Publications
Publications
- July 2009 (Revised December 2009)
- HBS Case Collection
Diageo and East African Breweries Ltd.: Tapping New Markets for Social Good
By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird
Abstract
James Musyoki, Lemmy Mutahi, and Ken Kariuki, all from East African Breweries Limited (EABL), a subsidiary of London-based Diageo, heard the disheartening news in the first week of December 2008. For the second time in six months, the Kenyan Finance Ministry had raised excise taxes on alcoholic beverages in an effort to plug the country's budget deficit; the bill was awaiting the President's signature. The price increase would put EABL's Allsops, Citizen, and President Beers out of the reach of their target markets, and Musyoki, Kariuki, and Mutahi hoped that the increase would not affect the excise-exempt Senator Keg lager - a lower-income brew which had created significant social and economic gains in Kenya since its launch in 2004. What would it take to save Senator Beer?
Keywords
Change Management; Innovation and Management; Emerging Markets; Taxation; Price; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; United Kingdom
Citation
Kanter, Rosabeth M., and Matthew Bird. "Diageo and East African Breweries Ltd.: Tapping New Markets for Social Good." Harvard Business School Case 310-010, July 2009. (Revised December 2009.)