PRME

Hope Blooms was a social enterprise based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that grew its own garden produce and manufactured and sold a line of herb dressings. For a small social enterprise, it was remarkably successful. Hope Blooms had appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was constantly selling out of its products in local markets. In addition, it had secured placement in a national grocery retailer and was continuing to fulfill its social mission of empowering marginalized youth by providing education on food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship issues. These successes started to create a series of problems associated with production and capacity shortfalls associated with using a youth volunteer workforce, stock outs, and potential mission drift. As the executive director of Hope Blooms prepared for the final board of directors’ meeting in 2015, she wondered how to solve two of the organization’s fundamental problems: How could the retail operations provide stable employment for its youth members? How could Hope Blooms increase its profits to continue to expand its activities?
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities & Communities.

This case describes a major food fraud scandal that resulted in a much-publicized product recall. The episode was dubbed "Horsegate" by the national and international press. In early 2013, a scandal broke out in Ireland and the UK when horsemeat was found in frozen prepared meals sold as containing 100% beef. Findus Nordic, the company involved in the scandal, sold the same products in France. The press launched an investigation, and there were numerous media reports. A French company, Picard Surgelés, was found to have two products tainted with horsemeat. Both companies had to recall their products. Politicians got involved and carefully followed the crisis. Organizations in the supply chain implicated in the scandal struggled to defend themselves and blamed each other. French consumers reacted, and sales of frozen meat products dropped sharply. Findus Nordic and Picard Surgelés's brands were the most heavily impacted in France. This case focuses on Picard Surgelés, an integrated food processor that sells its store brand (private label) products in a company-owned chain of retail stores. The company needs help, and brand managers and marketing communications specialists must assess the situation and make recommendations to address the aftermath of the food fraud/product recall.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Aaron Jonnerson, vice president of marketing at the automotive division of Avellin, must make marketing mix decisions for the launch of Eco7, a new environmentally-friendly motor oil. The company's performance has been mediocre, shareholder pressure is increasing, and expectations are high for Eco7. However, Jonnerson faces significant challenges in ensuring a successful launch. The market for passenger car motor oil (PCMO) is mature and consumers are price-sensitive. Furthermore, the independent oil change outlets that are Avellin's core customers have declined relative to other channels. Jonnerson must design the best pricing strategy to ensure a successful launch. The Eco7 case asks students to examine consumer behavior and channel conflict and factor them into a product launch. The launch comes at a time when the company may need to adapt to changes in a market that is increasingly commoditized and in which the relative importance of different distribution channels is changing. Students are asked to make recommendations on pricing and distribution and to consider which trade-offs the company should make.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Sustainable Cities & Communities / Responsible Consumption & Production.

The Just Us! worker cooperative has been in business since the mid-1990s. Founded by Jeff and Debra Moore, this company with an economic and social mission has sought to make its mark in the business world by trumpeting its "humanitarian" positioning through the slogan: "People and the planet before profits." In addition to operating four coffeehouses (two in Halifax, one in Wolfville and one in its Grand-Pré headquarters), Just Us! sells its products (mainly fair trade and organic coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar) via a distribution network. Although the company was prospering, the financial crisis of fall 2008, which triggered an economic recession, quickly prompted the management committee to consider producing a marketing plan for the coming year, to optimize the use of the organization's resources. Pauline, hired by Just Us! slightly more than two years earlier, was assigned this task. Her work at the co-op was so impressive that she had recently been promoted to director of marketing and sales.
SDG Topics: Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions / Partnerships for the Goals.

This case analysis traces the establishment and subsequent operation of FIJI Water LLC and its bottling subsidiary, Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the first company in Fiji extracting, bottling and marketing, both domestically and internationally, artesian water coming from a virgin ecosystem found on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. The case reviews the growth and market expansion of this highly successful company with the brand name FIJI Natural Artesian Water (FIJI Water). The company has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, and now exports bottled water into many countries in the world from its production plant located in the Fiji Islands. In 2008, FIJI Water was the leading imported bottled water brand in the United States. In the context of great marketing success of the FIJI brand, particularly in the U.S. market, the case focuses on how the company has responded to a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues, including measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, responsibilities to key stakeholders, and concerns of the Fiji government with regard to taxation and transfer pricing issues. The case provides a compelling illustration of how CSR challenges may jeopardize the sustainability of a clever marketing strategy.
SDG Topics: Responsible Consumption & Production / Climate Action.

