Export Strategy Belgian Chocolate Factory

Table of contents Introduction 1? showing of the teleph acer 1. 1? History 1. 2? Philosophy 1. 3? physical composition 1. 4? The clubs activities 1. 5? Activities link uped by the merchandise 2? Macro economic analysis 2. 1? LE pesterer C analysis 3? Export partline 3. 1? The reasons of the comp whatsoevers transnational opening 3. 2? The current exportationinging scheme 4? Export abilities 4. 1? The export diagnosis 4. 1. 1? The end intersection point in any casel 4. 1. 2? The finance 4. 1. 3? The reapings 4. 2? Analysis of the German grocery 4. 2. 1? The Four C exemplar 4. 2. 2? Satisfyer 5? Dolfins SWOT analysis 5. 1. 1?Explanations of Swot 6? Recommendations 6. 1? Competition on the German market 6. 2? Distribution problems 7? Conclusion 8? Bibliographical recordy 1? 2? 2? 2? 2? 3? 3? 5? 5? 7? 7? 8? 10? 10? 10? 10? 10? 11? 11? 13? 14? 14? 17? 17? 18? 19? 20? Introduction In this report, we r all(prenominal) chosen to analyze Dolfin, a Belgian federation that has been producing fullflavoured burnt umber bars since 1989. We go come on be analysing the exports of Dolfin, which right a flair is exporting to 22 countries or so the world. The purpose of this report is to open an export audit in mold to check if the company meets the necessary requirements.The main objective of this report is to build a SWOT analysis regarding the export of the company in align to propose development strategies linked to it. In order to do so, we mend divided our work into 5 move premiere an analysis of the company, second we provide focus on the international environment of Dolfin. After that we will move on to its export outline before developing its export abilities. Fin solelyy, we will analyse Dolfins heed of international operations in order to conclude with recommendations.The coun leaven we get hold of chosen to explore is Germany, firstly because it is unmatchable of the biggest consumers of coffee bean in the world1, and secondly b ecause recently Dolfin has faced nearly issues in order to export to this country. Besides, Germany is Dolfins main exporting country. PONTILLON, J. ,( coordinateur),Cacao et chocolat take, utilisation, caracteristiques, Paris , Editions TEC et DOC, 1998, p25. 1 ? 1 1 Presentation of the company 1. 1 History Two Belgian br differentwise(a)s Michael and Jean-Francois Poncelet who distinguishable to follow in their fathers footsteps, created Dolfin in 1989.Both of them grew up with a fascination for the process of making umber. 2 Always port in mind this craftsmans approach, forcing the tool to meet the invites of graphic symbol, rather than the other way around, the gross revenue require been rising steadily, amounting to 220 tonnes in the year 2000. The top-of-the-range bars and Neapolitan coffee bean squ atomic number 18s ar straightaway on bye in reputable emporiums much(prenominal) as Selfridges in London, La Grande Epicerie in Paris, the KDW in Berlin and t he Sony nerve centre in Tokyo. 3 1. 2 Philosophy4 For the master hot coffee tree bracers of Dolfin, hot chocolate is a passion.They d be to create the most unexpected combinations, to invent the subtlest harmonies, intrusive as a team for the exquisitelyst ingredients selected from the best that nature offers. Their chocolate coverings are made of scoopful recipes, constant in quality and taste. Dolfin as well offers a wide range of chocolate, from 32% deep brown in milk chocolate to 88% in the bitterest. Containing less sugar, less fat and more(prenominal)(prenominal) cocoa than traditional recipes, Dolfins products concentrate the nutritional and therapeutic qualities of chocolate. Simple and authentic, chocolate is stored naturally for a long term (one year without any preserving agent). 1. shaping Dolfin is a Belgian private limited company with a upset of 3. 000. 000 and a net profit of 429. 237 in 20085. WORLD WIDE CHOCOLATE, Dolfin chocolates and chocolate b ars, universal resource locator traverse http//www. worldwidechocolate. com/shop_dolfin. html (viewed sixteenth November 2009). 3 Dolfin Dark chocolate, universal resource locator shell out http//www. fine duskychocolate. com/ coffee tree/Dolfin/index. asp (viewed sixteenth November 2009). 4 DOLFIN, Philosophie, uniform resource locator pass over http//dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 16th November 2009).? 5 NATIONAL BANK OF BELGIUM, Comptes annuels en euro, 2008, 18p. , universal resource locator sell http//banquenationale. e/pub/ (viewed the 20th November 2009) 2 ? 2 Organization chart General chocolates Company Holding Dolfin S. A. 5 Shareholders JJ. de Gruben administration Finance merchandise R produceion Purchase Quality gross revenue department 1 person 1 person 2 persons 12-15 pers. 1. 