Calgene Case Study on how to change customer perceptions
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR ASSIGNMENT
CALGENE CASE:
STRATEGY TO CHANGE PERCEPTION
INTRODUCTION
Tomatoes are currently a commodity product. Calgene is trying to bring in differentiation in a commodity market through a differentiated product using genetic modification methods. Calgene intended to market the genetically modified tomatoes under the brand name of Mac Gregor Tomatoes to end consumers and the seeds under the FLAVR SAVR brand to the farmers. As the first bioengineered produce to clear regulatory hurdles, the Flavr-Savr required governmental agencies to adapt their current standards to a new realm of food and agriculture and to consider how genetically altered foods fit into the United States regulatory scheme. The FLAVR SAVR story reveals how difficult it can be to bring genetically engineered products to market, how objections with little or no scientific merit can influence the outcome, and how important public opinion is in determining commercial success.
Reasons for creating the genetically modified tomato:
The reasons for creating genetically modified tomatoes were because of the potential advantages of genetically modified foods.
Currently, vegetables and fruits are not commercially cultivated merely for the local market, but are intended for shipping over long distances to nation-wide and international markets.
Ripe fruits and vegetables have soft skins and can easily be damaged during handling and processing. They can also rot in the time taken to ship and get them to the shops.
In order to ensure easier handling and longer shelf-life, vegetables and fruits are harvested when still green and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas. The drawback of doing so is that the artificially ripened fruits and vegetables do not have the taste and flavour of their naturally ripened counterparts.
A SWOT analysis for the company Calgene along with FLAVR SAVR Tomatoes is given below:
TABLE 1: SWOT ANALYSIS FOR CALGENE AND FLAVR SAVR TOMATOES
The consumer
CALGENE CASE:
STRATEGY TO CHANGE PERCEPTION
INTRODUCTION
Tomatoes are currently a commodity product. Calgene is trying to bring in differentiation in a commodity market through a differentiated product using genetic modification methods. Calgene intended to market the genetically modified tomatoes under the brand name of Mac Gregor Tomatoes to end consumers and the seeds under the FLAVR SAVR brand to the farmers. As the first bioengineered produce to clear regulatory hurdles, the Flavr-Savr required governmental agencies to adapt their current standards to a new realm of food and agriculture and to consider how genetically altered foods fit into the United States regulatory scheme. The FLAVR SAVR story reveals how difficult it can be to bring genetically engineered products to market, how objections with little or no scientific merit can influence the outcome, and how important public opinion is in determining commercial success.
Reasons for creating the genetically modified tomato:
The reasons for creating genetically modified tomatoes were because of the potential advantages of genetically modified foods.
Currently, vegetables and fruits are not commercially cultivated merely for the local market, but are intended for shipping over long distances to nation-wide and international markets.
Ripe fruits and vegetables have soft skins and can easily be damaged during handling and processing. They can also rot in the time taken to ship and get them to the shops.
In order to ensure easier handling and longer shelf-life, vegetables and fruits are harvested when still green and then artificially ripened with ethylene gas. The drawback of doing so is that the artificially ripened fruits and vegetables do not have the taste and flavour of their naturally ripened counterparts.
A SWOT analysis for the company Calgene along with FLAVR SAVR Tomatoes is given below:
TABLE 1: SWOT ANALYSIS FOR CALGENE AND FLAVR SAVR TOMATOES
The consumer
References: http://coolreferat.com/Business_Analysis_Essay_Research_Paper_Calgene_IncCalgene http://articles.latimes.com/1990-02-26/business/fi-1071_1_plant-genetics/3 http://leda.law.harvard.edu/leda/data/140/ayoelson.html http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/27236.aspx