This case explores how a fast-growing startup can achieve sustainable growth while maintaining viable unit economics. Through the example of FooSpace-an IoT-enabled smart fridge network offering ready-to-eat meals-the case examines the tension between expansion and profitability as operational complexity, discounting, and waste increase with scale. As FooSpace''s consumer (B2C) model shows signs of margin deterioration, the case challenges .....more

Spreadsheet for case 526033.

In 2013, Yili Group established a dual-engine strategy of innovation and internationalization. After initially cultivating resources and strengthening innovation, Yili began to deepen its presence in international markets and establish a global brand. When entering a regional market, the first consideration for decision-makers is which location or country to enter first and which product category to introduce. This case describes Yili''s decision-making .....more

Denver, a Hamilton Sciences Private Limited (HSPL) brand, was the best-selling men''s fragrance brand in India in 2025. It was characterized by its aspirational, masculine positioning. Denver''s core consumers were millennials, but to meet growth objectives, it needed to be attractive to Gen Z and Gen Alpha, who were significantly different from its core consumers. HSPL managing director and chief executive officer Saurabh Gupta was .....more

VTR Marketing Private Limited (VTR) manufactured a premium national polyvinyl chloride and wood plastic composite (PVC/WPC) brand, VTR Boards, in Kharagpur, West Bengal, India. Despite significant investments in quality manufacturing and distribution over the past five years, VTR''s founder and director found that the business was not generating sufficient profit. In January 2024, after recommendations from a market research team, he was considering .....more

The newly appointed chief marketing officer (CMO) of Rivian Automotive Inc., Jennifer Prenner, is faced with the formidable task of building the company brand in North America with a view to enhancing sales. Developing a comprehensive marketing communications strategy is the primary means of building the brand, but the operating environment in May 2024 is a challenge: EV interest is waning and there are large-scale issues with EV adoption. Rivian .....more

Generative AI (GenAI) has become integral to marketing operations, from product ideation to customer engagement. However, its impact hinges on the quality of the prompts marketers use to interact with large language models (LLMs). Yet, most organizations lack systematic frameworks to engineer high-performing prompts, resulting in suboptimal outputs that lead to incorrect marketing strategy decisions or ineffective marketing content. This technical .....more

This case explores how firms can use digital marketing to drive growth-while avoiding the analytical pitfalls that often distort performance. Through four short vignettes across different industries, the case examines key managerial decisions around targeting, metric selection, measurement of incremental impact, and budget allocation. Despite the promise of precise targeting and real-time data, digital channels can obscure fundamental marketing trade-offs. .....more

Since 2019, many emerging consumer brands in China have achieved rapid early growth by capitalizing on readily available, low-cost online consumer traffic through content-driven customer acquisition, livestream commerce, and short-video recommendations. However, aside from a small number of strong frontrunners, most have struggled to sustain that momentum. From 2022 onward, as online customer acquisition costs rose and competition intensified, the .....more

This case examines the strategic challenge faced by Lily Hsu, overseas regional manager for Asia-Pacific at Chacha Food Co. Ltd. (Chacha), as the company sought to expand its business in South Korea. Although Chacha had achieved broad retail distribution for its core sunflower seed products through an exclusive distributor, growth remained constrained by cultural consumption barriers and a heavy reliance on overseas Chinese consumers. Hsu had to decide .....more