solution

Research leads to better-tasting frozen pizza

Schwan, a leading US frozen food specialist, faced a key strategic problem. It learnt that its main competitor – Kraft – was working on a new type of frozen pizza that had a rising crust. Schwan knew that if Kraft could succeed in creating a better-tasting frozen pizza, then it had the potential to command a market that was dominated by lower-quality products. As one article put it ‘. . . . it was often hard to taste the difference between a frozen pizza and the cardboard box it came in.’⁴¹ What Schwan didn’t know was how fast Kraft was planning on rolling out this new product and, therefore, how quickly it needed to respond.
To find this information out it contracted a corporate intelligence firm (a SCIP member), who in turn hired a former undercover law enforcement specialist who had built his skills by spending years infiltrating criminal gangs. Through adopting a series of ‘fake’ phone disguises, including a journalist, environmental campaigner and potential supplier, the specialist made phone calls to various individuals involved with the construction and operation of a new plant, together with public employees involved with approving construction and running. Through this he was able to piece together an accurate picture of a very high projected volume of sales. Based on this advice, Schwan invested considerable resources into launching its own ‘Freschetta’ brand, which was able to secure a large part of this important new market.