Case study: Improving packaging in response to market demands
In 2007, Novartis, a Swiss agribusiness, chemical and drug company, announced that all food products made from its genetically engineered crops would be labeled to indicate the presence of genetically modified ingredients. Genetically engineered products made by Novartis are used on many farms to increase milk production and reduce the amount of herbicides or insecticides used on corn, soybeans, cotton and potatoes. Foreign genes have also been introduced into tomatoes to prolong their shelf life. There has been widespread opposition to genetically engineered foodstuffs for several years, but Novartis has been unable to change its product to respond to these concerns. However, Novartis decided to improve its product offering in response to numerous customer surveys that have shown that U.S. customers would prefer to know when the food they are eating comes from genetically altered crops or animals.
a. In general, what are the options for taking a product / service into a foreign market? Give one example.
b. In general, what are the motivating factors for product adaptation? Give one example.
c. In the Novartis case study, how did the company improve its product offering?