On April 9th, 2013 a team from Maatouk gave a lecture to MBA students at the American University of Beirut. The lecture, which was held at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, focused on Maatouk's repositioning and new market strategy, and its ensuing success story.
The Maatouk team was invited to speak at the Marketing class seminar by Dr. Imad Baalbaki, associate Vice President for Development at AUB, a marketing professor, and a co-author of the Arab World edition of the textbook Marketing Management, in which Maatouk was highlighted as a Marketing Excellence case.
During the lecture, which lasted 150 minutes, Maatouk's general manager Mr. Abdel Halim Jarakji discussed the successful repositioning of the company and its products in 2010. Mrs. Yusra Kanj, the marketing manager then elaborated on the brand's relaunch in Lebanon, and underlined the importance of market research in the decision-making process of strategy development, especially where the major elements of marketing are concerned - whether it is packaging, pricing, distribution or communication. Mrs. Kanj also discussed the launch of the brand in foreign markets and elaborated on various approaches to export, with an emphasis on the establishment of pertinent marketing plans.
The lecture was very positive. There was a dynamic and enriching exchange with the students, who knew and related to Maatouk, and were interested in following the success story of a purely Lebanese brand. The session ended with all students being handed a special Maatouk goodie bag.
Maatouk's Marketing Excellence Case
Maatouk is proud to be featured in the Arab World edition of Marketing Management, a textbook written by Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Salah Hassan, Imad Baalbaki and Hamed Shamma and which will be taught in business departments of universities across the entire Middle East and North Africa.
The textbook was developed to address specific issues and concerns of business in the Arab world. It focuses on local and regional businesses to which Arab students can more directly relate and identify with. In Chapter 4 of the book that covers Marketing Research, Maatouk is presented as a Marketing Excellence case. The section discusses the brand's successful overhaul and highlights the importance of market research in the development of new effective production, distribution and communication strategies.
With its new packaging, pricing, and positioning, Maatouk has managed to rejuvenate a 50-year old business and impose itself again on the competitive coffee market. The brand whose name is synonymous with Premium-quality coffee has proved that it is a mature company, accepting the challenge to re-evaluate itself. With solid new marketing, and distribution strategies, the result has undoubtedly been a case of marketing excellence, reflected in the steady growth and expansion of this proudly Lebanese brand.
