swot analysis ben and Jerrys PDF

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Summary

Strengths:
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Quality of the ice cream: Ben & Jerrys are focused on the quality of their ice creams which are made from wholesome natural ingredients. The ice creams thus taste fresh and natural.
Social consciousness: The company is committed to a number of social ca...

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UNIT 5 SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

• Quality of the ice cream: Ben & Jerrys are focused on the quality of their ice creams which are made from wholesome natural ingredients. The ice creams thus taste fresh and natural. Social consciousness: The company is committed to a number of social causes • such as the Save our Swirled campaign which aims at doing them but for global warming. They are also committed to and the Ben & Jerrys foundation which donates 7.5 % of their profits to charities across the world. Progressive thinking: The business has always been forward thinking and their • vision to make fantastic icecreams not just looks at the trends in the market today but also future trends. The company could establish a value for each of their brands following which they augment it through their products. Work culture: The work culture in Ben & Jerry’s is that of a fun workplace.The • company takes care to ensure that there is sufficient relaxation at the workplace and they invest in their human resources ensuring that they get the best training and industry standard pay packages. Creativity: What makes Ben and Jerry different from the competition are that they • do everything in a unique style. Right from the names of popular products like Tonight Dough, Chunky Monkey, Americone Dream etc to their social media and advertising campaigns, the brand has always maintained a clear style for itself. Cultural Consciousness: Ben & Jerry has used their ice creams to bridge cultural • barriers and to send across meaningful socio-cultural messages. Some of their campaigns like Empowerment Campaign or the Save the world video campaign reflects this commitment.

Weaknesses: • Presence of Unilever: After Ben & Jerry has been taken over by Unilever the company which had an identity of its own faces the risk of losing its individuality since it might get absorbed into the company’s corporate culture. • Low penetration: Ben & Jerrys do not have an existence beyond USA and UK.The brand which is a very popular one in these regions can become bigger and better if they choose to expand to other territories. • Balance: Ben & Jerrys has always been a socially conscious company and the company directs 7.5 % of their profits towards charity. In the long run, the feasibility of such a strategy is doubtful especially since the western world is suffering from longstanding impacts of the economic recession. • Poor diversity: Ben & Jerrys is focused on multiple social issues like gender and racial diversity. But their workplace does not support racial diversity since the company has just 3 % from other ethnicities while 97 % of their workforce are Caucasians. There are also allegations about the poor salaries offered to people employed with the brand.

Opportunities: • Huge market Potential: The ice cream market has a huge market potential and it is forecasted to touch $97,301 million by 2023, with a cumulative annual growth rate of 3 %. Most of the steep growth will be centered around emerging economies like India and China where Ben & Jerrys are yet to establish a strong presence. Focus on sugar free: Consumers today are increasingly conscious about the ill • effects of sugar and thus prefer to have sugar free or low sugar versions of sweets and desserts. This will be a new segment for ice cream companies to focus. • In today’s health conscious societies the introduction of more fat-free and healthy alternative ice cream and frozen yogurt products. • Provide allergen free food items, such as gluten free and peanut free. • In 2009 Ben & Jerry’s announced plans to roll out the country’s first HFC-free freezers; freezers that would be sold to grocery stores and would not emit harmful chemicals into the atmosphere. • In 2008 they acquired Best foods and Slim-fast which will allow them to enter a new industry of weight loss products. In turn they can now expand into new geographic markets-more countries, like Europe, where the weight loss/management trend is taking hold. • They could expand their existing product lines to compete with the ‘private-in house brands’ offered by supermarkets, and in developing countries. • Selling Ben and Jerry’s premium ice cream in South America (which is an emerging market that has yet to be capitalized upon). There is a growing demand for premium ice cream in new markets like Asia.

Threats Much of their target market is constantly changing its product preferences (desiring • to prevent diabetes, obesity etc.). That, coupled with a decrease in household sizes and discretionary income, has left sales flat in recent years. Consumers are concerned about fattening dessert products. Especially Ben and • Jerry’s target market, which are accustomed to reading nutrition labels. Any contamination of the food supply, especially e-coli. • Major competitors, like Nestle (Pillsbury), Kraft Foods, Dunkin Donuts, and Dean • Foods. They also have competition from global food companies with similar products and any grocery store label products. Much of their competition seems to be merging together, in order to remain marketable in this tough economy. Experts say that animal feed prices are rising, partly because biofuel crops are • replacing cow fodder. In turn, the high priced animal feed pushes up the cost of milk. Prices of all milk products are rising worldwide, due to what some call a "perfect storm" of low supply and high demand. There is a distinct possibility that their may not be enough milk to meet demand, and that there could be a global milk shortage. Agricultural economists say today’s milk shortage is basically a case of low supply • and high demand worldwide. Supply is down for many reasons. A bad drought in