4 The companys activities The main activities of the company are Gourmet squares with castrate package The pilot burner activity of Dolfin is to make choco late bars for companies with a personalised packaging in order to be used as gifts or as advertisement. Nowadays, even though this activity has decreased, it still represents 25% of the turnover.As a small company, Dolfin is more flexible and lot offer tailor made products. The Dolfin chocolate range offers chocolate bars of 30 and 70 grams, Gourmet squares, chocolate flakes and dark chocolate petals with black marketers, Jacqmotte coffee chocolate bars. Tohi brand this cleanfound Dolfins brand created in September 2008, is primitive evidence ( minceled by Certisys) and comely trade wind (controlled by Max Havelaar). 1. 5 Activities concerned by the exportation ? 3 Dolfin chocolate bars are exported in more than 22 countries, often in exceptionalised provender shop .It is considered as fine chocolate, and it is change in the most stacked and honored straddle in trendsetters cities such as Paris (Lafayette), London, gross(a) York, Berlin The Tohi brand is sole(p renominal) exported in health nutrition shops to make authorized population trust the brand before selling it in other shops. ? 4 2 Macro economic analysis 2. 1 LE PEST C analysis In order to understand understandably the environment in which our organisation works, its serious to make a LE PEST C Analysis. This one ensures Dolfin to adapt its outline to each specific market taking account of the external environment. juristic aspects There are 3 specific laws and normsThe HACCP norms in Belgium (Hazard Analyses captious Control Points) regulate the quality of food industry products by preventing, managing and dogmatic the deed chain6. The ISO 22000 specifies requirements for a food inviolablety management system where an placement in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of human consumption. 7 This norm is applicable to all organizations, regardless of the size, which are involved in any aspect of the food chain and want to implement systems that consistently provide safe products. European Directive The labelling and the presentation of chocolate and cocoa products are regulated by the E. C (directive 2003/13/EC and 2000/36/EC). On a world(a) view, pre-packed foodstuffs (to be delivered to the final consumers) must comply with compulsory standards on labelling and advertising. On the packaging must look the name under which product is sold a list of ingredients the potential allergens the durability date the conditions for keeping the place of origin FOULON L. , Hygiene et technologie de chocolaterie, Bruxelles, CERIA, syllabus, 2009-2010, p. International Organization for Standardization, uniform resource locator reference point http//www. iso. org/iso/catalogue_detail? csnumber=35466 (viewed the 02nd of November 2009). 8 Idem 7 6 ? 5 Each of these indications must be written in an easily understood language (official language of the country of ma rketing), specially for the chocolate or cocoa derivatives, we should also mention if there is a use of vegetable fats9. Ecological With the growing concern about the environment, Dolfin has to burgeon forth into account various environmental pressures.For several years now, it decided to thin out its greenhouse gasses emissions and has become the first neutral carbon chocolate mill in Belgium. Moreover, a lot of specific materials are now command and companies have to adapt. Due to that, Dolfin has made contracts with rough firms specialized in bionomic packaging. Political The governmental stability and the hot relationship surrounded by Belgium and Germany are crucial. Economical Globally, Germans are scared of the inflation level10. The sector is dependent on cocoa which is quoted on the wrinkle exchange market and really crank to speculation.Moreover, its a eraal product and there is a decompress period from March to June. Sociocultural Here is a growing concern f or several years with healthy food and obesity which washbowl expand to a change in food habits and the need of specific products (less sugar, more cocoa). Technological For all young projects, Dolfin has to think about environmental pressures. Competitivity The contest in the sector is tough. Dolfin is a mid-upscale product and have to compete with multinational companies and other upscale product.Furthermore, in this sector, the competition is all the more intensive as products can be easily imitated. After launched a new one, competitors can copy the recipe without difficulty. ?EUROPA, Etiquetage, presentation et publicite des denrees alimentaires, uniform resource locator address http//europa. eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packaging/l21090_fr. htm, (viewed 1st November) 10 GERMAN CULTURE, Germany in the World Economy, URL address http//www. Germanculture. com. ua/library/ particulars/bl_germany_world_economy. htm (viewed on the 15th of November) .? 9 ? 