Product details

This case highlights how Nestle, the world''s largest food company, attempted to deal with managing internal growth. Nestle''s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Brabeck, emphasised internal growth in early 2000 because he believed that it was a better measure of the company''s competitiveness in the global market place. He stressed that internal growth could be achieved by focusing on internally-developed new products and/or renovating existing ones. Brabeck was also convinced that Nestle''s long-term profitability would hinge on the company''s ability to achieve internal growth targets. LC1, a successful yoghurt product launched by Nestle in 1994, had become a symbol of what could be accomplished by focusing on internal growth. Although it was a challenge, Brabeck hoped to inspire managers at Nestle to develop more LC1-type products. Key issues in the case are: (1) how to create an environment in which managers think like entrepreneurs; and (2) how to encourage managers to develop and quickly launch innovative products.