SWOT Analysis of RARA Noodles Threats 1. High competition: RARA is facing high competition in the market.

There is presence of established brand like Wai-Wai and Mayos in the market. The competitors are focusing on diversification of flavor in the same product line. They are under aggressive marketing strategies. The promotion strategies of Rara seem ineffective among that cut-throat competition. 2. Price wars among established brands: Noodles industries are launching their products with high promotional activities and advertisements. The established noodles are under aggressive promotion strategies and even there is price war among established brands. So this has provided the threat for RARA to sustain in the market with less marketing communication tools. 3. Less product mix: RARA has low product mix unlike Maggi which has noodles, soup, pasta etc. 4. Low barriers to enter in the business: The ability of new competitors to enter and begin operating is low. A company may not require making large investments in capital equipment. The new company can lure existing firms loyal customer. So there are many noodles companies entering in the market. 5. Media generated news about health issues: The media and health related organization are continuously raising issue about some ingredients in the noodles. This has created some confusion among customers. So people are reluctant to consume noodles in some extent. Nowadays some schools and colleges has banned the use of noodles in their in their premises. 6. Greater availability of substitute products: There are greater numbers of noodles in same size and same price in the market. So customers have greater number of choices available. Even RARA can be substituted by biscuits and snacks. Opportunities 1. Growing package and canned food market: The income level and purchasing power of Nepalese people is increasing. The lifestyle and eating behavior is also changing constantly. The growing trend of preference towards packaged and canned food shows a huge potential of noodles market in the future. 2. Diversification: The customer tastes are changing. It has much more scope in providing products with different flavors. Rara can be diversified so as to meet the changing customer needs. 3. Global markets: There is huge market in India and China. The company export to these big markets same as other noodles like Wai-Wai. Weakness 1. Low level of advertisement and promotion activities: The company is not promoting the product RARA sufficiently to retain its brands and loyal customers. We can hardly see the advertisement in media.The format of the advertisement in television is not revised till decade. The same advertisement is broadcasted for a long decade. The customers are not well communicated about the benefits and value of the project. 2. Weak distribution network as compared to others: Himshree Foods has weak distribution channels. Since other competing noodles have reached their products in each and every shop in the market, in the same scenario loyal customers are realizing difficult to find RARA in shops. 3. No differentiation in flavor: There is a single line product in RARA. The product is manufactured and distributed with single flavor. Strengths

1. First precooked noodles sold in Nepal: RARA was the first noodles manufactured and sold in Nepal. Many Nepalese are familiar with the name RARA. 2. Brand identity as noodles for children and sick people: RARA has been positioning as the noodles for children, old as well as sick people. Children and even older people sing the jingle of the advertisement broadcasted in television and radio. 3. White noodle: Rara has been able to differentiate it as white noodle in the market among competitors.

Porters Five Force Model of competitive analysis (RARA) Michael E. Porter of Harvard Business School in 1979 developed the framework through which the company or industry can analyze its competitive environment. Porters five forces model determines the competitive status with the analysis of five competitive forces which are: Threats of new entrant, bargaining power of customers, bargaining power of customers, Threat of substitute and Level of rivalry. Rara competitive analysis is presented in the picture below as suggested by Michael E. Porter. Barriers to Entry:

It represents how easy or difficult is the situation for new entrants to startup the similar company in the industry. New companies can enter into the business because huge investment is not required. Gandaki Noodles was the first company to introduce noodles in Nepali market. Rara was the first noodle product launched. Due to low barriers in industry, a large number of companies entered into the business. Now there are more than one hundred noodles companies in Nepal. Bargaining Power of Buyers: Bargaining power of buyers refers to the strength of the buyers position. In context of the noodles industry, buyers / customers are the individuals or organizations using the product provided by the noodles companies. Buyers are strong because they have significant influence over product and the price. There are numbers of same product in the market; customers have a lot of alternatives. Bargaining Power of Suppliers: The Suppliers in the noodles industry are the firms providing flour, chicken, egg , spices, etc. The power of the companies to select the suppliers shows that the suppliers are strong. There is limited number of supplier in the Nepali market. There is almost monopoly in the supplier side. Rivalry among the Existing Players: Wai-Wai and Mayos is the larger player of noodles market in Nepal. Although Rara has the longest history in Nepal, it cannot take the benefit of first mover. Currently there are more than twenty packaged noodles available in market. These noodles are only from domestic companies. There are number of other imported noodles available in supermarkets. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitute products occurs when the demand of a product is affected by the price or service provided by the substitute product changes. The cheaper price and easy availability of different noodles has affected the sales of Rara. Each and every noodle can be obtained in almost all shops; in this situation customer have alternatives to choose the noodles. On the other hands the substitutes like biscuits and different snacks ate highly available in the market within similar range of price. So the lower price substitute products are the strong substitutes for Rara.