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Ben-And-Jerrys CASE ANALYSIS
Ben-And-Jerrys CASE ANALYSIS
Ben-And-Jerrys CASE ANALYSIS
CASE ANALYSIS
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BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
Company Profile
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc, trading and commonly known as Ben &
Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and
sorbet. It was founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, and sold in 2000 to Anglo-Dutch
Unilever.
1. How can Ben & Jerry’s increase their sales after transitioning from GMO to
non-GMO products?
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OBJECTIVES IN ANALYZING THE CASE
Decision must rely solely on facts, evidence, and analysis that is, in principle,
3. The case aims to determine the possible strategies on how to increase its
products.
perspectives of the consumers and can possibly affect the business. Considering this
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Higher sales. Since their product is popular, this also leads to higher sales and
profit.
Ethical values. They uphold strong ethical values for the benefit its customers.
Weakness
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GMO sources. Before the transition, they had ingredients that were GMOs and
Opportunities
GMO labeling law. This law helped the company to decide in their full transition
Threats
Tough rivalry. They have strong competition with other big ice cream brands in
the US.
Laws. Laws will force the company to enact changes from their business.
1. Ben & Jerry’s must develop their marketing strategies in selling their non-
GMO products.
Advantage
The marketing strategies will be a great help to sell the product in the
Disadvantage
It will be costly to the part of the company and new ideas should be
2. Ben & Jerry’s must cut cost to their raw materials and lower their price.
Advantage
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This could attract more customers since there is a lower price of the
product.
Disadvantage
If this plan will not work, it might damage a lot the company in terms of
RECOMMENDATIONS
Ben & Jerry’s should somewhat develop their marketing strategies in selling their
products because through this, they will know the new perspectives of the customers.
They should be customer-oriented now since the transition from GMO to non-GMO
products was a big risk. Lowering the price can be done also in formulating the
marketing strategies and thus, can also be an option to increase its sales.
1. What ethical issue did Ben & Jerry’s face with regard to its products?
It has the dilemma of whether to continue with its decision to stay away from
using GMOs in its product despite customer criticisms. Their products either directly or
indirectly use GMOs, so the company is facing major problems considering their market
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3. How did Ben & Jerry’s address the need for transition from the use of GMO to
3. What steps did Ben & Jerry’s take in order to comply with fair trade practices?
4. Do you believe that the changes implemented by Ben & Jerry’s were worth the
It is without doubt, yes. The change was for sure a costly one, especially, when
taking note that their products are produced in “bulks”. Naturally-tailored ingredients are
grown and cultured far longer than those GMOs. And the increase in cost has to reflect
in the prices they imposed to their customers, so the risk of maintaining the same price
even with higher costs must be taken, to avoid gradual deterioration of market. Why?
It’s because customers are very price sensitive, unless they are very loyal, which is not
still guarantee considering the fickle nature of people. So even with imminent losses, it
is still very worth the transition and conversion, because they are a strong believer of
their mission to uphold ethics and be a socially responsible company. Beyond profit
making, a company must always create valuable trends and practices, because when
the goal is good, those affected by the good act always finds a way to even give more.