<iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-PHTV9K7" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden">
Loading
Skip to Main Content
Product cover image for Viet Nipa: A Young Entrepreneur’s Sweet Endeavour

Viet Nipa: A Young Entrepreneur’s Sweet Endeavour

Nadine de Gannes; Angela He;Arzoo Sethi

Product #:9B21A015_P
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:Marketing
Setting:Vietnam, 2019
Details:Case (PDF) • 10 pages • 2021-05-10

Subjects:

EntrepreneurshipSales and marketingMarketing

Industries:

Goods, trade, and consumer services

Geography:

AsiaVietnam
Your Price:$9.71

Purchase this material with a free Educator Account and enjoy more benefits:

  • Free Educator Copy
  • Free Teaching Notes
  • Build your coursepack
  • Discounted academic price

In May 2019, a Vietnam-based entrepreneur was wondering which strategy would work best to sell nipa honey, the first product launched by his nipa palm products company, Viet Nam Nipa Development Company Limited (Viet Nipa). The product was launched in February 2019 and the entrepreneur had been selling the nipa honey at trade fairs, through partnerships with three popular resorts in his home district, and on a sales platform on Viet Nipa’s Facebook page. He was reaching out to grocery retailers in Vietnam with sale propositions, but to no avail. Should the entrepreneur continue to pursue business-to-consumer (B2C) distribution or leverage his company’s operational and manufacturing capabilities to shift to a business-to-business (B2B) operation? What was his target market and how should he tailor Viet Nipa’s marketing strategy and tactics to these consumers? Should he also consider taking nipa honey to the international market?

Learning Objectives

This versatile general management case with an additional operations component can be used in courses on strategy, marketing, general management, or entrepreneurship at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The case covers fundamental strategy concepts such as environmental analysis, Porter’s five-forces framework, and the strategy triangle. It also covers marketing concepts such as selecting a target market based on strategic positioning and adjusting marketing decisions (4 Ps) to connect with the target customer. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:
  • Perform industry and competitor analyses for a natural products company in a developing market.
  • Explain the requirements of the target customer and how to define a product’s value proposition.
  • Tailor marketing decisions to the target markets for a B2B and B2C company.
  • Explain how product sale success differs across domestic and international markets.
  • Outline the mindset and challenges faced by a new entrepreneur in a highly competitive market.
Loading
Case Study: Viet Nipa: A Young Entrepreneur’s Sweet Endeavour | Ivey Publishing