Tootsie Roll Industries

The report given is about a Chicago based company called Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. Tootsie Roll Industries is an old company that has been manufacturing and selling candy for more than 110 years and has come a long way after a number of merger and acquisitions to add to the brands’ product line. The company currently operates in 30 countries. However, it is imperative that the company operations should be extended to other countries to make Tootsie Rolls a household name in every country.

As an International Business Development Manager of this company, I have suggested expanding the company operations to Pakistan where the consumers look for newer products. And even though the local competition provides candies at lower prices, the lack of quantity and quality of the local candies has made them undesirable for the brand conscious middle and upper class of the country.

Moreover, the imported chocolates of the companies Hershey’s, Cadbury, Nestle and Mars can not be afforded often by the lower middle and the middle class who also have desire to consume high quality sweets and chocolates.

The report discusses the company operations, target market, brands and core competencies. Then the report presents recommendations about the target country and comprehensively analyses and discusses how and why this country is suitable for expanding the company operations. II. COMPANY ANALYSIS

Tootsie Roll Industries is a manufacturer of confectionery in the United States. Its best known products / brands have been Tootsie Rolls which are “chewy chocolate -flavoured candies” and Tootsie Pops, “hard candy lollipops filled with chewy chocolate-flavoured Tootsie Rolls”.

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Along with these, the company has added to its brands by acquiring other confectioners. The company was established in 1896 by an Austriant immigrant called Leo Hirshfield who brought his own recipe when he came to America. He first started to produce Tootsie Rolls in a small store in New York City.

In 1917, the company was called The Sweets Company of America, and in 1966, adopted its current name of Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc. Since its inception, the company has expanded by acquiring several famous brands of confections such as Mason Division from Candy Corporation of America, Cellas’ Confections, The Charms Company, The Warner-Lambert Company (excluding gum & mints), Andes Candies, and Concord Confections. “Tootsie Roll Industries currently markets its brands internationally in Canada, Mexico, and over 30 other countries.

The company’s heaquarters are located in Chicago. ” The company has been operating successfully under the auspices of the married team of 87-year-old chairman and CEO Melvin Gordon and 75-year-old president and COO Ellen Gordon who control 80% of the company’s voting power. The company has been known to use the same formula for over 100 years. Its Charms and Tootsie Pops brands make it one of the largest lollipop producers in the world. According to Hoover’s Fact Sheet, Tootsie Roll Industries, Inc.

has total of 26 competitors in the confectionary and candy industry in the countries in which it is operating. However, the most important ones are Hershey, Mars and Nestle. Mars is considered to be the industry leader manufacturing high quality and high energy brands such as Twix, Mars, Snickers, Milky Way, M&Ms, etc. that not only cater to the children but adults of all ages as well. Customers/ Target Market The company mostly targets the children and to some extent the younger population (teenagers) up to the age of 18.

However, Tootsie also targets the adults as well for using its products in the offices, meetings, social gatherings, parties, and special occasions so that they become a family product rather than a child’s. Even though, candies and sweets are products that are primarily for the children, the products are used by and popular among all ages both young and old. During the Korean War, Tootsie Rolls was very famous among the armed forces. According to them, Tootsie Rolls reminded them of their country America, and gave them hope and kept them alive during the war.

US military has since been a major part of the loyal customers of Tootsie products. Tootsie Rolls has been a nostalgic reminder of home bringing them good memories about their country. Also, the brands such as Charms Family Fun and Child’s Play specifically cater to family occasions such as Halloween and birthday parties. Moreover, they do not cater to any specific income class; hence they are affordable and liked by affluent as well as the middle class. Products and Services

The company is basically into manufacturing candies and confectionery industry. Tootsie’s core products are candies and confectionery items such as chocolates, toffees, caramel sweets, bubble gums, lollipops, jellies, cotton candy, etc. It has added to its original brand of Tootsie Rolls by mergers and acquisitions and has extended its product line and customer base since its inception. Some famous brands manufactured and sold by the company are as follows: 1. Tootsie Rolls

Tootsie Rolls was the first product that was produced and sold by Leo Hirshfield in his small shop that brought the company fames. “Hirshfield hand rolled and wrapped his chewy, chocolate flavored creation and named the candy after his 5-year-old daughter, Clara, whose nickname was “Tootsie. ” Tootsie Roll was the first wrapped penny candy in America. ” Today, Tootsie Rolls are produced using the same basic recipe that was used by its creator over a century ago. About 62 million Tootsie Rolls are produced every day. Tootsie Rolls now come in a variety of shapes and sizes.