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  • September 2019
  • Supplement
  • HBS Case Collection

Keroche (B): Considering Entry into the Kenyan Beer Market

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:7
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Abstract

This case discusses the situation of the Kenyan alcoholic drinks producer Keroche in July 2004, when co-founder Tabitha Karanja was debating whether to enter the Kenyan beer market. Doing so would mean direct competition with the multinational EABL in an industry and market where Keroche had no experience. It would also require significant investments in manufacturing capacity, technology, and marketing. The case asks whether Tabitha Karanja should enter the Kenyan beer market, and if so, whether she should continue to target the low- to middle-income consumers with whom she had built the Keroche business, or shift the company’s focus toward the upper middle- and high-income consumers who had been customers of EABL. The case also describes how the company successfully rebounded from the plant closures, litigation, and media attacks of the previous year, including through court battles and an extensive public relations campaign.

Keywords

Keroche; Alcohol; Alcoholic Drinks; Alcoholic Beverages; Beverages; Drinks; Wine Industry; Wine; Fortified Wine; Viena; Beer; Beer Market; Manufacturing; Production Capacity; Capacity; Growth; Regulated; Unregulated; Informal; Informal Market; Regulation; Illicit; Illegal; Substandard; Dangerous; Shutdown; Factory; Safe; Affordable; Low-income Consumers; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Production; Investment; Safety; Quality; Small Business; Family Business; Crime and Corruption; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decisions; Income; Demographics; Geographic Scope; Geographic Location; Goods and Commodities; Government Legislation; Growth and Development; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Laws and Statutes; Lawfulness; Goals and Objectives; Consumer Behavior; Market Entry and Exit; Problems and Challenges; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Marketing; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

Citation

Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Pippa Tubman Armerding. "Keroche (B): Considering Entry into the Kenyan Beer Market." Harvard Business School Supplement 720-391, September 2019.
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About The Author

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Strategy
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Related Work

    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Keroche (A)–(F)

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora
Related Work
  • Keroche (A)–(F) By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora
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