This case describes a major food fraud scandal that resulted in a much-publicized product recall. The episode was dubbed "Horsegate" by the national and international press. In early 2013, a scandal broke out in Ireland and the UK when horsemeat was found in frozen prepared meals sold as containing 100% beef. Findus Nordic, the company involved in the scandal, sold the same products in France. The press launched an investigation, and there were numerous media reports. A French company, Picard Surgelés, was found to have two products tainted with horsemeat. Both companies had to recall their products. Politicians got involved and carefully followed the crisis. Organizations in the supply chain implicated in the scandal struggled to defend themselves and blamed each other. French consumers reacted, and sales of frozen meat products dropped sharply. Findus Nordic and Picard Surgelés's brands were the most heavily impacted in France. This case focuses on Picard Surgelés, an integrated food processor that sells its store brand (private label) products in a company-owned chain of retail stores. The company needs help, and brand managers and marketing communications specialists must assess the situation and make recommendations to address the aftermath of the food fraud/product recall.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Tela, a Lima-based company that uses local, sustainable materials to make fashionable ponchos, has a formidable competitor--a large U.S. firm with a globally recognized brand that markets its ponchos as "of Peruvian design" (although they are made in Bangladesh). Alejandra Chirinos, Tela's founder, has gathered her team to decide how Tela can best position itself against the U.S. company. She believes in Tela's social mission of employing and teaching weaving skills to underprivileged women, but her competitor has a simpler story to tell: Like TOMS with shoes and Warby Parker with glasses, it has a "buy one, give one" model whereby purchases support donations to people in need. In this context, can Tela successfully market its social mission? Or should it emphasize the authenticity of its products or its lower prices? Mark Rampolla (founder and former CEO of Zico coconut water) and Tomas Pando (cofounder and president of the Argentine footwear company Paez) offer expert commentary on Chirinos's dilemma. This HBR Case Study includes both the case and the commentary. For teaching purposes, this reprint is also available in two other versions: case study-only, reprint R1610X, and commentary-only, R1610Z.
SDG Topics: No Poverty / Gender Equality / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Sustainable Cities & Communities / Responsible Consumption & Production.

Targeted at undergraduates, this case is an ideal introduction to responsible management. It focuses on the Danish sportswear brand, hummel, introducing the reader to Dan Bjerg and his work on the company’s philanthropic activities. At the same time, the case addresses the challenges of supply chain management in a global market and highlights the importance of ensuring ethical standards. The case asks where hummel should concentrate its efforts and students are encouraged to develop specific suggestions in relation to internal management and external communication.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Hope Blooms was a social enterprise based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that grew its own garden produce and manufactured and sold a line of herb dressings. For a small social enterprise, it was remarkably successful. Hope Blooms had appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was constantly selling out of its products in local markets. In addition, it had secured placement in a national grocery retailer and was continuing to fulfill its social mission of empowering marginalized youth by providing education on food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship issues. These successes started to create a series of problems associated with production and capacity shortfalls associated with using a youth volunteer workforce, stock outs, and potential mission drift. As the executive director of Hope Blooms prepared for the final board of directors’ meeting in 2015, she wondered how to solve two of the organization’s fundamental problems: How could the retail operations provide stable employment for its youth members? How could Hope Blooms increase its profits to continue to expand its activities?
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities & Communities.

