Nestlé Refrigerated Food Case Report IntroductionThe case illustrates the various studies and market research conducted for the introduction of refrigerated pizza in the refrigerated food category in the US markets by Nestlé Refrigerated Food Company (NRFC) in 1990 while in the late 1980s the company successfully conquered this category by introducing refrigerated pasta and sauces to the markets which improved the shelf life of products previously sold in US markets. The company believes in buying small local brands and there facilities to enter new markets and then investing in them to make its products compete nationally and internationally. This saves the company a lot of time by simply developing the product and starting from scratch in any new markets. This also helps to gain the pioneer advantage and capture the market. The refrigerated pasta was an immediate success with sales of over $30 million in the first year and $100 million in the second year. The company now intends to enter the pizza market and Stephen Cunliffe, the president of NRFC has to decide whether to launch pizza. in the US market or notProblems• The main problem in this case is to decide, based on market research, whether or not to launch refrigerated pizza in the US market, i.e. the company must decide whether it can replicate the success of its previous product, i.e. Refrigerated pasta also in the pizza category or not• Refrigerated Food Company (NRFC) predicts that with the entry of new competitors in the refrigerated pasta market there may be a decline in the growth of the pasta market• The company's main competitor in the global markets Kraft is expected to launch refrigerated pizza in about six months, so the company needs to launch its product much earlier to enjoy first-mover advantage over competitorsAnalysis• Contadina is an industry-established brand in the refrigerated food segment that produced and distributed pasta before the ranges introduced by Nestlé repositioned it so that people were familiar with its pasta product while it was not in the pizza business and it had to start from scratch so that it lacked that advantage which was useful in the previous case of the pasta.
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