brand of instant noodles in Nepalese market through its subsidiary – Nepal Thai foods (P) Ltd. The difference between Wai Wai and other brands was that Wai Wai could be served like other brands as well as it could be eaten without any preparation. It was ready to eat right after opening the packet. Another difference was the seasonings. While the Wai Wai had three different seasonings- taste enhancer, onion flavored oil and chilly powder, the other two brand had only one seasoning – the tastemaker.Before the production of Wai Wai in Nepal, these kinds of noodles were imported mostly from Hong Kong and Thailand. These imported brands were available in limited stores of Kathmandu and only a few consumers were aware of these products.Environmental Scanning for instant noodles marketFrom the marketing activities of Wai Wai it seems to me that environmental scanning had been done carefully for this product before its launching into the Nepalese market and it is being done regularly after its launching. If we look back to the period from 1980 to 1985, we can clearly see that Wai Wai marketing team had clearly visualized the following environmental forces driving it to launch the product.Social ForcesPopulation shift from rural areas to Kathmandu valley and other urban areasGrowing number of school going childrenIncrease in the number of private schoolsEconomic ForcesAgro based economy moving towards market based economyNew job opportunities created by industrialization and increased number of working womenTechnological ForcesIntroduction of Television broadcasting in NepalExpansion and improvement in telecom servicesCompetitive ForcesIntroduction of instant noodles as a new product to Nepalese consumersRegulatory ForcesRevision in Trade treaty with India which allowed easy access to Indian marketGovernment transforming its policy from controlled economy to liberalized economyForm this environmental scanning Wai Wai marketing team ...
