The Strategic Management Process: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
The Strategic Management Process: Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
Background
In 1978, with a $5 ice cream making correspondence course from Penn State University and $12,000, childhood schoolmates Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started an ice cream business in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Ben and Jerry’s quickly grew into a leading worldwide ice cream manufacturer, known for its innovative flavors and all-natural ingredients made from fresh Vermont milk and cream. Early flavors included Rainforest Crunch, Peace Pops, and Chocolate Cookie Dough. Ben & Jerry's also established a reputation of an anti-corporate style and charitable contributions of 7.5 percent of pretax profits.
Fast forward 20 years, to the Fall of 1997, the basis for this strategic analysis, and Ben and Jerry’s is losing market share of super premium (high-fat-content) ice cream to Häagan-Dazs and is seeking international growth opportunities in Japan to boost flagging sales. Firms must continuously revisit both corporate and marketing strategies to maintain their competitive edge. In this paper, we will take an inside look at Ben and Jerry’s situation, conducting environmental scanning of the current (1997) situation, crafting and implementing our own marketing strategies, and evaluating these marketing strategies.
Executive Summary
As of 1997, Ben and Jerry’s international sales totaled only 3% of total sales ($6 million) while it’s main competitor, Häagan-Dazs, a first mover in the U.S. and overseas, had 64% of total sales ($700 million) across 28 other countries. Prior to 1997, Ben & Jerry’s had attempted to move into foreign markets in Canada, Israel, Russia, United Kingdom, France and Benelux. None of these ventures were well thought out with comprehensive planning causing some ventures to become utter failures while others provided negligible profits or were so cost prohibitive that they were abandoned completely.
With market share and
Background
In 1978, with a $5 ice cream making correspondence course from Penn State University and $12,000, childhood schoolmates Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started an ice cream business in a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont. Ben and Jerry’s quickly grew into a leading worldwide ice cream manufacturer, known for its innovative flavors and all-natural ingredients made from fresh Vermont milk and cream. Early flavors included Rainforest Crunch, Peace Pops, and Chocolate Cookie Dough. Ben & Jerry's also established a reputation of an anti-corporate style and charitable contributions of 7.5 percent of pretax profits.
Fast forward 20 years, to the Fall of 1997, the basis for this strategic analysis, and Ben and Jerry’s is losing market share of super premium (high-fat-content) ice cream to Häagan-Dazs and is seeking international growth opportunities in Japan to boost flagging sales. Firms must continuously revisit both corporate and marketing strategies to maintain their competitive edge. In this paper, we will take an inside look at Ben and Jerry’s situation, conducting environmental scanning of the current (1997) situation, crafting and implementing our own marketing strategies, and evaluating these marketing strategies.
Executive Summary
As of 1997, Ben and Jerry’s international sales totaled only 3% of total sales ($6 million) while it’s main competitor, Häagan-Dazs, a first mover in the U.S. and overseas, had 64% of total sales ($700 million) across 28 other countries. Prior to 1997, Ben & Jerry’s had attempted to move into foreign markets in Canada, Israel, Russia, United Kingdom, France and Benelux. None of these ventures were well thought out with comprehensive planning causing some ventures to become utter failures while others provided negligible profits or were so cost prohibitive that they were abandoned completely.
With market share and
Bibliography: A. Taylor III, “Yo, Ben! Yo, Jerry! It’s Just Ice Cream!” Fortune, April 28, 1997, p. 374 B Ben & Jerry’s 1998 CERES Environmental Report, 1998. Securities and Exchange Commission Annual Report for Ben & Jerry’s Homemade, Inc., Form 10-K, 1999.