Background about Camelina Oil

• Camelina is a cooking oil that is extracted from a type of oilseed called “camelia sativa” (Health Canada, 2019)

• Camelina oil is high in polyunsaturated fats, and low in saturated fats. This helps control blood cholesterol and avoid heart disease

• Camelina oil is rich in vitamin E, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids (Bitty, 2012)

• Its high vitamin E content provides stability and long shelf life of 12 months without refrigeration (Robertson, 2018)

Business Opportunities

• High butter prices encourage consumers to switch to edible oils in Mexico (Euromonitor International, 2019)

• Trade Commissioner Service of Canada states that agriculture and food offer the highest opportunity for Canadian companies when it comes to exporting into Mexico (2019)

Research Objectives

• To identify the comparative features of the products currently existing in the Mexican oil market and areas of use and market shares of such brands in order to outline the most effective marketing strategy for camelina oil

• To determine average monthly disposable income and average monthly spending on edible oils of Mexicans in order to form the most suitable pricing and promotion strategy in Mexico

• To identify and analyse key supply-side and demand-side trends in Mexico when it comes to “healthy” cooking oil, and forecasts on market trends and growth in order to provide clear anticipations on the sales prospects for camelina oil

Methodology

• Secondary sources: • Statistics Canada, Industry Canada, Health Canada • Governmental regulations on food and oil market • EuroMonitor International’s reports • Other reliable sources

• Primary sources: • Online surveys an questionnaires with consumers and food businesses to find

out consumers’ and restaurant business owners’ preferences and perceptions.

• In-person interviews with the representatives from the consulates and Trade Commissioner Service of Canada to collect export advice and information.

Implementation Plan

Four main steps are decided upon to implement the research:

• Initiate Research to Analyze the Current Consumer’s Demand of Oil and Average Income in the Country Based on Secondary Data: 1 week (15%)

• Design the Survey Question Addressing Health Perspective of Cooking Oil that Consumers are concerning about: 2 days (10%)

• Data Collection: 5 days (40%)

• Data Analysis in Accordance to the Secondary Data Obtained in Step 1: 1.5 weeks (25%)

Maximum time: 4 weeks

Estimated budget: 11,000 CAD

Data Analysis Consumer Preference

Data Analysis Pricing

Data Analysis Purchase Frequency

Data Interpretation

• The Mexican society is cost-sensitive when it comes to edible oils.

• The Mexican consumers care about smoke point of oils for barbecue, thus they might prefer camelina oil to olive oil.

• With CPTPP and CUSMA, this research will be valuable in providing helpful suggestions for Canadian businesses to take advantage of Mexico’s culinary camelina oil market.

Business Recommendation

• Three Farmers should launch its camelina oil with the best pricing strategy, not too high comparing to other oils in the market.

• A campaign highlighting the health benefits and nutritional value of camelina oil would be beneficial.

• Three Farmers should take advantage of trade pathways being built by CPTPP and CUSMA.

Conclusion

• We plan to conduct market research and determine market potential to export culinary camelina oil from Canada to Mexico.