F&P Gruppo - Gallo RiceIntroductionF&P Gruppo is a private company specializing in the value-added rice industry which has been a family business for five generations. The Gallo brand and F&P Gruppo rooster logo are used consistently across all product lines and markets. F&P Gruppo has extensive international operations and its products are sold throughout Europe and South America. Wholly-owned subsidiaries and production facilities are located in Argentina, Italy, Germany and Uruguay. In addition, F&P Gruppo also has wholly owned subsidiaries in Brazil and Switzerland as well as a joint venture in the United Kingdom. The company's stated goal was to achieve dominant market share in an increasingly segmented industry by producing and marketing differentiated, higher-margin products. Their success to date is the result of many factors. F&P Gruppo is one of the few companies involved in the entire rice production process: from cultivation and milling to packaging and marketing. They have been nicknamed “the rice specialists” and have the competitive advantage of owning the entire value chain. Rice is the only food industry they operate in, so they are very focused and have a high degree of expertise. This led to a deep understanding of how to market to their customer base. Above-average commitment to research and development has provided a competitive advantage by creating new, improved varieties of high-quality rice, developing proprietary manufacturing processes and improving packaging. A company objective that demonstrates the importance of research and development for F&P Gruppo is that 35 to 40% of the total gross margin comes from products that are not in the middle of paper......ice would seem like a good company to use as an example of the proper way to approach marketing in foreign countries. Gallo Rice has been aided in its international expansion by the fact that they have kept an eye on consumer interests in the respective countries in which they have chosen to operate. Rather than launching a single, homogeneous product line across the world, they have done a good job of adapting to local consumer needs. Gallo has also done a good job keeping track of the individual actions of its main competitors in the respective markets in which they operate. By keeping pace with different consumer expectations in each country and monitoring the actions of local competitors, Gallo Rice has created a strategic advantage over its competitors that will continue to help them in the future..