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Arjun Sekri, a professional-turned-entrepreneur, set out to establish the first branded gourmet industrial bakery in Bengaluru, India in late 2002. His lack of experience in the unorganized food and beverages industry did not deter him from establishing a highly popular industrial and retail bakery chain called “Daily Bread”. The case is about his roller coaster ride in establishing a premium retail food brand in India. Though many of the stores did reasonably well, many things went wrong predominantly on the operations front due to the severe impact of global price inflation, manifested by high real estate rentals, raw material, packing and logistics costs and wage costs. After two years of rapid expansion, in order to curb the bleeding bottom line, Arjun decided to shut down all the newly created stores and production units except the one in Bengaluru which was doing well. By late 2009, the dilemma Arjun faced was what should he do next?

The case study is based on primary data collected from the protagonist and a few other stakeholders involved in the case along with secondary data from published sources.

Entrepreneurship courses at MBA level or executive programs.

The case deals with the life cycle management of a venture with special emphasis on opportunity evaluation, setting up, funding and stakeholders selection.

The subject area is retailing in the Indian business context.

The case is suitable for an MBA course on retail marketing. Positioning is that of an advanced elective, trying to educate, apply and synthesize the facets of learning, thinking and assimilating concepts with practicalities.

The case elucidates the trials and tribulations of Bharat Bazar, one of the top contenders in the Indian retail scene. It explores the journey of brand making and customer patronage. Under consideration is a set of options for the retailer's next stage of growth. While the decisions are not to be mutually exclusive, it is clear that the firm has neither the capacity to scale up without proper locations nor unlimited management resources for economic viability. The retailer naturally has to choose the best direction possible and dedicate all efforts to bring the firm to the next level of growth. The strategy has to be robust in any case.

The case will help students to: appreciate Indian macro retail variables; analyse business decisions of a retailer based on location, merchandise, and profitability; and explore future strategy options from the growth perspective as well as a socially responsible player.

Socially, the case is nourishing and enriching as it connotes not only a wealth creation angle, but also a green and efficient supply chain one. Retailers must cater for the choice pattern of the society, whether essential or non essential items of consumption.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

Upon completion of the case study, the students will be able to understand brand differentiation and marketing challenges faced by small businesses in emerging markets; recognize the significance of marketing strategies for a growing business in emerging markets; assimilate paid, owned and earned media to improvise the effectiveness of firm’s communication and digital marketing strategy; analyze the relevance of social media marketing in developing a brand; and create a content marketing strategy.

The case dilemma involved a possible course of action that Fusion Creations faced at the beginning of 2022 about marketing strategies across paid, earned and owned media. “Fusion Creations” was the creation of two sisters who were avid cake bakers since young age. They identified the demand for homemade cakes and the growing number of home bakers in India. It was during the Covid-19 pandemic that they faced challenges in terms of lockdown and scarcity of supply for baking essentials. Moreover, although the pandemic had brought most sections of the society worldwide to a standstill, home bakers were thriving. After the pandemic, these home bakers turned their passion into full-time profession. It was time for the sisters to view this stage as a challenge because of competition from aspiring entrepreneurs and rising home bakers, and convert it into an opportunity. Can Fusion Creation leverage the online social media platforms for their product sales and marketing? With presence established on various social media platforms, were they doing it right, or was there a better way? A few questions lay in front of Chaitali and Kena, owners and bakers of Fusion Creations.

This case is written for use in digital and social media marketing classes for graduation-level courses. The focus of the case aligns well with discussions of digital and social media marketing strategy. The case also has application in discussions regarding implementation of digital marketing strategy. Instructors that choose to emphasize social media strategies could assign this case to explore online marketing and digital communication.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS8: Marketing.

This case is about a food brand with franchisee stores which has implemented a brand change initiative in the Indian emerging market.

This case is suitable for MBA level students in courses like strategic brand management, marketing in emerging markets and retail management. Issues relate to brand name change management, building and securing channel cooperation in brand change, channel peculiarities in emerging markets and franchisee institutional support systems in emerging markets like India.

The case documents the process followed by Switz Foods Private Limited (SFPL) in planning for and implementing a “brand-name” change across its 150-plus stores retailing fresh bakery products. The switch away from a 20-year-old food brand that had carved out a place in the popular culture of the community in Kolkata was risky. While opinion inside the organization was divided on whether to use mass media to communicate the brand-name change to its customers, the company finally decided to rely only on in-store signage and product packaging. SFPL took into confidence the franchisee retail store owners, a key stakeholder group with whom it enjoyed a long-term trusted business relation, and relied on their support to implement a smooth transition. It shows how in the context of the bazaars in transition economies, trust-based business relations and word-of-mouth reputation can often provide frugal managerial alternatives.

The three main learning objectives are: planning for a brand name transition, which includes three parts: generating consumer insights and using the data to aid decision-making in choosing a brand name and developing a brand campaign; overcoming network or business partner resistance/uncertainties associated with a brand name transition; managing customer perceptions before and after brand-name transition. Second learning objective included understanding risks in a franchisor–franchisee relationship. Third included appreciating the significance of trust-based relationships in managing transition economies.

CSS 8: Marketing.

1. To analyze the various business models and choose the best model to contribute maximum profit to the company.2. To understand the importance of customer management with the help of the Net Promoter Score in the food retail context.3. To develop customer loyalty strategies and implement them to improve customer management?

