Tobasco

History

Tabasco was founded in 1868 and is a family owned private company. It was created and is head quartered in Louisiana. Tabasco sells its products in 160 countries and most of the crops are grown in Central and South America, and on Avery Island in Louisiana. Tabasco prides its quality on its three year aging process. For this process Tabasco hand picks peppers and places them in white oak barrels with a little salt. These barrels are sent to Avery Island where they age for three years. At the end of the three years the peppers turn to liquid where the skin and seeds are removed. The liquid is then mixed with vinegar for a month before the liquid is bottled and ready to be sold.[1]

External Environment

Tabasco has to be ready for environmental factors such as hurricanes which could have catastrophic affects on the business. To ensure that these environmental factors don’t destroy crops, Tabasco has crops in different parts of the world. Tabasco also set up back up generators at there location in Louisiana due to the 2005 natural disaster Hurricane Katrina.

Other factors externally affecting Tabasco is the economy. Most recently the world has seen a heavy recession starting in 2007 in the United States and extended globally. This recession has been the longest and most severe since The Great Depression. Tabasco will have to determine how to market and compete in this market where economic growth has declined. Tabasco will have to find a way to market and sell their product in an economy where consumers are being price conscious.

Pricing

I visited the Shoprite on Route 46 West in Little Falls, where I regularly shop, to identify the marketing setup of Tabasco hot sauce. In Shoprite there were forty-three different brands of hot sauce condiments and the like. There were seven Tabasco hot sauce products in Shoprite, which are: Habanero Sauce, Hot Mustard Spicy Brown, Sweet and Spicy Pepper Sauce, Garlic Pepper Sauce, Green Pepper...