WRITTEN ANALYSIS SEMINAR 3:

Group A03:

Strategic Marketing Management- EFO210

Ben and Jerry Case :

The ice cream company Ben and Jerry has been created in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Since the beginning the two Brooklyn school mates have decided that the company would be social responsible and would have an objective of “caring capitalism”.
The ice cream produced (and still produce) by the company were very rich and dense and those characteristics explained that the Ben and Jerry have been classified from the beginning as “super-premium ice cream”. The main competitor of the company has always been “Häagen-Dazs” (classified as super-premium as well). The difference between the two companies is the image promoted (sophisticate vs funky and caring).
To respond to a difficult beginning finding shelf space in supermarkets, Ben and Jerry did a marketing operation with a demonstration in front of Pillsbury’s headquarters. This action enabled them to gain the press and to have a relevant publicity throughout the US territory. This event was the beginning of the company’s grown up and in the 1980’s there ice creams were available in all the states.

History:

1. The fallen profits: 1994-1997

In 1994 the company started to face a loss of its profits and something has to be done in order to improve the situation. Ben and Jerry which never had a professional CEO decided at this time to look for one.
So in 1996, Bob Holland arrived to the board of the firm and the relations did not work well and he left it eighteen month later. After this failure Cohen and Greenfield had to find an other CEO for their company. In 1997, Perry Odak was hired as Ben and Jerry’s CEO.

2. The situation of the ice cream market in 1997: the reason for Ben and Jerry’s decisions

In 1997 the ice cream market was dominated by the brand Dreyer’s (Nesltlé), following by Breyer’s, BlueBell and Häagen-Dazs. At this time Ben and Jerry had the