Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
  • Supplement
  • HBS Case Collection

Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:9
ShareBar

Abstract

This case discusses the Kenyan government’s decision to increase excise taxes on wines in 2007. The tax increase would cause an average increase in price of 367% on Keroche’s fortified wines. Meanwhile, Keroche’s competitor EABL had effectively lobbied the government for its Senator beer to receive a zero-tax rating. Since Keroche’s wines targeted low-income consumers, Tabitha Karanja knew they would no longer be able to buy its products after the price hike. To make matters worse, Keroche was in the middle of building a brewery, with plans to enter the beer business in 2008. Now Tabitha Karanja had to decide how to react to this tax increase. One option was to lobby the government for a repeal of the tax increase (a long and costly process). Another was to abandon the wine business altogether, either in favor of the vodka Keroche already produced or another alcoholic drink.

Keywords

Keroche; Alcohol; Alcoholic Drinks; Alcoholic Beverages; Beverages; Drinks; Wine Industry; Wine; Fortified Wine; Business Ventures; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; 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; Safety; Social Issues; Poverty; Strategy; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Manufacturing Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; Nairobi; Africa

Citation

Casadesus-Masanell, Ramon, and Pippa Tubman Armerding. "Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase." Harvard Business School Supplement 720-392, September 2019. (Revised May 2020.)
  • Purchase

About The Author

Ramon Casadesus-Masanell

Strategy
→More Publications

Related Work

    • September 2019 (Revised May 2020)
    • Faculty Research

    Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding
    • June 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Keroche (A)–(F)

    By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora
Related Work
  • Keroche (C): The Excise Tax Increase By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Pippa Tubman Armerding
  • Keroche (A)–(F) By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Namrata Arora
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College.