Feta Cheese in Germany and Marketing Mix

Introduction

The purpose of this study is to research on the production and exportation flow of Germany feta cheese internationally and to provide a clearly and illustrated review of the positive and negatives effects for these trade are: The trading environment has two tier .The first has know trade barriers which is the Europeans market and the second one is the global market which has many importing hindrances in the trading of the product (Babcock, 2003).The findings from these studies are important for SWOT analysis of this sector and environment for the product. Feta cheese sector is one of the most primary productive sectors for the Germany population prefer their milk for numerous cheese especially Feta cheese. The long litigation on who was to produce Feta cheese was finally won by Greek in 2002 and after October 2007 they own exclusive right to produce white Feta cheese and   goat milk among the Europeans countries (Bergsrand, 2001).Nevertheless the world trade Organization still request increased protection of products with geographical indications. The product was characterized by increase competition was lead to side risk other firms started to establish Feta cheese increasing their sales without following the traditional way (Dunlevy, 1999).

This led to the problem where the consumers were incorrectly informed about the ingredients and the original flavor of the product which was the different about the cheese form cow milk and goat milk. As a result consumer developed a bad perception about the product which created unfavorable trade environment which reduced their market shares in these countries (Bergsrand, 2001).

Objectives of the study

The objective of this research project is to analyze the main exporting of Feta cheese internationally and look at the factors which hinder the evolution of it. This is through applying gravity model for implementations of new trading policy for the product under the WTO current negotiations. The second objective is to examine the economic factors that affect Feta trade. This includes evolutions of GDP per capita, population, distances, quantities exported and the value of export and imports. The third objective is examined which policy recommendations are good for quick improvement of international trading performance of Feta in Germany. Here we era going to look at Europeans CAP which zeros to the ministry for agriculture. Lastly we shall evaluate the non-economic factors such as the existence of cultural similarities with Mediterranean diet, evolution of tourism and Germany immigrants.

Factors influencing Germany cheese Feta

Cultural environment

The geographical distance between Germany and its trade and partners was estimated form capital to capital. Transport cost and duration of perishable goods which was sheep milk was a big factor because distance was as a proxy. Also the institutions proximity was reinforce by the fact that Feta is a PDO classified product for the Europeans countries. Feta cheese has fit well in Germany due to relative importance of immigrants' links to the home country in terms of preference for typical home country's product (Tinbergen, 1962).

This are mostly tourism form Germany Diaspora is one the factors that influencing positive the cultural familiarity, reducing the cultural distance between partners (Dunlevy, 1999).

The marketing mix that should adapted by the Germany people to market Feta cheese

The marketing strategy and adaptations that consumers economically put to considerations include the following.  In assessing consumer behavior towards dairy products such as cheese, there are six trends, which characterize the eating habits of German consumers. First, the trend towards indulgence and taste experience; consumers are inclined to try new products, but an appealing taste is the fundamental criterion for the buying decision of the product. Second, consumers tend to choose products that are support the healthy life and wellbeing and there is an increasing interest in low fat products; and in consumer's mind "they buy dairy products because they are supposed to be healthy and taste good". Third, consumers want to control their intake of fat ingredients in food, but they still want to enjoy the full taste of dairy products, thus light products will no longer be an alternative. Fourth, the trend towards more convenience and the lack of time; this is due to demographic developments e.g. professional women, an increasing number of single households, because of a hectic schedule consumers have limited time for preparing and cooking food. This trend is also endorsed by the fact that younger consumers are towards leisure and enjoyment. Fifth, the trends towards paying attention to safety and environmental responsibility, this refers to environmental friendly consumers towards moral and social aspects. Sixth is cost effectiveness in terms of price and quality are important factors in consumers decisions in buying known as 'smart shopper'  they tend to consider high quality products with low prices.

According to  the current economic conditions of the country or countries Majority of the subsidy payments have decouple the production process, farmers have turn form crop production to animal breeding especially sheep breeding .The reason being lack of competitiveness of cultivation and there are most fertile agricultural land .These sector involved has shown that geographical entities with high GDP are logically the most important commercial partners internationally .On the same note exports are the part of GDP so that the choice of GDP is very important factor to capture the effect of regional trade agreement and the measure of economic intergration.GDP  per capita is used for aggregated export estimation. It reflects the per capita income of the Germany population the consumption of non basic products is too high (Tinbergen, 1962).The barriers of producing and trading Feta cheese in the European market is one of the important factors for protection of the product against unethical competition. The essential condition to incorporate the added value to the product can gain from the market. The act of unfair competition by Europeans countries legislation, the use of the name Feta  by the firms that do not follow the traditional way of processing and use as raw material cow milk misinform the consumers. European CAP has subsided payment encouraging them to turn from crop production to animal breeding especially sheep (Bergsrand, 2001).

The milk processors too are followed by investing in the new infrastructure and in the quality reassurance which is obligatory. The animal welfare requires Germany famers to comply with the milk standards. The most important market for Feta cheese is Germany which imports in Average a more than 60% of the Greek closely linked with Germany demand. Ger many is also an important destination for Europeans tourists who have the opportunity to familiarize with the product. Feta is an olive oil which is one of primary product which increases the interest for Mediterranean diet (Dunlevy, 1999).

The Germany   position and reputations in the market brought the landmark of protocol agreement (Tinbergen, 1962). The brand name is Lays which is the brand name of potato chips. The other brands are Rold Gold pretzel, Cheetos, Fritos and Doritos.  The Bulgarian Cow Feta Cheese is a white brine cheese, it is creamy and crumbly and has a smooth, creamy texture, sliceable body, and tarty taste, slightly rancid taste and salty. That why it is packed in its salty brine colored papers, it often tastes saltier than it should.  The pricing for different segment differ. White Bulgarian Feta cheese supplier by F3D suppliers cost, 1.25-2.34 Euros per kilogram, Feta cheese by Christakis SA suppliers costs 4.90-5.50 Euros for 650 kilograms. Some of the promotion Marcom tools are Lays get your smile on, Betcha can't eat just this is lays in Greek, Lays turkey meaning share your Lays while  in Turkey, whole fat fresh cattle cheese goes for 92.5 us dollars by supplier ikoneks and consultancy. The channels uses for the promotion of the product include online adverting, television, magazines, cooking channels and recipes on television. (Dunlevy, 1999).