In 2012, the viral campaign ‘KONY 2012’ made media history. The 30-minutes video advertising the capture and prosecution of the infamous Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony became the most popular video on YouTube ever. However, the film crew were accused of oversimplifying the complex conflicts in Central Africa, of drawing on emotions rather than on facts and of manipulating the audience. The campaign was supposed to culminate on 20 April 2012 with supporters taking to the streets to demonstrate and put pressure on the US government to intervene in Uganda, but this was largely a failure. The case is generally suitable for classes with a high level of student involvement and reflectivity, for example in marketing, media or leadership.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

In the early months of 2014, the Copenhagen Zoo found itself at the centre of a media storm. The Zoo had not been prepared for the massive reaction from the Danish and international community to the culling of a young giraffe, Marius. Two issues were at the centre of the debate: Firstly, why did the Copenhagen Zoo feel that they had to put down a perfectly healthy young giraffe, and secondly, why did they choose to do a public autopsy allowing young children to watch?
SDG Topics: Life On Land / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Examines the situation facing a group of representatives from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors attempting to increase the diversity of business school faculties. Focuses on the issues faced in mid-1994 by the KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation and its partners in their joint effort to generate more ethnic diversity in business school faculties and, ultimately, in business school classrooms and corporate workforces. Gives background on a prior series of meetings held to discuss what could be done to address the lack of minorities in business.
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

Supplements the (A) case.
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

This case describes a major food fraud scandal that resulted in a much-publicized product recall. The episode was dubbed "Horsegate" by the national and international press. In early 2013, a scandal broke out in Ireland and the UK when horsemeat was found in frozen prepared meals sold as containing 100% beef. Findus Nordic, the company involved in the scandal, sold the same products in France. The press launched an investigation, and there were numerous media reports. A French company, Picard Surgelés, was found to have two products tainted with horsemeat. Both companies had to recall their products. Politicians got involved and carefully followed the crisis. Organizations in the supply chain implicated in the scandal struggled to defend themselves and blamed each other. French consumers reacted, and sales of frozen meat products dropped sharply. Findus Nordic and Picard Surgelés's brands were the most heavily impacted in France. This case focuses on Picard Surgelés, an integrated food processor that sells its store brand (private label) products in a company-owned chain of retail stores. The company needs help, and brand managers and marketing communications specialists must assess the situation and make recommendations to address the aftermath of the food fraud/product recall.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Tela, a Lima-based company that uses local, sustainable materials to make fashionable ponchos, has a formidable competitor--a large U.S. firm with a globally recognized brand that markets its ponchos as "of Peruvian design" (although they are made in Bangladesh). Alejandra Chirinos, Tela's founder, has gathered her team to decide how Tela can best position itself against the U.S. company. She believes in Tela's social mission of employing and teaching weaving skills to underprivileged women, but her competitor has a simpler story to tell: Like TOMS with shoes and Warby Parker with glasses, it has a "buy one, give one" model whereby purchases support donations to people in need. In this context, can Tela successfully market its social mission? Or should it emphasize the authenticity of its products or its lower prices? Mark Rampolla (founder and former CEO of Zico coconut water) and Tomas Pando (cofounder and president of the Argentine footwear company Paez) offer expert commentary on Chirinos's dilemma. This HBR Case Study includes both the case and the commentary. For teaching purposes, this reprint is also available in two other versions: case study-only, reprint R1610X, and commentary-only, R1610Z.
SDG Topics: No Poverty / Gender Equality / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Sustainable Cities & Communities / Responsible Consumption & Production.

Didier Cherpitel, CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is implementing a new strategy that will fundamentally change the role of its International Secretariat. The organization is in the early stages of implementing a best practice tool called the National Society Self-Assessment and Cherpitel's challenge is to move forward with the implementation of this tool, while ensuring that the International Secretariat takes the necessary actions to strengthen IFRC's brand and image.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Reduced Inequalities / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Targeted at undergraduates, this case is an ideal introduction to responsible management. It focuses on the Danish sportswear brand, hummel, introducing the reader to Dan Bjerg and his work on the company’s philanthropic activities. At the same time, the case addresses the challenges of supply chain management in a global market and highlights the importance of ensuring ethical standards. The case asks where hummel should concentrate its efforts and students are encouraged to develop specific suggestions in relation to internal management and external communication.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

