Growth at Hubbard's Foods?
ABSTRACT Dick Hubbard is the founder of Hubbard's Foods Limited. The company is a cereal manufacturer located in Mangere, Auckland. This case highlights the entrepreneurial flair that Dick has, as well as his stance on social responsibility. Hubbard's has grown from a micro-business into a large business with 120 staff, while maintaining a family based culture. It is this question of whether the business should grow further that is the focus of the case. INTRODUCTION Dick Hubbard paused for a minute from the notes he was writing for his company newsletter to reflect on the recent changes he had initiated in the company. He thought back to the early days of the business, when he did everything in the company single-handedly, including making the breakfast cereals. He looked out into the company car park and saw that it was almost full. He suddenly realised he was responsible for the livelihoods of many people other than himself. Should he take the next step and expand the company further? Dick contemplated the various scenarios and considered what they would mean for his business... BACKGROUND Hubbard's produce a range of 23 breakfast cereals that are targeted towards the mid-high price ranges in the cereal market. A recent extension to the product range was an organic muesli that is in the very high price range. Hubbard's cereals are distinctive due to their use of New Zealand and tropical fruits and using fruit flavouring to bake the cereals in. Products Hubbard's products are aimed at both the high price range and low end of the cereal market. The high end products have such innovative names as "Berry Berry Nice" and "Bugs 'n Mud" (refer to Figure 1 opposite for a description of two popular products in the range and their ingredients). While the main output from the operation is high quality cereals under the Hubbard's brand, the company also manufactures some product lines for a range of supermarket private labels. These private labels are typically at the lower end of the price range for cereal, such as rice puffs and cornflakes. Demand for breakfast cereal products has a slight seasonal variation. In summer months, consumption is approximately 10% higher than in winter months. The breakfast cereal industry has been undergoing rapid change in the past two or three years, including an increase in the mueslistyle cereals that Hubbard's popularized and an increase supermarket own brands. In addition, there had been huge growth in cereal bars, muesli bars, and breakfast drinks (Hubbard's does not produce any of these). Exact growth figures are not available as the cereal industry is highly competitive. In 2000-2001, Hubbard's exported 14.4% of its production, mainly to Australia, but a small amount was exported to the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong. In this respect, the company is potentially vulnerable to the fluctuating New Zealand dollar. Financial information for the company is shown in Figure 2, opposite. Competitors In 2001, Hubbard's had an 18.5% share of the cereal market in New Zealand, which makes them the third largest player in the market (exact market share for the competitors is not known). There are three strong direct competitors to Hubbard's in the New Zealand market - Sanatarium, Uncle Toby's and Kelloggs. Sanitarium is a New Zealand owned company that is located in a nearby suburb of Auckland. If either Sanatarium or Hubbard's runs out of an ingredient, the other will supply it if they have it available. A Seventh Day Adventist baker, whose philosophies were strong on healthy living and vegetarianism, started Sanatarium Health Foods over 100 years ago. Sanatarium continues to market their cereals using these philosophies, and has quite a strong focus on sponsoring events and charities, as well as promoting healthy living. Sanatarium's main breakfast cereal products are Weetbix and Cornflakes, and they have entered the cereal bar market as well as the breakfast drink market. …
Tall Poppy Syndrome: Implications for entrepreneurship in New Zealand
Abstract The Tall Poppy Syndrome (TPS) of knocking high achievers is often described as being ingrained in New Zealand's culture. This study interviews 40 entrepreneurs to explore how TPS impacts on entrepreneurs. Internationally, New Zealand is considered to be a highly entrepreneurial country. Thus TPS and an entrepreneurial culture appear to co-exist. Over half of the participants had experienced TPS in their role as entrepreneurs and their individual strategies for managing its impact included 'staying under the radar', not telling people they owned a business and not ‘flaunting’ their wealth. This study suggests that the effects of TPS may have significant implications for entrepreneurship in New Zealand. Firstly, TPS may discourage entrepreneurs from starting a business. Secondly, people who have experienced a business failure may be reluctant to establish another business because of the public reaction to their 'fall'. Finally, entrepreneurs may deliberately limit business growth because they don't want to attract attention. Potential ways of reducing the impact of TPS on entrepreneurs include celebrating entrepreneurial success more visibly, highlighting realistic role models for people to aspire to and emphasising the hard work and risk that entrepreneurs take to achieve success.
Mite population density analysis of stored dried apricots in Turkey
The aim of this study was to determine the population density of mite species attacking stored dried apricots in Malatya, Elazig and Izmir regions of Turkey. Storage construction types and duration of storage were also considered. The samples were collected during 2000–2003 in the most important apricot producing areas (Malatya and Elazig) and the exporting center (Izmir). Frequency of occurrence and rates of intensity of infestations were determined (16.50% from Malatya, 3.19% from Elazig and 80.49% from Izmir). A total of 16 mite species belonging to 13 genera and 11 families were identified during the surveys. The pest species Carpoglyphus lactis (L.) (Astigmata: Carpoglyphidae) was the most abundant species recorded (69.14% of samples). The highest infestation value recorded was 15,534 mites per kg.