Description
In late 2019, the Colombian company Agrícola Himalaya SA was undertaking a strategy to double its sales by 2030. The company’s popular Hindú brand of teas, developed over six decades, had expanded to include not only black and green teas but also herbal teas, fruit teas, ready-to-drink products, and an iced tea line. Over the past 10 years, the company had enjoyed steady growth, distributed its products throughout the Americas, and developed a Knowledge and Communication strategy focused on health and wellness. Now the company’s chief executive officer had to decide whether it was time to expand into other product categories, and if so, how. He and the marketing team needed to develop a brand strategy to present to the board of directors and create a new product portfolio that would support the company’s growth strategy. Which channels should the company target for growth? Should it continue to grow in the same category, extend the brand to other categories, or expand the demographic mix of its customer base?
Learning Objective
The case can be used in a graduate-level introductory marketing course, in a brand strategy module. It can also be used in a strategy course in a module that addresses the challenges of establishing a growth strategy. Another alternative for its use is in executive education programs. The case examines the management of a brand associated with tea and ready-to-drink commodity products in the Colombian market, describing the evolution of the brand, product portfolio, and market positioning strategy that enabled it to become a leading national brand. It also examines the use of social networking for brand management and asks students to design a growth strategy that considers its potential effect on brand identity. The case enables students to apply basic brand management concepts to a company’s overall growth strategy and to consider the challenges of their implementation. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able toanalyze Colombia’s tea market and identify the factors that promote or impede its growth;identify marketing concepts, especially those related to brand management in a real scenario;identify the impact of brand management on a product’s transformation from a commodity product to a differentiated product;explain how communication contributes to brand meaning and boosts a brand’s value proposition; anddescribe how to brand effectively using social media.