Ben and jerry's a detailed analysis of the strategic decision

The company uses natural and high-quality ingredients to produce tasty ice cream with a variety of flavors. In addition, the company has social activism and environmental awareness strategy that has helped it prosperous in the highly competitive industry. The company also sells frozen yogurt and sorbet and novelty products, apart from ice cream. The company was founded by childhood friends, Ben Cohen, and Jerry Greenfield, in a renovated gas station situated in Burlington, Vermont with an investment if $12,000. It grew through the years and in 2000, it was purchased by Unilever and became one of its subsidiaries. As a result of efficiency in this organizational structure, the company attracted a lot of investors, including an analyst, Jeffrey G. Kanter, who invested but didn’t expect any returns.

Niche Market The products from Ben and Jerry’s are marketed all over the nation as well as in some few countries in supermarkets, grocery stores, franchised Ben and Jerry's shops, restaurants, among others. The headquarters are in Vermont. The company majorly uses Dreyer’s to distribute and market its products outside Vermont although other independent ice creams are used as distributors. Consumers prefer products that are of high quality and retain their quality even after several years, and even if the quality changes, it becomes better. In addition, the social impact, achieved through social activism, as well as transparency are strong points in the company as they have helped in developing long-term relationships between the company and its customers, including other companies.

However, redundancies and consolidation are major issues that have caused suspicions and created unease within the company my as well as in the market. Opportunities and Threats Coming under the banner of Unilever created a great opportunity for the company to expand its business activities into the international market since Unilever is one of the largest companies in the world. In addition, the brands that spread political, as well as environmental awareness, have created opportunities for Ben and Jerry's to expand its market reaching many people. The intention is to endure that the stakeholders are happy and satisfied with the services offered and also to maintain healthy relationships with them. The company ensures that its suppliers are paid for their services in a fair way and are also allowed to operate under good conditions.

The company also ensures that it gives the right information to its customers as it is unethical to deceive them with information concerning one or more of their products. Ben and Jerry’s has been treating its employees well ensuring that they work in a conducive environment. Lastly, Ben and Jerry’s has tried its best to ensure the prevention of agricultural runoff into lakes and rivers so that the local community does not get affected by some hazardous by-products. For instance, going to work while casually dressed. This helped him build a rapport both with the employees and the customers. However, within a short time, he closed two of the company’s branches laying off workers in those two sites as well as firing the sales representatives at the headquarters.