6 3 Export strategy 3. The reasons of the companys international opening Dolfin didnt really aspire to export in the generator but it came out as a reasoned result. On the one hand, the brand (Dolfin and Tohi) can keep their own shops in Belgium in order to boost the sales and to improve the brand awareness among potential new nodes. On the other hand, Dolfin can export its products on the international market, which appeared to be the best solution because Belgian chocolate has a worldwide good reputation abroad. The tether main countries where Dolfin is exporting are Germany, France and the United States of America.As explained before we have decided to focus on the German market. To understand the function we will first have a look at the evolution and how they penetrated the market in 2001. In 2001, at the Ism fair (one of the most important fairs for chocolate makers) in Germany, German importers showed refer to import the companys products. We could say that Dolf in did non really have a strategy ready for that. They decided to export in order to satisfy this call for. They started with 2 distributors Feinkost (confectionery) and Suesswaren (delicatessen). They had exclusive contracts with these 2 distributors.By 2005, according to Nathalie Trachte, one of the administrators of Dolfin, the interest for quality food in Germany is increasing. This means they like to pay more for gamey quality chocolate bars than eating a huge quantity of intensity chocolate. By that time, Dolfin realised they had no commercial strategy in Germany and that they had very few market shares. In 2006, the turnover of the German exportations dropped off by 15%. The reasons are first, because both distributors became competitors secondly, it was due to the increasing number of new chocolate products on the German market. 1 In 2008, despite the crisis, the value of nude materials and the cultural fear for inflation in Germany, the exportations remained at a cer tain level. Moreover specialised shops decided to focus on bestsellers alike(p) Dolfin. However, the turnover kept on decreasing. In 2009, because of the very long summer, the season started a bit later. 11 Belcolade Conference, Salon de Paris 2009 (14th 18th October 2009) ? 7 Belgian export to Germany (code SH18-cacao)12 (M ) coffee tree and drinking chocolate Total export 2002 202,87 2003 199,60 2004 217,878 2005 240,18 2006 249,03 2007 278,49 2008 281,42 9. 402,07 31. 067,38 34. 037,69 35. 271,04 38. 451,03 38. 727,10 42. 605,73 This graph demonstrates an evolution in the Belgian exports of chocolate and cacao towards Germany between 2002 and 2008. This represents an summation of about 38% in 6 years. This means that Dolfin is acting in a growing market and that there are still opportunities to seize. 3. 2 The current exporting strategy Dolfin started to rethink the way it was exporting to Germany. In 2007, they decided to use the 5 Ps theory Product launching new products and combining new flavours. Price the wrong is higher(prenominal) than other standard chocolates as they sell quality products. However, it is not as expensive as premium chocolate. They didnt want to change the price as they consider it as a fair one for a mid-upscale product. As we are talking about a niche product, changing the price wouldnt be a competent action to take. parley by mail with Mrs Stas Marie, Service Evaluation et Strategie, Agence Wallonne a lExportation et aux Investissements Etrangers, 3/11/09 ? 12 ? 8 Place Dolfin started to look for suitable places for their products in order to create a luxury, exclusive image.They decided to work with and one of the 2 distributors. Promotion Dolfin decided to advertise, to promote, to organize tastings in shops, releasing more press articles, etc People the question was are they working with the right people and do they drive in them enough? As a response they outgrowth the number of visits to distributors. In a nutshell, Dolfin is using direct exports selling its products instantly to distributors. ? 9 4 Export abilities 4. 1 The export diagnosis 4. 1. 1 The exertion tool The production capacity Dolfin exports today 85% of its intact production out of the Belgian territory.However, its provided using fractional of its production capacity. The production adaptability Each exporting market has its own demand specificities and likings, thats why Dolfin pays special attention to analyze the product and make sure it will be suitable for most of the export markets. 4. 1. 2 The finance Dolfin gets its currency mainly from the shareholders. They get subsidies from AWEX for the set up of the website, bring for fairs, stands, catalogues, etc. Dolfin doesnt invest a lot in investigation. They real wait for potential clients to come to them. 4. 1. 