The Impact of New Product Development on Competitive Advantage of Coca Cola -Kenya

Abstract

Product innovation in Kenya has been on increase. Although its importance has been recognised, our understanding of the factors that have influenced firms to introduce new products is limited. The study contained in this report sought to determine the factors that influenced the introduction of new products by coca cola-Kenya and the impact of these new products on the company’s competitive advantage. To achieve the objectives, primary data was collected from the company brand manager, distributors of the new products and the end users of the new products. All the respondents were located in Nairobi and Thika. The method of data collection was by interview. Once the data was collected, qualitative analysis was done to determine the factors that influence new product development as well as the competitiveness of the company after the introduction of the new products. Based on the findings, it was established that customer orientation and level of competition are the major reasons as to why Coca cola - Kenya develops new products and the new product development has given the firm a competitive edge over its competitors.