Description
By May 2014, the bakery of French pastry chef Dominique Ansel had successfully been in operation for two and a half years. During this time, the bakery had gained numerous accolades for its most viral invention-the Cronut, a hybrid between a donut and a croissant. Moving forward, there were opportunities for Ansel’s company to expand beyond its current size and location in New York City. Ansel’s first option was to raise prices. Because the Cronut sold out every day before noon, the bakery was severely undersupplying the market, which had a huge demand. Ansel’s second option was to commercialize the Cronut. Perhaps it would be better to license the recipe to a major coffee chain, which could bring his invention to millions of people. Lastly, Ansel could expand his brand internationally to Asia or Europe. Could Ansel achieve any of these changes without compromising quality over quantity?
Learning Objective
The case can be used in undergraduate- and graduate-level courses on managing creative businesses, and is suitable for courses that involve the growth of creative businesses in product development, marketing, or the entertainment industry. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following: ·Understand the importance of the creative founder in creative businesses. ·Appreciate the lengthy, unpredictable, and tacit innovation process for creative products. ·Explicate strategies for innovative businesses that optimize creative, logistical, and financial goals. ·Understand the growth challenges faced by creative businesses.