• Posted on April 2, 2024
• Aashish

MN3042QA Business Management Assignment Sample

Part 1- Introduction

Business overview

Cake Box Holding started its journey in 2008 in the heart of East London whose Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is SukhChamdal and PradipDass is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the company. On the other hand, the company has become unique due to egg free cakes and without compromising on taste and due to this reason the company has gained popularity in the market of the UK (Refer to Appendix-1). Cake Box Holding is progressing with the aim of providing fresh cream Celebration cakes to the UK market by not using eggs in the cakes along with providing ‘on demand’ service (Eggsfreecake.co.uk 2022).

Location, profit and competitors

Cake Box Holding has several competitors in the market of the UK where companies such as Simon’s Bakery, The Cake Lab UK, The Pretty Sugar Cake Company and Tees bakery are some of the most formidable rival companies. The company started its journey in East London and gradually the company expanded its branches in Acton, Aldershot, Ashton, Barking, Basildon, and Bedford and in other parts of the UK (Refer to Appendix-2). According to the annual reports of the company, Cake Box Holding generated an overall revenue of £3.4 million in 2021 and the company sold worth £21.9 million in 2021 (Refer to Appendix-3).

Part 2- Analysis

2.1 SWOT analysis of Cake Box Holding

SWOT analysis

Strengths	The company has a unique business model where the company produces egg free cakes which is certainly a strength and provides competitive advantage in the market of the UK	The company has been able to expand its business in a significant way in the last couple of years in the market of the UK due to its excellent reputation and brand value	Cake Box Holding follows a strategic leadership style and approach which has proven to be immensely essential in gaining popularity and increasing profitability in the market of the UK
Weaknesses	The company has a lower customer base when compared with its competitors in the market of the UK which is a weakness of the company	The company has to offer more variety of products to its customers and also at an affordable price range and at present it is one of the weaknesses of  Cake Box Holding which it needs to overcome as early as possible	Cake Box Holding has been facing issues related to financial loss due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 and the company has also another issue related to a small customer base which is not expanding at a steady rate which is another weakness of the company
Opportunities	Cake Box Holding is required to grab the attention of food lovers and specifically people who avoid egg products	The market of the UK has been witnessing a growth in the number of customers preferring egg free products which is an outstanding opportunity for the company to augment its present market share by a large margin	Increasing the number of stores in different regions of the UK may be an added advantage for the company
Threats	The company has been facing serious threats due to the presence of rival companies in the UK market which is definitely a threat to the company	Increasing dominance of other companies in the market of the UK and their aggressive pricing strategy is always considered  to be a potential threat to  Cake Box Holding	The presence of strict food safety laws have also become a reason of threat to the company

Table 1: SWOT analysis of Cake Box Holding

(Source: Self-created)

According to the above table, it may be stated that Cake Box Holding has a strong communication network within the company which impacts the overall growth and development of the company in a positive way and for this reason, it is undoubtedly a major strength of Cake Box Holding. Paying attention towards various advanced food processing technologies will ensure better safety of the food products (Huang et al., 2017). Issues related to strategic decision making are also prevalent within the organisation which is also impacting the progress of the company in a negative way. Choosing an optimal strategy for pricing will definitely lead an organisation towards profitability in the long run where analysing the market size proves extremely effective in overcoming challenges and issues (Chen et al., 2019).

Moreover, the arrival of new companies following the business policy of Cake Box Holding has become a serious threat to the company. Cake Box Holding has an outstanding opportunity of attracting the customers preferring egg free cakes along with providing a wide range of products full of nutritive value at a pocket friendly price to the customers belonging to different categories. Strength of Cake Box Holding is its excellent workforce which always actively engages in teamwork for generating desirable results. Giving emphasis on innovation will ensure structural changes in an organisation and will also provide assistance in managing the external factors of business in a strategic way (Distanont and Khongmalai, 2020).

