UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Economic and Management Sciences
⋄
Marketing Plan for Khayelitsha Cookies
Assignment 1 — Semester 2, 2026
⋄
Module Code: MNM3701
Module Name: Marketing Management
Assignment No.: Assignment 1
Due Date: August 2026
Semester: Semester 2, 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Marketing Management
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | MNM3701 Marketing Plan: Khayelitsha Cookies
Introduction
Khayelitsha Cookies is a Cape Town based social enterprise that produces handmade cook-
ies, brownies, rusks, biscotti and savoury products while creating employment for previously
unemployed women from disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape. The business op-
erates from Beaconvale, Cape Town, and serves retail, hospitality, corporate, institutional and
online markets, with a current product range that includes cookies, rusks, brownies, cheese
straws, gift products and bulk boxes (Khayelitsha Cookies, 2026a). A marketing plan gives a
structured assessment of an organisation’s internal capabilities, external environment, mar-
kets and customers so that marketing decisions can be aligned with customer needs and
organisational objectives (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For Khayelitsha Cook-
ies, this kind of plan matters because its handmade production model, social purpose and
expanding market presence create both a strong basis for differentiation and a set of opera-
tional tensions that need to be managed deliberately.
The Internal Environment
The internal environment covers the elements of a business that management can control or
shape directly, and it forms the starting point of any marketing plan because strategy has to
be built on a realistic view of what the organisation actually has to work with.
A mission statement communicates an organisation’s fundamental purpose, the customers
it serves and the value it seeks to create (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). It
is the anchor point for every other internal decision, because resource allocation, product
development and marketing communication should all trace back to it.
Business resources are the human, financial, informational, physical and supply inputs an
organisation needs to create and deliver value to customers (Gomez Albrecht, Green and
Hoffman, 2023). Their strategic value lies less in their existence and more in how effectively
they are combined into capabilities that a competitor cannot easily copy, which is the basic
logic of the resource based view of the firm.
A business offering is the set of products, services and associated value delivered to cus-
tomers to satisfy an identified need and to give the organisation a reason to be chosen over
competing alternatives (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). An offering is therefore
never just the physical product; it includes everything that surrounds the purchase decision,
Page 1 of 19
, UNISA | MNM3701 Marketing Plan: Khayelitsha Cookies
from packaging to service to brand meaning.
The External Environment
The external environment consists of forces outside the organisation’s direct control that
nonetheless shape the conditions under which it competes.
Technological factors cover changes in technologies, digital platforms, production systems
and communication tools that can alter how organisations produce, distribute, promote and
sell their offerings (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For a labour-intensive pro-
ducer, technology is a double-edged factor: it drives competitor efficiency while also opening
new channels for reaching customers directly.
Competitive factors concern the actions, capabilities, prices, product offerings and position-
ing of current and potential competitors that influence an organisation’s ability to attract and
retain customers (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). A firm’s competitive position
is relative, not absolute, so this factor has to be assessed against the specific set of rivals a
business actually faces.
Political factors include government policies, legislation, public sector decisions and regu-
latory changes that can influence business operations, market access, compliance costs
and opportunities for organisations (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For a food
manufacturer supplying institutional clients, political factors are not background noise; they
determine whether the business is even allowed to trade in certain markets.
Economic factors include conditions such as inflation, unemployment, economic growth,
interest rates, household purchasing power and input costs that influence both consumer de-
mand and business profitability (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). These factors
typically move together and their combined effect on a business can be more significant than
any single indicator taken alone.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis systematically evaluates an organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses
alongside external opportunities and threats to support strategic decision making (Gomez
Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). Its usefulness comes from forcing a direct comparison
between what a business can control internally and what it must respond to externally, so that
Page 2 of 19
College of Economic and Management Sciences
⋄
Marketing Plan for Khayelitsha Cookies
Assignment 1 — Semester 2, 2026
⋄
Module Code: MNM3701
Module Name: Marketing Management
Assignment No.: Assignment 1
Due Date: August 2026
Semester: Semester 2, 2026
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for Marketing Management
at the University of South Africa.
,UNISA | MNM3701 Marketing Plan: Khayelitsha Cookies
Introduction
Khayelitsha Cookies is a Cape Town based social enterprise that produces handmade cook-
ies, brownies, rusks, biscotti and savoury products while creating employment for previously
unemployed women from disadvantaged communities in the Western Cape. The business op-
erates from Beaconvale, Cape Town, and serves retail, hospitality, corporate, institutional and
online markets, with a current product range that includes cookies, rusks, brownies, cheese
straws, gift products and bulk boxes (Khayelitsha Cookies, 2026a). A marketing plan gives a
structured assessment of an organisation’s internal capabilities, external environment, mar-
kets and customers so that marketing decisions can be aligned with customer needs and
organisational objectives (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For Khayelitsha Cook-
ies, this kind of plan matters because its handmade production model, social purpose and
expanding market presence create both a strong basis for differentiation and a set of opera-
tional tensions that need to be managed deliberately.
The Internal Environment
The internal environment covers the elements of a business that management can control or
shape directly, and it forms the starting point of any marketing plan because strategy has to
be built on a realistic view of what the organisation actually has to work with.
A mission statement communicates an organisation’s fundamental purpose, the customers
it serves and the value it seeks to create (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). It
is the anchor point for every other internal decision, because resource allocation, product
development and marketing communication should all trace back to it.
Business resources are the human, financial, informational, physical and supply inputs an
organisation needs to create and deliver value to customers (Gomez Albrecht, Green and
Hoffman, 2023). Their strategic value lies less in their existence and more in how effectively
they are combined into capabilities that a competitor cannot easily copy, which is the basic
logic of the resource based view of the firm.
A business offering is the set of products, services and associated value delivered to cus-
tomers to satisfy an identified need and to give the organisation a reason to be chosen over
competing alternatives (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). An offering is therefore
never just the physical product; it includes everything that surrounds the purchase decision,
Page 1 of 19
, UNISA | MNM3701 Marketing Plan: Khayelitsha Cookies
from packaging to service to brand meaning.
The External Environment
The external environment consists of forces outside the organisation’s direct control that
nonetheless shape the conditions under which it competes.
Technological factors cover changes in technologies, digital platforms, production systems
and communication tools that can alter how organisations produce, distribute, promote and
sell their offerings (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For a labour-intensive pro-
ducer, technology is a double-edged factor: it drives competitor efficiency while also opening
new channels for reaching customers directly.
Competitive factors concern the actions, capabilities, prices, product offerings and position-
ing of current and potential competitors that influence an organisation’s ability to attract and
retain customers (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). A firm’s competitive position
is relative, not absolute, so this factor has to be assessed against the specific set of rivals a
business actually faces.
Political factors include government policies, legislation, public sector decisions and regu-
latory changes that can influence business operations, market access, compliance costs
and opportunities for organisations (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). For a food
manufacturer supplying institutional clients, political factors are not background noise; they
determine whether the business is even allowed to trade in certain markets.
Economic factors include conditions such as inflation, unemployment, economic growth,
interest rates, household purchasing power and input costs that influence both consumer de-
mand and business profitability (Gomez Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). These factors
typically move together and their combined effect on a business can be more significant than
any single indicator taken alone.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis systematically evaluates an organisation’s internal strengths and weaknesses
alongside external opportunities and threats to support strategic decision making (Gomez
Albrecht, Green and Hoffman, 2023). Its usefulness comes from forcing a direct comparison
between what a business can control internally and what it must respond to externally, so that
Page 2 of 19