3 The products The Bio-physical characteristicChocolate has 6 main enemies humidity, temperature shocks, too high temperature, light, insects and sm ells The hold should also prevent backbreaking smells to reach the chocolate because the cocoa butter is very handsome to the smells. Chocolate is a perishable commodity with an average life time personnel casualty from 12 to 18 months (depending on the flavours). Therefore, it is essential to assure, on the one hand, a quick transportation and, and on the other hand, good transport conditions to bond the chocolate to become white if the temperature is not suitable. The regulatory criterionChocolate be an alimentary product, several norms and regulations are in use worldwide. As seen before, in Belgium we have the HACCP norms and companies also apply the ISO 22000 along with the European directives. ? 10 4. 2 Analysis of the German market 4. 2. 1 The Four C framework From the mid nineties to the late nineties, Germany was considered as a circumstances market as well as a very pack together price market. Indeed the Germans were known to be big consumers of milk chocolate buyi ng low quality chocolate. However, in the late nineties, beginning of 2000, interest for quality increased and Germany became a connoisseur market.That is when Dolfin entered the German market. Marketing is a system for identifying and satisfying customer needs and wantsprofitably 13. In order to do so, condescensiones have got to be customer oriented, which means they have to think in their channelise of view. In fact, the four P framework we canvass previously will be now converted into Cs Product = Customer Solution Quality products are of abundant interest as well as ingrained certified products as it is a growing trend. Design and packaging of Dolfins products are harming to target audience and they are original. For the packaging, they respect the European directives concerning languages that must appear on the label. Indeed, in the case of Germany, customers can read the ingredients and other token of information in German, but also in French, English and Dutch. Doi ng this, Dolfin can use the same packaging for Belgium or other countries where these languages are spoken. 59% are loyal to their brand14. Price = Customer Value Does price liaison? For some, absolutely Germans are the most price-conscious chocolate buyers (35%)15. But Dolfin suits its prices to the audience it targets, so there is no changeTLATLI F. , Behaviors of the actors of the market, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010. BARRY CALLEBAUT, Survey, 2008, URL address http//www. barrycallebaut. com/56? theme=,year=,lang=en,keyword=,page=1,release =4072,read=en (viewed 15th November) 15 idem 14 13 ? 11 unavoidable regarding this. Furthermore, according to Nathalie Trachte the costs related to the chocolate production dont enable them to lower their price. 16 Regarding the payments, they act different towards European and non-European customers. Indeed, customers within Europe like Germany have to pay the first 5 orders in advance.After this period theyll get 30 days credit f or each order. If the customer doesnt pay after those 30 days, Dolfin wont accept any order from them. Outside Europe, another policy is employ in order to hedge risks. They wont deliver products, unless they have received the counter-part and this for every order. Nathalie Trachte also pointed out the fact that prices or payments negotiations are difficult and long but once they are achieved, they do not discuss them again. Place = Convenience In Germany, Dolfin sells its products by different channels.The company is represented in small specialized shops but also in high class supermarkets. Their geographical coverage is very large. Indeed, you can uprise Dolfins Chocolates almost everywhere but only in luxurious places. This is very important for the image of the brand. In Germany you find them next to competitors such as Domori, Valrhona, etc. Concerning the transport of the goods, they use the Inco legal injury Ex Works, which means that the seller, in this case Dolfin, p uts the goods at the disposal of the buyer in his accommodations17. As seen previously, the transport has to take into account the bio-physical characteristics of chocolate.Futhermore, we will analyze the reason of this choice in the SWOT analysis. Promotion + PEOPLE = communication They especially emphasize on this concept. Indeed, satisfied customer is the best advertising. In terms of Ps, promotion and especially people are of great importance since they allow Dolfin to put together a good dialogue between both their suppliers and customers. As analyzed previously, due to the crisis the company had to review its strategy and in order to do so, they focused their attention on communication. This permits Dolfin to be closer to their distributors and hence their customers. own(prenominal) interview with Nathalie Trachte, decision maker and Marketing responsible, Dolfin, Bruxelles, Belgium, 27th October 2009.? 17 HEINEN M-L. , Managing International Operations, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010, p. 39. 16 ? 12 4. 2. 