Emerging market Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Emerging market - Assignment Example There was a rising tendency in the consumption of strong alcoholic beverages until the end of 1980s; in mid 1990s this trend was reversed. Since then the demand for vodka has been decreasing, whereas the demand for beer and wine has been growing1 (Tabel 1). "Alcohol is often characterized as unconditionally negative in the context of poverty." ("Poverty and Alcohol" - an article by Yoon Hui Kim, 2004). Yet, the same author agrees that arguments have been made for both the benefits and disadvantages of alcohol production and consumption - as an industry, alcohol production has been argued to spur economic growth and alleviate poverty, while as a commodity it has been criticized for exacerbating the conditions of impoverishment. Consequently, for poor people alcohol can have both positive and negative repercussions on economic, political, social, and health factors. Alcohol consumption can act as a financial drain for indigent households by diverting limited funds from expenditures on food, healthcare, and education. White spirits and in particular, vodka, have been on the increase since 1999. Much of the growth has been inspired by younger adults, who are either supplementing or bypassing altogether, beer and wine, in preference3. The alcohol industry is an innovative industry able to use a wide variety of marketing tools to achieve success in the market-place. The various aspects of product marketing include advertising, labeling, consumer promotion, packaging and merchandising, being an integral part of promoting different brands of consumer goods. Alcohol consumption in Poland is comparable to that in other European countries4. Buying of alcohol (frequency & amount) depends on demographic, socio-economic and psychological factors. Statistical data reveal that alcohol consumption is wide spread in Poland. In the period of the last dozen years changes in the quantity and structure of consumption were observed. The most frequently consumed alcohol is currently beer, particularly among young people. In may 2003, a research investigating "The conditions of alcohol consumption among Polish adults" published in Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities shows that older people seem to prefer wine and v odka. Apart from age, sex also influences preferences: "women more frequently than men drink all kinds of wine and flavoured vodka, "whereas beer, pure vodka and mead are drunk more often by men" (the