In 2012, the viral campaign ‘KONY 2012’ made media history. The 30-minutes video advertising the capture and prosecution of the infamous Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony became the most popular video on YouTube ever. However, the film crew were accused of oversimplifying the complex conflicts in Central Africa, of drawing on emotions rather than on facts and of manipulating the audience. The campaign was supposed to culminate on 20 April 2012 with supporters taking to the streets to demonstrate and put pressure on the US government to intervene in Uganda, but this was largely a failure. The case is generally suitable for classes with a high level of student involvement and reflectivity, for example in marketing, media or leadership.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Aaron Jonnerson, vice president of marketing at the automotive division of Avellin, must make marketing mix decisions for the launch of Eco7, a new environmentally-friendly motor oil. The company's performance has been mediocre, shareholder pressure is increasing, and expectations are high for Eco7. However, Jonnerson faces significant challenges in ensuring a successful launch. The market for passenger car motor oil (PCMO) is mature and consumers are price-sensitive. Furthermore, the independent oil change outlets that are Avellin's core customers have declined relative to other channels. Jonnerson must design the best pricing strategy to ensure a successful launch. The Eco7 case asks students to examine consumer behavior and channel conflict and factor them into a product launch. The launch comes at a time when the company may need to adapt to changes in a market that is increasingly commoditized and in which the relative importance of different distribution channels is changing. Students are asked to make recommendations on pricing and distribution and to consider which trade-offs the company should make.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Sustainable Cities & Communities / Responsible Consumption & Production.

In an attempt to increase sales volume by 80 per cent, Unilever re-launched Dove in 2004. The campaign asks the question “What is real beauty?” and attempts to redefine it in ways that challenge commonly portrayed stereotypes. This case examines the re-launch of Dove, Unilever's well-known international personal care brand, and the marketing issues behind its phenomenal success. It also raises questions about how to maintain the brand's momentum as the next phase unfolds.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure.

This case analysis traces the establishment and subsequent operation of FIJI Water LLC and its bottling subsidiary, Natural Waters of Viti Limited, the first company in Fiji extracting, bottling and marketing, both domestically and internationally, artesian water coming from a virgin ecosystem found on Fiji's main island of Viti Levu. The case reviews the growth and market expansion of this highly successful company with the brand name FIJI Natural Artesian Water (FIJI Water). The company has grown rapidly over the past decade and a half, and now exports bottled water into many countries in the world from its production plant located in the Fiji Islands. In 2008, FIJI Water was the leading imported bottled water brand in the United States. In the context of great marketing success of the FIJI brand, particularly in the U.S. market, the case focuses on how the company has responded to a number of corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues, including measuring and reducing its carbon footprint, responsibilities to key stakeholders, and concerns of the Fiji government with regard to taxation and transfer pricing issues. The case provides a compelling illustration of how CSR challenges may jeopardize the sustainability of a clever marketing strategy.
SDG Topics: Responsible Consumption & Production / Climate Action.

This case describes a major food fraud scandal that resulted in a much-publicized product recall. The episode was dubbed "Horsegate" by the national and international press. In early 2013, a scandal broke out in Ireland and the UK when horsemeat was found in frozen prepared meals sold as containing 100% beef. Findus Nordic, the company involved in the scandal, sold the same products in France. The press launched an investigation, and there were numerous media reports. A French company, Picard Surgelés, was found to have two products tainted with horsemeat. Both companies had to recall their products. Politicians got involved and carefully followed the crisis. Organizations in the supply chain implicated in the scandal struggled to defend themselves and blamed each other. French consumers reacted, and sales of frozen meat products dropped sharply. Findus Nordic and Picard Surgelés's brands were the most heavily impacted in France. This case focuses on Picard Surgelés, an integrated food processor that sells its store brand (private label) products in a company-owned chain of retail stores. The company needs help, and brand managers and marketing communications specialists must assess the situation and make recommendations to address the aftermath of the food fraud/product recall.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

In 2012, the viral campaign ‘KONY 2012’ made media history. The 30-minutes video advertising the capture and prosecution of the infamous Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony became the most popular video on YouTube ever. However, the film crew were accused of oversimplifying the complex conflicts in Central Africa, of drawing on emotions rather than on facts and of manipulating the audience. The campaign was supposed to culminate on 20 April 2012 with supporters taking to the streets to demonstrate and put pressure on the US government to intervene in Uganda, but this was largely a failure. The case is generally suitable for classes with a high level of student involvement and reflectivity, for example in marketing, media or leadership.
SDG Topics: Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Supplements the (A) case.
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

To promote and sell its products, the beverage company Cult hires an army of ‘Cult Girls’ to represent it at festivals, nightclubs, and local venues. They are famous for their sexy outfits and flirty behaviour. Many employees find the job exciting; they see it as a way to get paid for going out at night to party, and being the centre of attention makes them feel appreciated. Others face difficulties, having to deal with drunken men and jealous girlfriends. This case asks: how far can you go when identifying with and selling a product, and what are the consequences?
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Gender Equality / Decent Work & Economic Growth.