2 Satisfyer Dolfin has to know how to develop its customers satisfaction. They are looking for global satisfaction to have total happiness. Because it is not only at the point of sales, but most of all while consuming the product that the customer becomes satisfied, Dolfin is concentrating its efforts on the intangible elements, the most important part of satisfaction.Indeed, for them, launching new quality products with original recipes is important but not only they also have to invent other elements around that product in order to differentiate it from the competition with the aim to bring customers satisfaction. at bottom this concept of intangible elements, we distinguish the basic ones and the dynamic ones. As regards Dolfins basic intangible, quality is of great importance. Thats why, they stress on good services and constant quality to deliver what they promised to the customer.To ensure that, Dolfins production methods conform to the strictest and most up-to-date standards of quality and cleanliness. One of the priorities of Dolfin is not only to make sure ingredients come from considered and concerned sources, but also to rub up-to-date in respect to the environment. In fact, Dolfin became the first CO2-neutral Belgian chocolate maker. Related to that quality, Dolfin is trying to create continuity. Indeed, focused on the future, they have to make sure the customer will remain loyal to them. To do so, they are also trying to launch and deliver their new creations on time as well on the market as to the customers.This can only work if Dolfin can trust its customers, but also it has to have good relationships inside and outside the company. Inside the company, everybody knows each other as they are only 15. Outside the company, they are working with suppliers and distributors they have known for a long time. For the dynamic intangible, we can say that it is a prestige product for which the customer knows he will spend more money than for a standard chocolate, but in exchange, he gets a good olfactory sensation eating it. ? 13 5 Dolfins SWOT analysis aptitudes Weaknesses constitutional and Fair-trade Brand Max Havelaar & ingrained? ifferent production schedules thorough farming certified Packaging language, get laid, resistance and traceability Respect of sanitary rules A. F. S. C. A No allergens contained (targets wider audience) diminutive company faster decision making Present in trendsetter cities No intermediaries (closer to customer) Tastings, workshops, exhibitions in shops Production capacity not amply used not in charge of the transport (Ex Works) CO2 neutral ? more controls (Max Havelaar) lowly financial backup Not in charge of the transport (Ex Works)Opportunities some competition for Belgian constitutive(a) chocolate Growing demand for fine dark chocolate in Germany18 Good reputation of Belgian chocolate19 Threats Cocoa is quoted on the stock excha nge Profit linked to cash flow management Competitive market Copying of packaging and recipes Seasonal product World wide economical crisis 5. 1. 1 Explanations of SWOT Since some of the elements were not seen before or could be misunderstood, we would like to add more information. STIGSET M. , German Chocolate Market Is Saturated, connectedness Head Says, URL address http//www. loomberg. com/apps/ intelligence information? pid=20601100=aosOXeX9FzD4=germany (viewed 17th November 2009) 19 MERCIER, J. , la tentation du chocolat, Belgique, Editions Racines, 2007, p82-101. 18 ? 14 Strength Their packaging is the same for Belgium as for Germany because it is written in 4 languages. Besides, the experience in packaging is due to their first activity in the chocolate job, in which they were making private label range products with Dolfin chocolate in it. They are very conscientious regarding traceability. Therefore, every packaging has a circumstances on it. Within their new expo rt strategy, they focus on the promotional aspect. Indeed, Dolfin organises tastings, workshops to attract the customer in an original way. The production capacity not being fully used, the company could increase the production without spending too much money on new machinery. Consequently, the company could raise its production capacity very quickly and respond faster than competitors to an order. In most cases, Dolfin doesnt organize the transport. They use the Incoterms Ex Works. This allows them to focus on their production and not on transport issues.Besides, their customers (importers) are used to transport and know better how to do it. Nevertheless, Dolfin sometimes recommends a transport company to its customers. In 2008, Dolfin took the initiative to reduce its emissions of CO2 by 15%. Moreover, they took part in a project in Rajasthan to offset their remaining CO2 emissions20. That way, Dolfin became the first CO2 neutral company of Belgium. Weaknesses Having an organ ic and fair-trade brand does include some disadvantages. Firstly, the production schedule will have to be modified in order to prevent contamination between both conventional and organic production.Secondly, Max Havelaar (fair trade) and Certisys21 (organic) check the production to make sure it is worth its organic and fair-trade certification. The disadvantage of an Ex Works system is that customers may want a full service. However, Dolfin sometimes makes exceptions for some customers. Opportunities There is a growing demand for higher-quality dark chocolate in Germany22. Germans are becoming connoisseur and prefer quality. DOLFIN, Environnement, URL address http//dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 20th November 2009).. 