Case Study of Irish Biscuits Ltd, of the Danone Group
Case Study of Irish Biscuits Ltd, of the Danone Group
INTRODUCTION
Towards the end of 1994 the management team in Irish Biscuits Ltd identified the need to strengthen its marketing function. By July 1995 the marketing department had doubled in size and the marketing budget had increased to £2.5 million compared with a budget of approximately £1 million in other years.
The new team was charged with the task of updating the company's corporate image and focusing on the development of new products.
Within an eighteen month period the new marketing team had presided over the creation of the number one selling biscuit brand in Ireland, Jacob's Chocolate Kimberley, and had embarked on a diversification strategy with the launch of new snack food product, Jacob's Chipsters. The success of Chocolate Kimberley allowed Irish Biscuits Ltd (IBL) to demonstrate their innovative skills to their parent company, Groupe Danone.
The diversification into snack food products illustrates the opportunities which are presented to the company as a consequence of access to the wide portfolio of' products and brands from within the Danone Group organisation.
Irish Biscuits LTD
This case examines the impact of Groupe Danone parentage on IBL and the effect of' two significant product launches in 1996 on the future direction of the company. It also explores the increasing pressure on the marketing team to make sense of a very complex market place as the traditional market boundaries between biscuits, cakes, confectionery and snack foods begin to blur with changing consumer and retailing trends.
In 1966, when Ireland was on the verge of EC membership, W & R Jacob's acquired the biscuit interests of Bolands, a large flour milling and biscuit manufacturing company, and Irish Biscuits Limited was formed. By 1971 the company was employing 3,000 people and controlled 82% of biscuit sales in Ireland. In the 1970s a very large modern factory on a 30 acre site in Tallaght was completed since described as one of the most sophisticated biscuit factories in Europe. As a result of this investment for much of the 1980s IBL was severely constrained in its development plans, by substantial interest repayments.
DANONE GROUP
Groupe Danone is the leading multiproduct food group in France, Italy and Spain, ranking third in Europe and among the top ten globally. The group is the world leader in dairy products and biscuits and number two globally in mineral water. Its corporate strategy involves investing in strong businesses...