Shelman director of Harvard Business School s Agribusiness Program explores in the case study Mutti S.p.a. coauthored with colleagues Senior Lecturer José B. Alvarez and Carin Isabel Knoop executive director of the Case Research and Writing Group. “NO ONE BELIEVED THAT YOU COULD CREATE A BRAND IN TOMATOES—A COMMODITY ” The case details how during an economic downturn a small business in its fourth generation of family ownership became one of the best selling brands of canned tomatoes.
In Italy with sales growing from million in to € million in . And it offers important insights on supply chain management innovation and risk taking. But it also provides lessons to anyone selling a commodity—after all is said and done Mutti sells tomatoes in a can. The Early Years Mutti S.p.a. got its start in Parma Italy in when the great grandfather of current CEO owner Chinese Overseas America Number Data Francesco Mutti canned and sold tomatoes to an illiterate rural population that identified the product by the two lions on its label. Even from the start innovation characterized how Mutti does business with advancements in canning and processing helping the brand make its mark. In for instance Francesco s great uncle Ugo Mutti developed thimble tube packaging—essentially a coated aluminum toothpaste tube with a twist off cap—to keep tomato paste fresher longer after opening.
Later in the s Ugo created polpa cans of peeled finely chopped tomatoes meant to save time without sacrificing flavor. The product was wildly popular with the restaurants that made up the bulk of Mutti customers at the time. price Photo iStockPhoto Shelman first came across the brand on a supermarket shelf in Parma a few years ago. She then met Francesco Mutti when he attended Harvard Business School s Executive Education Agribusiness Seminar held that year in São Paulo Brazil. Because he was from Parma and I am familiar with the area we spent a lot of time together says Shelman.
發表於 2024-3-13 11:09:53
