordable.

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We have found that brand name is Extremely Important to the consumer.

We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer drinking Regular Soda but we can’t ignore the ratio 44%
of the respondents who prefer drinking diet Soda.

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We have found that we can arrange beverage Brands according to the taste:
1- Pepsi
2- Coca cola
3- Schweppes
4- Spiro Spathis
5- Sina Cola

We have found that we can arrange beverage Brands according to availability:

1- Pepsi
2- Coca cola
3- Schweppes
4- Spiro Spathis
5- Sina Cola

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We have found that Spiro Spathis most Consumers can’t find the product in the retail shop.

We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer Releasing new Flavor [about 57.1%]
We can’t ignore the respondents who prefer Releasing energy or Diet Soda and Energy drink [about 45.2%]

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We have found that the majority of the respondents prefer adding more Soda to the drink [about 46.4%]
We can’t ignore the respondents who prefer more sweet taste or adding small pieces of fruit [about 54%]

We have found that the majority of the respondents feel good about having Spiro with their favorite meal from their
Favorite restaurant.

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We have found that the majority of the respondents haven’t noticed any advertisement for spiro spathis.

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Conclusion:

By dividing survey data analysis into related sections and forming links based on the survey data
analysis, we can focus on the following points and create links between them to come up with decisions
affecting the marketing of the product.

1. Based on Educational level, age bracket and gender, we can identify customer segment which are
[Teenagers and youth] and for the gender females are the majority but males also form a great ratio
that cannot be ignored.
2. It was clear that Facebook and Instagram are frequently used as a social media website by
consumers.
3. Also, it was clear that [Grill, Pizza, fast food and Fried chicken] restaurants have a great popularity,
and the majority prefer having soda drink while they are eating.
4. It was found that the majority of the respondents feel good about having Spiro with their favorite
meal from their Favorite restaurant.
5. Also, it was clear that that brand name is Extremely Important to the consumer.
6. We have found that the majority of the respondents haven’t noticed any advertisement for Spiro
spathis.
7. It was found that price and availability are more important to the consumer than the place where he
buy product from.
8. It was found that the price is nearly affordable.
9. Spiro Spathis is rarely available in the retail shop.
10. Customer may be satisfied with releasing a new flavor.

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Recommendations:

1. As the brand name is

extremely important to the
consumer so that Spiro
Spathis need to be promoted
as a brand over the markets
to stand against the other
competitors.
2. Promotion approach is to be
considered here to promote
the product and as it was
clear that [Facebook and
Instagram] are the head of
social media platforms, so releasing an advertisement on both of them will be a great decision, also we
cannot ignore TV advertising campaign.
3. The content of this advertisement should target these segment [Teenagers and youth]
4. Establishing a partnership with one or more than one type of the top brands of restaurants [Grill, Pizza,
fast food and Fried chicken] for adding Spiro spathis to their menu as a part of offer will be good
marketing trick that may assist at Brand Promotion.
5. A distribution plan should be assigned to achieve better availability at all markets and different
geographical regions, throughout all the governorates.
6. Releasing a new flavor might hit the customer satisfaction and may increase the probability of trying
the old flavors by the customer.
7. Releasing new production line for metal cans in the future may also meet the customer expectation.
8. Releasing new production line for Diet soda or Energy drink in the future may also keep us stick with
customer expectation and modern lifestyle.

Resources:

1- Spiro Spathis website: https://spirospathis.com/

2- Secondary data: https://www.marketresearch.com/Williams-Marshall-Strategy-v4196/Egypt-
Carbonated-Soft-Drinks-Impact-13620634/
3- Link for the survey: https://forms.gle/erkGuSQbrN4Jj71CA

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