Describe the corporate strategy that applies to the production of Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars between the months of October and December.

Outline one benefit to the company of creating a product family for the chocolate bars.

Outline one way that pressure groups may have influenced the development of the Tony’s Chocolonely brand.

Explain how Tony’s Chocolonely have developed a brand identity for the chocolate bar to support their mission.

Tony’s Chocolonely has made progress towards a sustainable approach.

Suggest one additional strategy Tony’s Chocolonely could use to promote each of the three aspects of triple bottom line sustainability.

product development;
new products (new flavours) are introduced into an existing market;

Award [1] for identifying the corporate strategy that applies to the production of Tony’s Chocolonely chocolate bars between the months of October and December and [1] for a brief description up to [2 max].

increasing sales / profits / satisfied customers / brand loyalty;
by offering a wide range of choice/tastes;

cost effectiveness;
able to use the same/existing manufacturing capabilities (same machinery, staff, skills, suppliers);

achieves economies of scale;
by buying (similar ingredients) in bulk;

Award [1] for identifying a benefit to the company of creating a product family for the chocolate bars and [1] for a development of up to [2 max].

utilizing media to draw attention (raise awareness);
to the issues of farmers (workers / inappropriate labour conditions / destruction of rain forests) in the cocoa industry;

exert influence on major chocolate producers;
to change (verify) their cocoa sources / to pay cocoa farmers a higher price / to buy cocoa from farmers paying their workers fair wages;

encourage ethical consumerism of chocolate / provide negative publicity;
to boycott chocolates from untraceable sources / to boycott chocolates that destroy rain forests / to boycott chocolates that exploit farmers (workers);

provide positive publicity;
encouraging consumers to purchase Tony’s Chocolonely chocolates;

Award [1] for identifying one way how pressure groups may have influenced the development of the Tony’s Chocolonely brand and [1] for a development of that way up to [2 max].

brand identity is used to differentiate Tony’s Chocolonely products from its competitors (in the market) / make a strong connection to the consumer / develop loyalty to the product;

the logo with the broken chains;

reflects the removal of inappropriate labour conditions;

appeals to the consumers ethical viewpoint / promotes fair trade;

unequally divided chocolate pieces;

reflect the inequalities in profits in the chocolate industry / reflect the inequalities in the distribution of income from the chocolate bar / reflect the desire to pay the chocolate farmers a fair (or living) wage;

colourful packaging;

reflect optimism in achieving Tony’s Chocolonely mission;

Award [1] for identifying a reason how Tony’s Chocolonely has developed a brand identity for the choco bar to support their mission and [1] for each subsequent development of that reason up to [5 max].

Social;
putting profits back into the community by building schools, hospitals, supporting charities, etc.;
investing in agricultural (cocoa farming) training;
fighting against cocoa slavery (child labour) / buying traceable cocoa beans;
empowering farmers;
improving workers' living conditions (providing loans);

Environmental;
cleaning water sources / providing clean drinking water;
training farmers to minimize the use of pesticides (chemicals)/utilize organic farming methods;
manufacturing wrapping paper from recycled paper / from sustainably managed forests (Forest Stewardship Council approved) / from local materials;
implementing clean technologies;
eco-labelling their products;

Economic;
expanding the business (into different parts of the world);
introducing more chocolate bar sizes;
applying product development /diversification strategies;
increasing the circle of farmers receiving fair prices (making a decent living);
establishing a long-term relationship with cocoa farmers;
earning fair trade certification;

Award [1] for identifying an additional strategy Tony’s Chocolonely could use to promote social sustainability and [1] for each subsequent development of up to [3 max].

Award [1] for identifying an additional strategy Tony’s Chocolonely could use to promote environmental sustainability and [1] for each subsequent development of up to [3 max].

Award [1] for identifying an additional strategy Tony’s Chocolonely could use to promote economic sustainability and [1] for each subsequent development of up to [3 max].

Mark as [3] + [3] + [3].

Do not accept any of the existing strategies contained in the stimulus material as follows.
Social - awareness of exploitation of workers
Environmental - preserving rainforests
Economic - fair wages

Even though this is a straightforward question, it ended being a good discriminator since many of the candidates appeared to be unfamiliar with the list of corporate strategies in Topic 9.1. Moreover, some candidates who seemed familiar with this list outlined 'diversification' instead of 'product development' as a strategy.

The majority of the candidates obtained at least one mark demonstrating a good understanding of a product family's benefits. Candidates presented a good range of answers from all clusters.

The majority of the candidates obtained at least one mark, demonstrating a good understanding of how pressure groups may have influenced Tony's Chocolonely brand development. Frequent responses included raising awareness and positive publicity.

High marks were awarded to candidates who read the stimulus material, including Figure 4. For example, the chocolate bars have unequally divided chocolate pieces. Moreover, higher-level thinking candidates were able to deduce correct responses just from Figure 4 — for example, Tony's Chocolonely colourful packaging and the broken chain for their logo.

The majority of candidates were able to obtain at least three marks for this question. However, those who failed to pay attention to the word 'additional' reiterated existing strategies mentioned in the stimulus material, for which no marks were awarded. Moreover, some candidates incorrectly focused on the word 'promote' and discussed promotional strategies and marketing mix for Tony's Chocolonely brand. This meant that high marks were only awarded to those candidates who read this question carefully and showed higher-level thinking extending beyond standard textbook responses. (Suggest one additional strategy Tony's Chocolonely could use to promote each of the three aspects of triple bottom line sustainability).