When Ben and Jerry's first came on the scene Haagen-Dazs was the market leader by a wide margin. Nowadays this is not the case with Ben and Jerry's grabbing about the same 42% market share as Haagen-Dazs. .
It seems that the threat of new entrants in this exclusive market has been overlooked for some time. One would think that the high brand recognition of the big two companies would fight all others off, but there is data suggesting that people may not have that big of a problem indulging in their local supermarket's brand of super premium ice cream. This is not the case for the threat of substitute products, which has not gone overlooked in the industry. Frozen yogurts, sorbets, pops, and anything else you would put in this category, have been realized as a threat to regular business practices and Ben and Jerry's has handled this by bringing these products into their own arsenal.
The internal environment for Ben and Jerry's has historically been a sound one. A family atmosphere is encouraged through a variety of programs and committees, ensuring the happiness of its employees. There was even a long time cap on executive salaries, ensuring cohesion and cooperation among all levels of employees. The moment they discarded this policy in order to bring an outside executive was the moment that things at Ben and Jerry's started to take a turn from being all pralines n" cream. The struggling market for their fattening type of ice cream has left them faltering with poor management also contributing to the falling stock price.
SWOT Analysis.
The main strength of Ben and Jerry's a debatable subject, but I will give both up for discussion. First, there is the socially conscious nature of the corporation. The politically correct person is drawn to the practices that Ben and Jerry's partake in, but more importantly in our society, they aren't drawn away form the brand. The next strength is, of course, the innovative flavors that Ben and Jerry's develops.