1 CERTISYS, Organic Guarantee Certisys, URL address http//www. tohi. be/En/home. php? lang=En (viewed the 16th of November). 22 STIGSET M. , op. cit. , p. 12 20 ? 15 Threats The cocoa is quoted on the stock exchange in Pounds per ton. This me ans this raw material is very sensitive to speculations. Furthermore, the production of cocoa depends on the weather, the climate previsions (droughts, floods, plants diseases) but also the political situation in the producing countries. 23 In addition to that, other raw materials are also quoted (milk powder, sugar ). As regards the profit of the company, it is inked to the purchase of raw materials because the cocoa price is very volatile. Unfortunately, a price increase cannot fully be rejected on the client, and the company has to bear the burden of this rugged situation. A good cash flow management is of great importance. It is seat of government to get paid from customers before paying suppliers. Therefore, Dolfin has to manage well its purchases and sales cycles they need to have a positive net working capital. In the chocolate sector, we observe a lot of copying of both the packaging and recipes. Indeed, during fairs for example, it is common to spy on the competition.Th erefore, industrial companies copy the newspaper publishers of smaller chocolate makers. Recently, because of the crisis, the bankruptcy of a big customer has consequences on the financial situation of Dolfin. 23 PONTILLON J. , op. cit. , p. 1.? ? 16 6 Recommendations In order to propose recommendations, it is of interest to analyze the history of the current export strategy of Dolfin. We have seen that in 2001 Dolfin started to export to Germany on the demand of two German importers. In fact, Dolfin didnt plan to export at that time and they didnt develop any export strategy in order to do so.They just did it, and, until 2007, business went good sales and turnover increased every year. But in 2007 things went on differently. Dolfin started to loose market shares, and business didnt go on better in 2008. Starting from that point, we are going to build our recommendations. By interviewing Nathalie Trachte, administrator and manager of the marketing department of Dolfin, we tried to find out the reasons of the current situation. Out of the discussion appeared two essential facts the competition on the German market has strongly increased and Dolfin is facing distribution problems. . 1 Competition on the German market As developed previously in the cross-cultural analysis, we have to think and act in terms of customer solution and not the other way around. Recent surveys of Barry-Callebaut24 reveal some figures about the German chocolate consumers. Here are some evoke conclusions 60% prefers milk chocolate only 37% consumes dark chocolate (less than all other Europeans) German consumers are especially cracking on change 25% of German chocolate lovers surveyed regularly try different types and flavours.Among a trend towards premium chocolate, original, organic and fair trade chocolates are becoming increasingly popular. To be able to offer customer solutions to the German consumers, we would recommend to increase the amount of milk chocolate products it offers. For example, currently, only 5 out of the 17 flavours of the chocolate bars of 70 grams are made with milk chocolate. to develop the marketing around Tohi. Indeed, as fair trade and organic food become more popular on the German market, we shall respond to this demand. This should be done through smart advertising.As we noticed before, Germans are sensitive to good quality products and keen to change 24 BARRY CALLEBAUT, op. cit. , p. 11 ? 17 as mentioned above. Therefore, it is of great importance to increase the customers awareness regarding the combination of quality organic- and fair trade, with a particular stress on the quality of Tohis product. With these 2 recommendations we apply to respond to the problem concerning the increase in competition. 6. 