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The Strategic Management Process: Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

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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 …show more content…

|Inexperienced corporate leadership |
| |No cost expenditures on advertising. Educated market on |No major marketing experience |
| |premium ice cream (B&J was late entrant) and free |Flat sales and declining profits |
| |advertising due to uniqueness |Lack of profitable strategic alliances with established local |
| | |partners |
| |Opportunities |Threats |
|External |Growing demand for quality ice cream overseas |Small 3.6% share of total market |
| |Increasing U.S. demand for frozen yogurt and other |Competing with Dreyer’s, Breyer’, Blue Bell, and Häagen-Dazs |
| |low-fat options |Economic downturn in international economies affecting premium |

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