student
9-91 4-501
AUGUST 4, 2 0 1 3
J O H N A , QUELCH
DIANE BADAME
Montreaux Chocolate USA: Are Americans Ready for Healthy Dark Chocolate?
In October 2011, Andrea Torres, director of new7 product development at Montreaux Chocolate
USA, was poring over data from a recent Nielsen BASES I1 test. Over 15 months had passed since the
Consumer Foods Group (CFG) of Apollo Foods had purchased the rights to distribute Montreaux's
European chocolate products in the U.S. as a means of increasing market share, in pursuit of upscale market segments. Torres was now satisfied with the research and methodology that her New Product
Development (NPD) team had employed to assess market opportunity in the U.S. to date.
A board meeting was scheduled for December 10, at which Torres would be expected to make a solid, comprehensive, and compelling presentation on the status of the acquisition/assirnilation of
Montreaux and plans for the launch of the new product in the U.S.
David Raymond, her division manager, had committed to a set of aggressive sales forecasts that placed even greater sigruficance on the accuracy and adequacy of the research and its application. As a result, Torres was carefully and pragmatically evaluating her options: do further product testing, launch in selected test markets, stage a regonal rollout, or launch nationally?
Corporate and Company Background
Apollo Foods, a Los Angeles, California-based, global consumer packaged-goods powerhouse, offered an unrivaled portfolio of brands, manufactured confectionery, biscuits, snacks, beverages, cheese, and convenient meals, as well as an array of packaged grocery items for distribution in 170 countries. It reported 2011 revenue of $54.4 billion and net income of $3.5 billion, to which the CFG, one of four operating divisions, contributed $19.1 billion in revenue and $1.26 billion in net income.
Twelve of the company's iconic brands generated revenues of over $1 billion annually and some 80
AUGUST 4, 2 0 1 3
J O H N A , QUELCH
DIANE BADAME
Montreaux Chocolate USA: Are Americans Ready for Healthy Dark Chocolate?
In October 2011, Andrea Torres, director of new7 product development at Montreaux Chocolate
USA, was poring over data from a recent Nielsen BASES I1 test. Over 15 months had passed since the
Consumer Foods Group (CFG) of Apollo Foods had purchased the rights to distribute Montreaux's
European chocolate products in the U.S. as a means of increasing market share, in pursuit of upscale market segments. Torres was now satisfied with the research and methodology that her New Product
Development (NPD) team had employed to assess market opportunity in the U.S. to date.
A board meeting was scheduled for December 10, at which Torres would be expected to make a solid, comprehensive, and compelling presentation on the status of the acquisition/assirnilation of
Montreaux and plans for the launch of the new product in the U.S.
David Raymond, her division manager, had committed to a set of aggressive sales forecasts that placed even greater sigruficance on the accuracy and adequacy of the research and its application. As a result, Torres was carefully and pragmatically evaluating her options: do further product testing, launch in selected test markets, stage a regonal rollout, or launch nationally?
Corporate and Company Background
Apollo Foods, a Los Angeles, California-based, global consumer packaged-goods powerhouse, offered an unrivaled portfolio of brands, manufactured confectionery, biscuits, snacks, beverages, cheese, and convenient meals, as well as an array of packaged grocery items for distribution in 170 countries. It reported 2011 revenue of $54.4 billion and net income of $3.5 billion, to which the CFG, one of four operating divisions, contributed $19.1 billion in revenue and $1.26 billion in net income.
Twelve of the company's iconic brands generated revenues of over $1 billion annually and some 80