tion, prepare an executive report about their lected from the commercial yulde.
ID: 360694 • Letter: T
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tion, prepare an executive report about their lected from the commercial yulde. MINICASE CHOBANI, CHANGING THE WAY WE EAT Two decades ago, Hamdi Ulukaya had never traveled outside Dogan, a yogurt master from Turkey, to join him. They spent his native Turkey. Today, he is a billionaire and has changed 18 months trying different U.S. and imported versions and ex- the way U.S. consumers think about yogurt by adapting a perimenting with their own recipes. "It was 'common knowl- product that was doing well in Europe and the Middle East to edge' that U.S. consumers would not eat yoghurt unless it's the U.S. market. Ulukaya is the founder and chief executive of absolutely sweet and colored," Ulukaya says. Instead of heed- Chobani, the best-selling brand of Greek yogurt in the ing "common knowledge," he listened to people telling him United States with about 20 percent of a $6.5 billion market. how much they liked the yogurt they ate when traveling in It was not his first business venture. Following his arrival Europe or the Middle East, and he observed the trend to- in New York City in 1994 to study English, he took a job on a ward eating better. The two focused on making yogurt with- farm in upstate New York. His father came to visit, and after out preservatives or artificial flavors. They also spent a lot of tasting the cheese served for breakfast, he urged his son to time and money on the packaging, changing the traditional import cheese made by the family business in Turkey. It was cup to a more open bowl-style container as a way to differen- popular, so Ulukaya opened a small plant in upstate New York tiate the product. in 2002, making the soft white cheese himself and enjoying The key was the consumer. Ulukaya insisted on trying to modest success. Then in 2005 he heard about a fully get the yogurt placed in the dairy section of supermarkets, equipped yogurt plant for sale, also in New York. The next rather than in specialty stores, which would have been easier day he toured the 90-year-old plant, which had been closed and cheaper for the company. "Who are we making this prod- by Kraft, the global food producer. uct for? Not for the specialty market and people who have a Ulukaya bought the plant with a $1 million grant from the higher income," he says. "We believed this was a simple, pure Small Business Administration and then brought Mustafa product and it should be available for everybody."Explanation / Answer
1.US consumers have specific taste and interests towards products and they would not agree on any changes. For example US consumers will not eat yogurt if it is not absolutely sweet and colored. They give more preference to appearance of the product and support product differentiation. The foreign entrepreneurs need to understand the culture and behavior of consumers better to become successful in the market. The sales volume also should be forecasted properly to avoid the chances of overproduction and wastage in the case of perishable products. Apart from the consumer preference the foreign entrepreneurs need to face lot of problems in the US market related to supply chain like ban from large retail chains and they may prefer new products to make more profit. There are other possibilities of restrictions by the government which may affect the sales and the companies need to explore new methods to overcome the restrictions.
2. The new product that is being introduced in the market should be designed according to the customer needs and interests. The consumer interests should be understood properly and the product should undergo necessary changes in features and unit volume to ensure product success. It should match the consumer preference in terms of appearance also so that the customers would like to experiment with the new product. As the product is new to the market, the customers may not be aware of the advantages of using the product and a small demo featuring the product features would help to increase the sales. The product should undergo adaptation keeping the simplicity of the product to attract the public.
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