Title:                           Cedral Tassoni: International Expansion

Subject Area:          Global corporate strategy

Region:                      Italy, the United Kingdom, and France

Industry:                  Soft Drinks

Company:                 Cedral Tassoni

Challenge:              Tassoni is an Italian beverage company that has been in operation since 1956. Headquartered in Salo, Italy, Tassoni is known for its natural and refreshing taste, as well as it’s straightforward yet effective marketing. Tassoni’s locally sourced ingredients combined with their recipe has led to the firm having a great reputation amongst Italians. After a successful product launch and expansion into the Middle East, Giorgio Fasoli, the company’s COO, set his sights on further expansion into Europe. The two new countries that the firm was considering expansion into was either the United Kingdom (U.K) or France. Both options present strong opportunities for expansion but also have specific threats that each match Tassoni’s own internal strengths and weaknesses. Thorough data collection and research into Tassoni’s operations as well as the U.K.’s and France’s competitive environments have provided insight into which option would best suit the company’s needs and lead to the greatest chance for successful global expansion.

The Team: Elucidating Professional core

• The consulting team consisted of Matthew Caso, Matthew Dunn, Alexander Garcia, Ivan Todorov, and Gillian Wong.
• The case was conducted as part of Northeastern University’s STRT4501 Strategy in Action capstone course.
• The team leveraged their educational background and working experience in finance, supply chain, and information systems to conduct the case and to utilize it as a stepping stone for their careers.

Embedding in the Realities of the Organization and Industry

We worked with Giorgio Fasoli, the COO of TLH International Trading FZCO, to gather primary data about the company. The company licensed the rights of Tassoni and is currently in charge of its international expansion. As the key decision-maker, Fasoli has given us insight into the operations and key decision points that need to be made. We had several phone calls and emails with Fasoli, which allowed us to understand their resources and capabilities, as well as ongoing projects and strategies. In addition, we gained access to some client presentations, marketing brochures, and the company’s vision and mission.

We also utilized Tassoni’s website for secondary information, which provided a history of the company, its product line, and historical advertising campaigns. Data about the soft drink industry in both the UK and France were gathered by referencing a variety of online sources and databases. The research was also done on competitors in the industry by looking at their respective websites to understand other companies’ product offerings.

Generating Value for the Company

In conducting our analysis on the external environment of the UK and France, we applied the PESTEL framework to describe the political, environmental, sociocultural, technological, economic, and legal macro-environmental factors. In our analysis of the soft drinks industry, we evaluated industry growth, maturity, dynamics, and competitors’ strategic position using Michael Porter’s Five Forces model. These frameworks allowed us to conduct an in-depth on external components that may have an impact on the company’s strategy. In addition, we applied the VRIO framework for analyzing the company’s internal resources.

Findings

• Through communications with the COO, the team learned about Tassoni’s emphasis on its historic recipe that had garnered a strong reputation in its native market, Italy, and its focus on local ingredients that are controlled by a strong supply chain, helping to guarantee consistently high quality.
• During research into the U.K.’s and France’s macro environments, the team analyzed individual factors through the PESTEL and Porter’s Five Forces frameworks and created a strategic map that positioned Tassoni amongst existing competitors.
• The team conducted a comparative analysis of each country’s environments by applying strategic market and industry frameworks and developed a SWOT analysis to identify opportunities and threats that Tassoni could leverage based on internal strengths and weaknesses.

Solutions

• The team created a consulting report that presented a recommendation for which country to enter based on social compatibility, economic factors, and market trends. We also provided strategies for how the company should position itself in the chosen market.
• The recommendation looked at drivers for a differentiation strategy that would allow Tassoni to capitalize on its premium brand reputation and gave several suggestions for widening its brand presence to create a diverse, loyal customer base in a crowded market.
• The recommendations were followed with an action plan that detailed how the company should adjust their organizational structure in order to align with strategic goals and implementation steps for how to proceed with the outlined strategic recommendations.

Capital Utilization: Ready for New Projects

• We learned to examine individual markets for expansion and applied strategic frameworks that were taught in class to determine which country would be the most suitable for expansion.
• Each member of the team gained experience conducting research and consulting on a real-life dilemma relevant to their career interest and gained invaluable knowledge applicable to their future career paths.