CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKETING ANALYSIS 1

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKETING ANAYSIS

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKET ANALYSIS 2

Abstract
Celestial Seasonings is one of the largest tea manufacturers in the United States. They specialize in herbal teas, along with specialty, black, green, white and chai teas. Celestial Seasonings was started in 1969 by John Hay, Peggy Clute, Mo Siegel, and Lucinda Ziesing. They wanted to create an all-natural tea from the herbs they handpicked in the Rocky Mountains. In 1984 Kraft Foods purchased Celestial Seasoning and after an unsuccessful sale attempt to Lipton in 1988, Kraft sold them back to Barnet M. Feinblum and Vestar Capital Partners. In 2000, Celestial Seasonings merged with The Hain Food Group to form the Hain Celestial Group.

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKET ANALYSIS 3
Celestial Seasonings SWOT Celestial Seasonings has several strengths. One of which would be their commitment to being an “eco-friendly” company from their product’s packaging to how they power their company. (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/node/480) Their all-natural, herbal teas are another strength; they have become the largest manufacturer in the United States with 50 percent of the herb tea category. They also participate in the fair trade market. Fair trade is defined as an “organized social movement whose stated goal is to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions and to promote sustainability.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade). They have developed long term relationships with growers of their core botanical ingredients and buy directly from the source. Due to their extensive research and developments, their opportunities lie with introducing new flavors and products to the consumer market. Their threats would consist of competition, climate conditions, economics, consumer trends, cost and availability of raw materials and the seasonality of their product line. Any weaknesses the company may have are not readily found.
Discussion of Product Celestial Seasonings strives to use the highest quality ingredients. All their teas are all-natural, with most being non-caffeinated. The tea is packed 20 bags per box and are placed in a resealable inner liner to keep the tea fresh. Their boxes are branded with the Celestial Seasonings design and the flavor. All their packages are eco-friendly and made from recycled materials which are recyclable. Each flavor is packaged in a box that is decorated with custom commissioned artwork and an inspiration quote. Boxes sold in the United States are printed horizontally while all the boxes sold in Canada are printed vertically. Celestial Seasonings teas
CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKET ANALYSIS 4 would be considered to be in the growth stage with the sale of their products still increasing each year.
Discussion of Place According to the tour guide on their factory tour, Celestial Seasonings produces 10,000,000 tea bags per day at their Boulder, Colorado factory. After the teas are processed, bagged and packaged they are cased and taken to a storage facility in Boulder, Colorado. From there the teas are sold to brokers who place them in supermarkets, grocery stores, natural food markets, and mass merchandisers. Their teas can also be purchased direct from the gift shop at their Boulder, Colorado factory or from their internet website.
Discussion of Promotion Celestial Seasonings advertising objectives are to enhance brand equity and increase consumption, along with increasing brand awareness through sponsorship programs. They are currently sponsors of the New York Knicks. Their promotional mix is both trade and consumer promotions. For trade they utilize placement fees, cooperative advertising and feature ads in distribution catalogs; consumer advertising consists of social media and in-store demonstrations and samples. According to Ranker.com, Celestial Seasonings ranks third among tea manufacturers. (http://www.ranker.com/list/best-tea-brands/werner-brandes).
Discussion of Pricing Celestial Seasoning is priced slightly higher than their competitors, however their prices are still competitive. They do offer coupons for cost savings, such as “Save $1.00 on 2 boxes of Celestial Seasonings tea bags” at Walmart. (http://www.coupons.com/coupons/Beverage-Coupons-103/?pid=13374&nid=10&zid=lg03).
CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKET ANALYSIS 5
Conclusion
Celestial Seasonings’ mission states “Our mission is to be the leading marketer, manufacturer and seller of organic and natural, better-for-you products. We are committed to growing our company sustainably while continuing to implement environmentally sound business practices and manufacturing processes.” Based on their reputation and sales, they seem to be achieving their goal.

CELESTIAL SEASONINGS MARKET ANALYSIS 6
References
Celestial Seasonings. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.celestialseasonings.com/node/480.
Hain Celestial. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://ir.hain- celestial.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=87078&p=irol-irhome
Management Paradise. (n.d). Retrieved from http://www.managementparadise.com/forums/marketing-management/210580- marketing-strategy-celestial-seasonings-inc.html.
Ranker.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ranker.com/list/best-tea-brands/werner-brandes.
SEC. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/729176/000092735699002056/0000927356-99-002056.txt Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_trade.