Didier Cherpitel, CEO of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), is implementing a new strategy that will fundamentally change the role of its International Secretariat. The organization is in the early stages of implementing a best practice tool called the National Society Self-Assessment and Cherpitel's challenge is to move forward with the implementation of this tool, while ensuring that the International Secretariat takes the necessary actions to strengthen IFRC's brand and image.
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Reduced Inequalities / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

The Just Us! worker cooperative has been in business since the mid-1990s. Founded by Jeff and Debra Moore, this company with an economic and social mission has sought to make its mark in the business world by trumpeting its "humanitarian" positioning through the slogan: "People and the planet before profits." In addition to operating four coffeehouses (two in Halifax, one in Wolfville and one in its Grand-Pré headquarters), Just Us! sells its products (mainly fair trade and organic coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar) via a distribution network. Although the company was prospering, the financial crisis of fall 2008, which triggered an economic recession, quickly prompted the management committee to consider producing a marketing plan for the coming year, to optimize the use of the organization's resources. Pauline, hired by Just Us! slightly more than two years earlier, was assigned this task. Her work at the co-op was so impressive that she had recently been promoted to director of marketing and sales.
SDG Topics: Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Responsible Consumption & Production / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions / Partnerships for the Goals.

In the early months of 2014, the Copenhagen Zoo found itself at the centre of a media storm. The Zoo had not been prepared for the massive reaction from the Danish and international community to the culling of a young giraffe, Marius. Two issues were at the centre of the debate: Firstly, why did the Copenhagen Zoo feel that they had to put down a perfectly healthy young giraffe, and secondly, why did they choose to do a public autopsy allowing young children to watch?
SDG Topics: Life On Land / Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.

Examines the situation facing a group of representatives from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors attempting to increase the diversity of business school faculties. Focuses on the issues faced in mid-1994 by the KPMG Peat Marwick Foundation and its partners in their joint effort to generate more ethnic diversity in business school faculties and, ultimately, in business school classrooms and corporate workforces. Gives background on a prior series of meetings held to discuss what could be done to address the lack of minorities in business.
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

In an attempt to increase sales volume by 80 per cent, Unilever re-launched Dove in 2004. The campaign asks the question “What is real beauty?” and attempts to redefine it in ways that challenge commonly portrayed stereotypes. This case examines the re-launch of Dove, Unilever's well-known international personal care brand, and the marketing issues behind its phenomenal success. It also raises questions about how to maintain the brand's momentum as the next phase unfolds.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure.

To promote and sell its products, the beverage company Cult hires an army of ‘Cult Girls’ to represent it at festivals, nightclubs, and local venues. They are famous for their sexy outfits and flirty behaviour. Many employees find the job exciting; they see it as a way to get paid for going out at night to party, and being the centre of attention makes them feel appreciated. Others face difficulties, having to deal with drunken men and jealous girlfriends. This case asks: how far can you go when identifying with and selling a product, and what are the consequences?
SDG Topics: Good Health & Wellbeing / Gender Equality / Decent Work & Economic Growth.

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Twitchell (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each other at the start of the story. Presents their very different points of view on their first couple of months working together. Should be used with Jenson Shoes: Lyndon Twitchell's Story to explore how stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophesies influence performance feedback.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

Hope Blooms was a social enterprise based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that grew its own garden produce and manufactured and sold a line of herb dressings. For a small social enterprise, it was remarkably successful. Hope Blooms had appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was constantly selling out of its products in local markets. In addition, it had secured placement in a national grocery retailer and was continuing to fulfill its social mission of empowering marginalized youth by providing education on food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship issues. These successes started to create a series of problems associated with production and capacity shortfalls associated with using a youth volunteer workforce, stock outs, and potential mission drift. As the executive director of Hope Blooms prepared for the final board of directors’ meeting in 2015, she wondered how to solve two of the organization’s fundamental problems: How could the retail operations provide stable employment for its youth members? How could Hope Blooms increase its profits to continue to expand its activities?
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities & Communities.

