Kameda Seika Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

Kameda Seika Case Solution

Overview

Kameda was located in Kameda Niigata and was founded in 1946 by Eiji Koizumi. Eiji started the firm to eliminate the scarcity of food that took place after the world war. The main objective of the firm was to complete the nutrition requirement of the individuals through the product which the company was offering. Initially the firm was started in Japan but then with the passage of time, it started expanding to different markets, because the firm’s objective was to expand its business in the international markets. Initially the firm opted to expand through collaborations and affiliations. In Japan, the firmhad captured the market because the preferences of Japanese were linked with what the firm was offering, but in the international market; the firm was willing to capture the good portion of the market share but the preferences in the international market werein contrast to the Japanese market. Kameda was offering a mizuame thick malt syrup of rice with the name of koizumi. The name of the product was bit difficult so the name the product was modified and its name was changed to kameda seika. The product was shifted from being a thick syrup into rice crackers. The new cracker product was preferred by the consumers and the new product received positive response.

The firm had the vision of expanding its operations in the international market. It was basically a Japanese firm which had the objective of developing a trustworthy brand. Currently the firm has acquired 39% market share in the rice cracker. Furthermore, the firm is willing to focus on the US market and has an objective to acquire 30% of the projected sales by the end of 2020. The US market is very major market because other Japanese brands are doing well in the USA.

Managers are planning to capture the US market and raise the company’s sales in the US market, despite the fact that the firm has less demand in the US market, i.e. 10 times less than the Japanese market. Yet at the same time, the firm has decided to keep that market and has the expectations of satisfying the consumer’s preferences. . The US rice wafer market will be multiple times lower than in Japan and is anticipated to raise by 20%. Besides, after becoming public in 1984; the company had recorded on both the Niigata Stock market and the Tokyo Stock market. A firm is performing well with the financial performance of $9 million, which is considered very low and the next year’s expected budget has increased to $2.25, but it is not sufficient to take care of the promotional expenses.

Problems or issues firm was facing

The recent sales of the firm were declining in the US market due to the change in the preferences, because the old generation was decreasing and youth were mostly conscious of their health and were less inclined towards consuming sweet products. Considering these facts, the company is willing to maintain the sales. Initially, the firm opted for various appealing options to increase its sales and also changed the packaging of its products alongside introducing new taste in the product. Basically, the firm was required to increase its sales but for increasing its sales; the firm needed to make few changes and enhancements in the product and market development to fulfill the objective of the firm.

The firm’s operations were going well but the change in the consumer’s preferences changed the whole scenario of its business in the US market. The consumers were changing their preferences and were shifting towards healthy products with a very little inclination towards buying sweet products, due to which the company’s sales were affected. Few people was allergic to gluten and were willing to consume gluten free products. The organic food trends were increasing in the country and due to increasing health issues; the government was also promoting organic and healthy food consumption. The market situation was turning against the company’s business and the management was concerned to make these adverse condition work in the firm’s favor,because the US market was very significant for the company as it had numerous potentials to help the firm in fulfilling its objectives.The other Japanese firms were doing well and were getting success in the US market. Kameda was also trying to figure out and make things work in the favor of the company, following which its tarted merging with the other leading brands of the US firms. Though the merger was doing great but there were other external and internal factors that caused an increase in the firm’s cost incurrences. The Board of Directors were given the three years’ time limit to make these things work for the company in the US market. The management directors were planning to bring some changes in order to increase the sales and profitability of the firm in the US market. The management had many options, such as: labeling, packaging, retail chain, in-house production and investments......................

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