Executive Summary
Ben and Jerrys is a successful ice cream company with many strengths and weaknesses. The company faces serious competition, financial struggles, economic and social influences, all of which are covered in my paper. I also discussed some recommendations I have for the companies success.
Ben and Jerry's is one of the top ice cream companies around. They have had many ups and downs throughout the history of the company, but overall, they have overcome most of their hardships. They have some serious competition facing them in the ice cream industry; they have faced financial struggles, internal issues, and some social and economic factors. In conclusion, I have come up with a few recommendations for the company to possibly improve things in the future.
Haagen Dazs is currently the main competitor in the concentrated market place for super premium ice cream. Substitutes are however available. There are other ice creams not in the "super premium" category. To an extent, these are the real competition. However, for the market B&J caters for, their strategies should not have a great impact on B&J. The frozen yogurt lines which B&J now provides, also has a number of direct competitors to deal with.
Dealing with other substitutes is not that simple. Expensive (or inexpensive) chocolate, cakes, croissants and other desserts are realistic options for consumers. Other companies are going to try to assure you that their product is the perfect accompaniment to any meal. B&J needs to be aware of this. How he/she makes the choice for ice cream (as opposed to chocolate, etc.), then super premium (as opposed to premium or ordinary) and finally B&J (as opposed to Haagen Dazs etc.) is imperative.
The possibility of new competition in ...