Quest for a New Chocolate Bar

Advisory Phase - Suggestions

Larry B. Campbell and Barry L. Zoumas met in mid-1978 to talk about the Canadian operation. Senior management had briefed Barry about their concerns for the consistently poor showing that the Hershey Chocolate Corporation of Canada, Ltd., had been having for the past 15 years. Dearden, Zimmerman, David Conn and others were under great pressure to quickly turn Hershey Canada into a true competitive force in the solid chocolate bar business in Canada.

Larry: I have spent some time looking at some reports on the Canadian operation and I have to say that the situation appears to be critical.

Barry: Did you get the report that shows our market share?

Larry: I saw it. Our share is minuscule! I am also looking at some "competitive intelligence" here that identifies our main competitors, Nielson and Cadbury. I also have here with me previous results of consumer tests that were performed to determine Canadian consumers' preferences. There is indeed reason to be concerned.

Barry: And the worst is yet to come. I was just told that sales are expected to continue to dwindle for the remainder of the year. We are loosing money just to keep it running. We need to do something about it or we will loose the Smiths Falls plant. We need to revitalize the whole operation, do more market tests, reformulate, whatever. We need to develop a product for the Canadian market that gives us enough market share to make some money. We need a plan to show to senior management that justifies keeping the plant operating. What do you need, Larry?

Larry: The first question that comes to mind is how open is senior management to formulation changes?

Larry's question had special significance for all Hershey employees. There had not been any attempts by Hershey Foods to introduce a new pure chocolate bar since the Milton Hershey era. The Hershey flavor was sacrosanct and Larry knew that any attempt on his part to tweak the formula was going to be an uphill battle. And it was a scary proposition.

Barry: Well, I cannot speak for all of them, but I assure you that they are willing to look at any changes, at least for the Canadian market. What else do you need?

They agreed that Judy L. Risser would work closely with Larry, assisting him with the lab work that needed to be done. Larry would visit the Canadian plant in September, 1978, and he would submit a preliminary plan in two weeks.