Check out Some "Sweet" Content From Our Library

Happy Chocolate Day Everyone!

As a treat we thought we'd share descriptions of some of the great chocolate related business cases in our library:

The Chocolate Trail (Rao, B A; Thadamalla, J S; Chaitanya, E K), IBS Research Center 2006

Sweet snacks dominated the global snack market with sales exceeding US$112 billion annually. Chocolate was the largest sector in terms of value within the global snack market. The industry was faced with a sluggish economy, market consolidation, rising costs and intense competition. Even though the growth of global confectionery was tortuous, there was still an increasing demand for premium chocolates, healthier confections, exotic flavours and colours. The developing markets had ample growth opportunities through effective market segmentation. Like coffee, chocolate was going complex and upscale. The latest rage for chocolate in the US was to go to a 'Chocolate Bar' instead of buying a 'chocolate bar'. The history of chocolate houses was being repeated. Would the chocolate lounges be able to give a Starbucks like experience and increase the consumption of chocolates?

CHOCEXPRESS LTD (Brown, R), Cranfield School of Management 2001

This three-part case study covers the start-up (Part A) of a confectionery company, focused on the corporate market, quickly gaining a foothold with major supermarket retailers. Low margins (Part B) force the company to re-focus on a strategic alliance with a major confectionery retailer (Thorntons) as their mail order arm. Over-dependence on this supplier (Part C) forces ChocExpress to finally 'go it alone' by developing a web site (www.chocexpress.com) in 1996. By developing the e-business channel to market, using a 'chocolate tasting club' (allowing customers to specify gift box contents) the company is aiming to increase turnover five times by 2003! Will they succeed?

 SweetRiot: A Company Profile (Ramirez, Kelly J), GlobaLens 2009

Is it possible for a business to do well by doing good? This profile highlights a company that is doing just that - SweetRiot is a mission-based candy company founded by a Harvard Business School grad, Sarah Endine, who was drawn to the idea of weaving social values into a profitable business. 

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Do you know of any case studies or books about chocolate that you find particularly compelling?

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