German market study for The Navigator Company packaging business

Abstract

The Navigator Company is studying the possibility of implementing its packaging business in the German market. In collaboration with the company, this thesis has the purpose of studying the German environment for the company to implement its packaging business segment. Firstly, it was important to exam the company, mainly its current businesses, with more depth for the packaging business. Before assessing the market, it was done a literature review based on internationalization, regarding knowledge needed, and packaging, concerning packaging solutions and trends. Since The Navigator Company only works with paper products, from wood pulp, it was analyzed: competitors, who also produce paper/carton packaging solutions from wood fibers and are already established in the country; the German market demand for paper/carton packaging products, besides statistical data and other information available, focused interviews were done to German students; and macro-economic environment factors, using the PESTEL framework. The main findings of this thesis are that Germany is a strong country to do business in, with good macro economic conditions, the paper/carton packaging market is growing, with consumers asking for environmentally friendly packaging solutions and companies looking for paper/carton to replace plastic packaging, since they have similar performance. Competition, in Germany, is strong, companies who operate in the market are well established, besides big paper packaging companies are buying other companies to reduce competition and increase their market concentration.

Date of Award	1 Jul 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Rute Xavier (Supervisor)