Introduction
In today’s business and trade there is a constant appearance of new
technologies, solutions and innovations. In such an environment, marketing
managers are faced with a difficult set of intertwined questions, foremost of
which are: which of these products will actually achieve takeoff, at what speed
and what is the appropriate market entry strategy in order to accelerate
takeoff? [1] In this paper we describe a radical product innovation while trying
to achieve the advantage of the first- mover in the market.
Radical product innovations are defined in terms of their technological
superiority and their ability to meet customer needs better than prior
technologies. [2]
In 2003, Croatian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management
started a project named “Marketing of pelagic fish from Croatian Adriatic”,
implemented by Department of agricultural marketing, Faculty of Agriculture,
University of Zagreb.
Some of the problems that this project was trying to resolve were the low
prices of pelagic fish in the market which result in small income for fishermen
and the insufficient offer of fish in the tourist market.
The offer of fast and convenient meals in the tourist market is usually limited
to international fast- food chains and other food not characteristic for Croatia
as a Mediterranean country. Traditional specialties of Croatian origin are hard
to find and are usually relatively expensive.
Therefore, the basic goal of this project was to create a simple, healthy,
nutritive and affordable food product for domestic and tourist market in
Croatia.
A marketing strategy was designed for the new product. In order to position
the new product in the market, it was necessary to emphasize the nutritional
value of pelagic fish and its beneficial health influences. Furthermore, the new
product has some significant psychological advantages such as the image of a
natural and ecologic product, the relation with traditional way of life and
traditional food of Mediterranean Croatia. The marketing strategy also
included differentiation elements regarding the existing offer of fast food. The
comparative advantages of the new product are high quality raw materials
(fresh fish), high quality preparation of the food by trained personnel, reliable
service for customers and relatively low prices. The positive image of Adriatic
Sea and healthy food coming from it was also one of the positive elements for
the promotion of the new product.
A franchise system called “Srdela Snack” was created as a chain linking
fishermen, fish processors and restaurant- owners into an organization
designed to provide the market with simple and affordable meals consisting of