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Twitchell (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each other at the start of the story. Presents their very different points of view on their first couple of months working together. Should be used with Jenson Shoes: Jane Kravitz's Story to explore how stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophesies influence performance feedback.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

Hope Blooms was a social enterprise based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that grew its own garden produce and manufactured and sold a line of herb dressings. For a small social enterprise, it was remarkably successful. Hope Blooms had appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was constantly selling out of its products in local markets. In addition, it had secured placement in a national grocery retailer and was continuing to fulfill its social mission of empowering marginalized youth by providing education on food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship issues. These successes started to create a series of problems associated with production and capacity shortfalls associated with using a youth volunteer workforce, stock outs, and potential mission drift. As the executive director of Hope Blooms prepared for the final board of directors’ meeting in 2015, she wondered how to solve two of the organization’s fundamental problems: How could the retail operations provide stable employment for its youth members? How could Hope Blooms increase its profits to continue to expand its activities?
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities & Communities.

Tela, a Lima-based company that uses local, sustainable materials to make fashionable ponchos, has a formidable competitor--a large U.S. firm with a globally recognized brand that markets its ponchos as "of Peruvian design" (although they are made in Bangladesh). Alejandra Chirinos, Tela's founder, has gathered her team to decide how Tela can best position itself against the U.S. company. She believes in Tela's social mission of employing and teaching weaving skills to underprivileged women, but her competitor has a simpler story to tell: Like TOMS with shoes and Warby Parker with glasses, it has a "buy one, give one" model whereby purchases support donations to people in need. In this context, can Tela successfully market its social mission? Or should it emphasize the authenticity of its products or its lower prices? Mark Rampolla (founder and former CEO of Zico coconut water) and Tomas Pando (cofounder and president of the Argentine footwear company Paez) offer expert commentary on Chirinos's dilemma. This HBR Case Study includes both the case and the commentary. For teaching purposes, this reprint is also available in two other versions: case study-only, reprint R1610X, and commentary-only, R1610Z.
SDG Topics: No Poverty / Gender Equality / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Sustainable Cities & Communities / Responsible Consumption & Production.

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Twitchell (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each other at the start of the story. Presents their very different points of view on their first couple of months working together. Should be used with Jenson Shoes: Jane Kravitz's Story to explore how stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophesies influence performance feedback.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

Jane Kravitz (Caucasian female), strategic product manager, and Lyndon Twitchell (African American male), a member of her staff at Jensen Shoes, a successful producer and marketer of casual, athletic, and children's footwear, are assigned to new positions and to each other at the start of the story. Presents their very different points of view on their first couple of months working together. Should be used with Jenson Shoes: Lyndon Twitchell's Story to explore how stereotypes and self-fulfilling prophesies influence performance feedback.
SDG Topics: Gender Equality / Reduced Inequalities.

Hope Blooms was a social enterprise based out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that grew its own garden produce and manufactured and sold a line of herb dressings. For a small social enterprise, it was remarkably successful. Hope Blooms had appeared on CBC’s Dragons’ Den and was constantly selling out of its products in local markets. In addition, it had secured placement in a national grocery retailer and was continuing to fulfill its social mission of empowering marginalized youth by providing education on food, sustainability, and entrepreneurship issues. These successes started to create a series of problems associated with production and capacity shortfalls associated with using a youth volunteer workforce, stock outs, and potential mission drift. As the executive director of Hope Blooms prepared for the final board of directors’ meeting in 2015, she wondered how to solve two of the organization’s fundamental problems: How could the retail operations provide stable employment for its youth members? How could Hope Blooms increase its profits to continue to expand its activities?
SDG Topics: Quality Education / Decent Work & Economic Growth / Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure / Reduced Inequalities / Sustainable Cities & Communities.