39 Bakers, a multi-outlet bakery chain in Jammu, India, is run by its founder Gagan. 39 Bakers, through its retail outlets across the Jammu region, offers a variety of products, ranging from bakery items that include blends of Indian and Italian cuisines, offering more than 1000 stock keeping units (SKUs). Through its high-quality offerings at an affordable price range, the brand has carved a niche in the hyper-competitive bakery market of the Jammu region. Gagan, has closely seen the Jammu market and customer preferences and strongly perceived that the customers in the Jammu region are very price sensitive. Thus, he has always been very reluctant to increase the prices of his product offerings at 39 Bakers. He has always believed that any drastic price rise may lead to immediate dissatisfaction and customer churn and therefore has not increased the prices at 39 Bakers for two years in a row. While this decision of Gagan paid off in terms of its popularity and recognition as one of the highly recommended bakery chains among customers, it drastically impacted the bottom line (i.e. profitability) at 39 Bakers, especially in the year 2020–21. Getting popularity at the cost of dipping profitability made Gagan rethink his decision to be protective of price increases at 39 bakers. How can he measure customer satisfaction and loyalty? Which loyalty strategies will work for the huge customer base of Jammu? Should he change his business model from B2C to B2B? How can loyalty be established? How can he manage his existing and loyal customers through price increases?

The case study is suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Marketing Management and Retail Marketing. The case study’s focus can be on the importance of pricing, business model evaluation, customer management analysis, customer loyalty, Customer Loyalty analysis, and net promoters score. The case can also be useful to entrepreneurs and regulators.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

After reading this case study, the students will be able to analyze an external environment using the PESTLE framework for identifying key factors and assessing their impact on strategic decision-making, evaluate the importance of the company, competitors and customers in strategic decision-making and how the 3Cs model provides useful insights in a competitive environment and get useful insights from PESTLE and the Ansoff matrix for making well-informed strategic growth decisions.

The Indus Bakers, led by Suresh Kumar, Ajeet Kumar and Kareem Ahmed, faced stagnant sales in Sukkur’s bustling bakery industry. Expanding from Larkana, the bakery grapples with fierce competition from newcomers and home-based bakers. Managers discuss concerns over market shifts and cost constraints, placing Suresh in a pivotal decision-making role. He must decide whether to introduce specialized dietary offerings, set up kiosks at transport hubs, explore local tea culture or target corporate clients. Each path poses challenges and opportunities. As the Indus Bakers stand at this critical juncture, Kumar’s choices will define its role in Sukkur’s evolving bakery landscape, blending tradition with adaptability in a dynamic market.

This case study is suitable for teaching the graduates of management sciences, Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration programs, particularly in the courses of corporate strategy, marketing management and entrepreneurship. It offers valuable insights to students and helps in strategic decision-making within the business landscape, emphasizing the consideration of both macro and micro environmental factors. This case study equips learners to digest how companies navigate competitive markets and adapt their strategies in response to changing market dynamics. Through exploring the challenges faced by the Indus Bakers and their strategic responses, students can glean practical lessons in corporate strategy, environmental analysis, competitive strategy, market analysis and business resilience. This approach prepares students to tackle real-world business scenarios, fostering critical thinking and strategic acumen essential for future business leaders.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 11: Strategy.

Senior-level undergraduate courses.

In a short lifespan of operating in the UAE market, the Sugaholic bakeshop has grown from a fragile business idea all the way up to a paradigm of success. The two Bhatia sisters, Sneha and Ravisha, seek to spread happiness around them by invigorating their customers’ celebrations with their captivating personalized delicacies. The family business owners and their team of enthusiastic bakers aim at delivering exceptional quality and design on their sweet treats to achieve maximum customer satisfaction. Working closely as a team and paying special attention to detailing, the bakers at Sugaholic do not only merely provide the end product but also constantly work on the feedback received. The company offers all types of personalization on a variety of cakes, taking every order as a new challenge and baking for every sweets’ lover including family, friends, individual and corporate clients, celebrities and public personalities. Despite its short existence, the bakeshop has been successful in creating a vast fan following and the owners have started exploring various opportunities for business expansion. As Sugaholic has reached a critical stage in its development, what is the most viable strategic option to be pursued for embarking on a road of sustainable growth and success?

Assess the process of launching a new business venture in light of the factors from the external environment. Identify different sources of competitive advantage of an organization and evaluate their level of sustainability. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of a family-owned enterprise and delineate viable actions for intervention. Evaluate the effectiveness of top management’s strategic choices and develop decision-making skills.

Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

CSS 11: Strategy.

This case presents an overview of the confectionary industry, a description of the Hershey Foods Corporation, and a look at the company's strategies and the impact of these strategies. The case focuses on the unintended consequences that result from the implementation of dramatic new strategies for a company and what occurs in a company town that displays a very strong paternalistic culture. Some analysts had previously thought that Hershey's profitability and its close relationship with the town, the trust and the school made the company untouchable, but events proved otherwise.

After reading this case, the reader will feel compelled to answer the following questions. What is the best strategy for future growth of Hershey? How important is organizational culture on a corporation's strategic direction? Should the company indeed be sold to a larger corporation?

Marco Crumbs BV is in the process of introducing a new product and this is putting additional stress on already tense interface of marketing and operations functions. The company which was traditionally offering a limited but high volume product range is finding itself in a low volume, high variety situation. It appears that the traditional make-to-stock production system is not working and the company is thinking of combined make-to-order (MTO) and make-to-stock (MTS) production system. How to go about it?

This case describes the challenges faced by Amul in organising dairy farmers into a co-operative and creating continuous opportunities for value addition. Participants in the case discussion are required to review the developments in the organisation and recommend a strategy for the future.