United Cereal Case Study
United Cereal
Memorandum
Date: May 21, 2015
To: Lora Brill
From:
Subject: Healthy Berry Crunch Launch Decision
Recommendation:
1. United Cereal (UC) should launch Healthy Berry Crunch in France
2. Healthy Berry Crunch should become UC’s first Eurobrand
Rationale for Recommendation 1:
1. Consumers have an increased interest in healthy foods
2. Special K is currently the only competitive product in the market for healthy cereals and UC will have the advantage if they launch now before other competitors preempt them.
3. In the test launch UC shipped volumes of almost 40% more than they had projected (Appendix A)
4. UC surpassed share targets during test launch in the months of September and October (Appendix A)
5. Focus group data from 6 cities in France indicates a 64% intention to repurchase (Appendix A)
Rationale for Recommendation 2:
1. Savings in costs of 10% to 15% in product development and marketing
2. UC has the opportunity to be ahead of the game, in regards to competition. This will give them a strong market presence
3. Consumer tastes are converging and EU regulation is eroding market differences, thus standardization will become more viable for UC
4. Opportunity to advance the company
Organization needed to support Eurobrand
United Cereal will need a very flexible management structure. A matrix organizational structure is needed to support the Eurobrand. The three regional vice presidents will need to take on more responsibility to oversee cross-market product strategies. Eurobrand teams will need to be created composed of brand managers from each country, representatives from UC’s central office departments such as manufacturing, R&D, purchasing, and logistics, and a regional VP. This structure allows the best use of significant resources and will strengthen teamwork and communication.
Appendix A
Appendix B
SWOT Analysis
Memorandum
Date: May 21, 2015
To: Lora Brill
From:
Subject: Healthy Berry Crunch Launch Decision
Recommendation:
1. United Cereal (UC) should launch Healthy Berry Crunch in France
2. Healthy Berry Crunch should become UC’s first Eurobrand
Rationale for Recommendation 1:
1. Consumers have an increased interest in healthy foods
2. Special K is currently the only competitive product in the market for healthy cereals and UC will have the advantage if they launch now before other competitors preempt them.
3. In the test launch UC shipped volumes of almost 40% more than they had projected (Appendix A)
4. UC surpassed share targets during test launch in the months of September and October (Appendix A)
5. Focus group data from 6 cities in France indicates a 64% intention to repurchase (Appendix A)
Rationale for Recommendation 2:
1. Savings in costs of 10% to 15% in product development and marketing
2. UC has the opportunity to be ahead of the game, in regards to competition. This will give them a strong market presence
3. Consumer tastes are converging and EU regulation is eroding market differences, thus standardization will become more viable for UC
4. Opportunity to advance the company
Organization needed to support Eurobrand
United Cereal will need a very flexible management structure. A matrix organizational structure is needed to support the Eurobrand. The three regional vice presidents will need to take on more responsibility to oversee cross-market product strategies. Eurobrand teams will need to be created composed of brand managers from each country, representatives from UC’s central office departments such as manufacturing, R&D, purchasing, and logistics, and a regional VP. This structure allows the best use of significant resources and will strengthen teamwork and communication.
Appendix A
Appendix B
SWOT Analysis