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Australia dried up the grass that the country’s cows eat. New export taxes were added on Argentina’s milk in an attempt to keep the country’s food prices under control. Also, European farmers can’t significantly increase production until a quota system is phased out eight years from now. The U.S. and Europe always used to have spare dairy products to sell cheaply around the globe, but that’s no longer the case, says market expert Erhard Richarts. Skim Milk powder (which is easier to transport than fresh milk) is used in a wide range of foodstuffs, and in 2007 its price shot up to record levels worldwide – almost twice as high as the year before. Then retail prices went up, a butter shortage, cheese prices went up, and then wholesale prices went up, and there doesn’t seem to be an end to it. Back in ’66, in a school gym class, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield found they hated running but loved food. Years later in ’78, Ben had been fired from a series of jobs while Jerry had failed for the second time to get into medical school. The company sells its colorfully named ice cream, ice-cream novelties, and frozen yogurt under brand names such as Chunky Monkey, Phish Food, and Cherry Garcia. It also franchises some 750 Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shops worldwide. Ben and Jerry’s were bought by consumer products manufacturer Unilever in 2000, but were still able to retain their social responsibility platform and kept both cofounders closely involved with product development. Their brands complement Unilever’s existing ice cream brands. In 2009 Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream flavor was named in a top ten list of the best ice cream in London. In 2007 Ben and Jerry’s co-founders, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield were asked to join Lance Armstrong in speaking about clean technology and alternative energy at the Ernst and Young national entrepreneur of the year awards. In 2008, their market share was second only Haagen-Dazs who had a 44% market share while Ben and Jerry’s had 36%. This was achieved in spite of a premium price point. The premium price of the product was supported by a high quality image, and high quality products.

Ben & Jerry’s, like any business, has strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and of course, threats.cBut, what are they? This SWOT analysis will discuss that.

It is withcclear social ethics and responsibility that Ben & Jerry’s is able to make such incredible ice-cream in a myriad of tasty flavors. A personal favorite, Ben & Jerry’scBen founded 1% For Peace in 1988, which was created to redirect one-percent of the United State’s defense budget to fund peace-promoting activities and projects.. The most-recent charitable cause Ben & Jerry’s has contributed to was in 2013, toward the labeling of GMO products. Considering their social ethics, the company will create and promote more dairy-free products, contributing toward an environmentally sustainable diet for their consumers. With Millennials hitting the scene as what NPR calls the generation most obsessed with self-care, Ben & Jerry’s must provide a product that is not only delicious, but sustainable to the environment, and healthy for its consumers. Ice Cream, sugar, and fat are going out-of-style, so to speak. Ben & Jerry’s already has a reputation with the millennial, green market place, they just need a face-lift. By creating and providing sugar-free, sweetened with Stevia, and dairy-free options, and probiotic-rich foods, Ben & Jerry’s will be able to continue to thrive with a changing market-place. Ben & Jerry’s has the opportunity to become THE company that brings health and ice-cream together. By embracing, instead of fearing, the changing market,

Ben & Jerry’s can incorporate their already admirable values by selling a product base that coincides with it. Ben & Jerry’s will partner with Whole Foods to get their new line of sustainable, probiotic-rich, cGrow-gurt on the shelves, exclusively at Whole-Foods. Companies such as Chobani and Fage have already cornered the market in healthy, yet delicious, greek yogurts and similar products. cIn order to break through this saturation, and truly stand-apart, Ben & Jerry’s will have to be creative. Copy-right the term, Grow-Gurt. Grow-gurt will be a delicious new product, frozen yogurt, with healthy, nutrient-rich probiotics and sugar-free. We will invite Millennials to grow with us, with our values, with Grow-Gurt.

Americans are, as a whole, becoming much more health-conscious than they were in the 1980’s and 1990’s. In order to survive, Ben & Jerry’s must expand their products to match a newly created need. With their mission statement and history in the labeling of GMO’s, they are already on track, their products just no longer match their company values. When the values and products match, their business will soar higher than before.

SOURCES: Robert Michalak; https://bimpactassessment.net/case-studies/rob-michalak, 2014

Ben and Jerry; https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/sear-reports/2016-sear-report Ben and Jerry; https://www.benjerry.com/values Ben and Jerry; https://www.benjerry.com/values/how-we-do-business Ben and Jerry; https://www.benjerry.com/values/issues-we-care-about Ben and Jerry; https://www.benjerry.com/about-us/how-were-structured...