2 Distribution problems To address the second problem relating to the distribution, we shall focus on ommunication We believe that frequent meetings between distributors and Dolfins employees would improve the establish ed dialogue. Indeed, by doing this, they can share the knowledge concerning Dolfin range of products, and also the philosophy and strategy of the company. This would be particularly kindle when new creations are launched. This enables Dolfin to have a more coherent strategy and to achieve cohesion between Dolfin, distributors and customers. This way, the message the company is sending will be understood the right way. This might take time and money to be implemented, but it is worth a try.Lets now focus on possible openings First, hotel-catering trade (Horeca) is an attractive sector. In Belgium, the company has a partnership with le pain quotidien. We believe it would be interesting to seek for similar cooperation in Germany. Secondly, since chocolate sales are high during specific events such as Christmas, birthdays, Saint Valentine days, mothers/fathers days, etc They should develop new/original ideas in order to respond to this demand. Thats why we came up with the idea that a package including flowers and chocolate could satisfy the specific demand during those special days.However, it is important to point out that it would be a difficult business to develop since laws and norms concerning foodstuffs are very strict. Finally, as the e-business is spreading all around the world, we thought Dolfin should develop a new strategy regarding this. On the one hand, it would enable the company to reach new customers and on the other hand, it allows being closer to their already loyal distributors/customers. Nevertheless, this implies hiring new employees who can manage mighty both businesses and the creation of a new department.In addition to that, it is difficult, through the web, to be close to their clients and to establish a good communication. ? 18 7 Conclusion We have reached the end of our analysis and it is now time for us to conclude the work. Firstly, we want to thank Nathalie Trachte for her devotion and vital information. By doing this paper weve l earned to think in terms of international market and export. Weve encountered 2 main problems during this assignment the distribution and the competition on the German market. In order to tackle these, we have relied on the SWOT-analysis which we have built up, in order to develop recommendations.We do hope these will be suitable for Dolfin. For each of the 2 problems, we have tried to find possible solutions. In addition to that, we have also intended to be more creative, considering other possible market openings. Nevertheless, we have to bear in mind the fact that we are not professionals with an experienced background and we may have disregarded to take some aspects into account for the analysis. Furthermore, to make a relevant export audit, more time and more information, especially regarding the German market, would be required. ? 19 8 Bibliography 8. 1 Books FOULON L. Hygiene et technologie de chocolaterie, Bruxelles, CERIA, syllabus, 2009-2010, 35p. MERCIER, J. , la tenta tion du chocolat, Belgique, Editions Racines, 2007, 240p. PONTILLON, J. , Cacao et chocolat production, utilisation, caracteristiques, Paris, Editions TEC et DOC, 1998, 638p. 8. 2 Websites BARRY CALLEBAUT, Survey, 2008, URL address http//www. barrycallebaut. com/56? group=,year=,lang=en,keyword=,page=1,release=4072,read=en (viewed 15th November) CERTISYS, Organic Guarantee Certisys, URL address http//www. tohi. be/En/home. php? lang=En (viewed the 16th of November). Dolfin Dark chocolate, URL address http//www. finedarkchocolate. com/Chocolate/Dolfin/index. asp (viewed 16th November 2009). DOLFIN, Philosophie, URL address http//dolfin. be/index. php? lang=En=philosophie (viewed the 16th November 2009). EUROPA, Etiquetage, presentation et publicite des denrees alimentaires, URL address http//europa. eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/product_labelling_and_packag ing/l210 90_fr. htm, (viewed 1st November) GERMAN CULTURE, Germany in the World Economy, URL address http//www. g ermanculture. com. ua/library/facts/bl_germany_world_economy. htm (viewed on the 15th of November). International Organization for Standardization, URL address http//www. iso. org/iso/catalogue_detail? csnumber=35466 (viewed the 02nd of November 2009). ? 20 NATIONAL BANK OF BELGIUM, Comptes annuels en euro, 2008, 18p. , URL address http//banquenationale. be/pub/ (viewed the 20th November 2009) STIGSET M. , German Chocolate Market Is Saturated, Association Head Says, URL address http//www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601100&sid=aosOXeX9FzD4&refer=german y (viewed 17th November 2009) WORLD WIDE CHOCOLATE, Dolfin chocolates and chocolate bars, URL address http//www. worldwidechocolate. om/shop_dolfin. html (viewed 16th November 2009) 8. 3 Interview Personal interview with Nathalie Trachte, Administrator and Marketing responsible, Dolfin, Bruxelles, Belgium, 27th October 2009. 8. 4 Others Belcolade Conference, Salon de Paris 2009 (14th 18th October 2009) conversation by ma il with Mrs Stas Marie, Service Evaluation et Strategie, Agence Wallonne a lExportation et aux Investissements Etrangers, 3/11/09 HEINEN M-L. , Managing International Operations, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010, p. 39 TLATLI F. , Behaviors of the actors of the market, Bruxelles, ICHEC, slides 2009-2010 ?