2.2 Use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) by Cake Box Holding

Cake Box Holding pays attention towards maintaining a balance between earning profit and saving the planet and for this reason the company has aligned its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) with sustainability goals. In a more specific way, CSR policies and regulations are often closely associated with corporate communications which enhances the quality of an entire business by making changes in commercial strategies (Souza and Hooker, 2017). Cake Box Holding is always aware of the increasing pollution in the environment and due to this reason the company has been aiming to use a fleet of electric vehicles to confront the issue of carbon emissions in the future as soon as possible (Eggsfreecake.co.uk 2022). However, the company has also giving emphasis on health and safety of the workers along with ensuring positive work environment which will ultimately assist in improving productivity and performance of the team.

Apart from this, Cake Box Holding is also paying attention towards reducing consumption of electricity by a considerable extent and for this reason, the company has been using Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) which will certainly prove effective in lowering electricity consumption. The company has also made partnerships with local farmers residing in Enfield to deal with the issue of food waste and the involvement of the farmers has definitely proven beneficial (Eggsfreecake.co.uk 2022). Cake Box Holding is also focusing on transforming its business by using 100% recyclable carry bags and biodegradable cake boxes which will ensure a better environment by reducing waste. The company has also participated in charitable donations through its Charity Matching Policy and the company maintains a diversified workforce in order to encourage candidates belonging to different communities (Eggsfreecake.co.uk 2022).

2.3 Innovation and creativity of Cake Box Holding

The management team of Cake Box Holding pays close attention towards innovation which accelerates the growth of the organisation in the market of the UK to a considerable extent by attracting and influencing various prospective stakeholders. It may be asserted that research and development plays a crucial role in improving innovative solutions which impacts the quality of the food products and its packaging too (Trott and Simms, 2017). Advanced technological assistance and using smart equipment further enhances the overall quality management process of Cake Box Holding. The team of workers constantly seek creative solutions to resolve the issues along with making active efforts in improving the quality of the cakes and increasing variety of the products.

However, the company has allocated funds for further developing innovations which will ensure better brand value and reputation in the global context and also prove effective in gaining competitive advantage. It may be added that managing various innovations related to innovation in a strategic way becomes immensely essential in avoiding unwanted risks and threats which may threaten the entire innovation process (Afuah, 2020). The leadership and management of Cake Box Holding is well aware of the importance of maintaining creativity for attracting customers in a highly competitive business world by promoting innovative marketing strategies.

Part 3- Conclusion and recommendations

Conclusion

In a concluding remark, it may be opined that Cake Box Holding has been operating successfully in the market of the UK where the company has been providing egg free cakes to its customers and the company needs to further improve its weaknesses to gain a stable position in the long run. Cake Box Holding is required to conquer the existing risks and challenges along with utilising the available opportunities to ensure better organisational growth and development in the future.

Recommendations

The important recommendations are as follows:-

1. Cake Box Holding should improve its marketing strategy to expand its customer base rapidly
2. Cake Box Holding should give emphasis on collecting as well as analysing customer feedback for improving its products and services
3. The management of Cake Box Holding is required to adopt flexible leadership approach and style in order to achieve organisational goals in a hassle freeway
4. Cake Box Holding should pay attention towards conducting a thorough market analysis before launching its product to avoid loss

References

Afuah, A., 2020. Innovation management-strategies, implementation, and profits.

Chen, X., Wu, S., Wang, X. and Li, D., 2019. Optimal pricing strategy for the perishable food supply chain. International Journal of Production Research, 57(9), pp.2755-2768.

Distanont, A. and Khongmalai, O., 2020. The role of innovation in creating a competitive advantage.Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 41(1), pp.15-21.

Eggsfreecake.co.uk 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.eggfreecake.co.uk/> [Accessed 9 March 2022].

Huang, H.W., Wu, S.J., Lu, J.K., Shyu, Y.T. and Wang, C.Y., 2017. Current status and future trends of high-pressure processing in food industry.Food control, 72, pp.1-8.

Souza-Monteiro, D. and Hooker, N., 2017. Comparing UK food retailers corporate social responsibility strategies. British Food Journal.

Trott, P. and Simms, C., 2017. An examination of product innovation in low-and medium-technology industries: Cases from the UK packaged food sector. Research Policy, 46(3), pp.605-623.

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