Knorr

: can a new product be the solution to the threat of private labels?

Abstract

This report was written to fulfill the requirements of the International Master of Sci-ence in Business Administration at Católica-Lisbon School of Business & Economics, in the modality of a Marketing case study. The company chosen as the background for the development of the case study was Unilever Jerónimo Martins’ brand Knorr, a Portuguese based company. Knorr is a brand specialized in dehydrated food products, with a large range of goods that meet the growing needs of modern society for fast, healthy and affordable meals. Knorr is one of Unilever’s leading brands, and the leader brand in the Portuguese dehy-drated foods market. However, due to the aftereffects of the 2008 economic crisis, and the growth in power of private labels (PLs), the brand started to lose market share. PLs were not only attractive due to their lower prices, but also because their change in strategy from low price–low quality, to low price–high quality products, impacting all Knorr’s product categories. In 2012, Knorr’s Portuguese team had the challenge to develop a strategy for Knorr’s powdered soups, the brand’s second core product category, to face the threat of PLs. This dissertation tries to address if the introduction of a new product by a manufacturer brand would be a good strategy against PLs in a business context.

Date of Award	3 Nov 2015
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Paulo Gonçalves Marcos (Supervisor)