Chilled Beverages

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Case Study Prompt

You are consulting for the manager of a division of a large consumer products company. Her division produces fruit juices in three forms, all marketed under the same name: chilled (found in the milk section of the supermarket, usually), juice boxes, and frozen concentrate.

This division has sales of $600 million per year. The entire company has sales of over $20 billion. The chilled segment represents $120 million in sales per year. While juice boxes and frozen concentrate are profitable, chilled juices are only breaking even in good quarters and losing money in bad quarters.

She has received a proposal from upper management to sell the chilled juices business.

What would you advise that she do?

Case Study Overview

Your client has hired you to advise the company on whether or not to sell an unprofitable division within the business. In this Bain case study, it’s up to you to give the client a strong recommendation (yes or no) on how to move forward. In an M&A case, it’s important to pay attention to the type of buyer you’re serving – corporate or financial. They have different goals in mind for the sale.

Use the M&A Case Framework to solve this case, but keep in mind that the top candidates don’t restrict themselves to the basic frameworks, but build a custom structure that is most appropriate to solve the problem in the case.

There are no math exhibits in this case.

Bain Interview Tips

Bain looks for practicality in its case interview candidates. As you are structuring your approach to the case, imagine yourself as a Bain Manager. Would you feel comfortable assigning out the work-streams derived from the case to your team of analysts?

In this case, focus on a couple of things:

1. Focus on your communication – is it clear and concise?
2. Time yourself throughout the case (2min to build structure and 2min to present it; 2min each for a brainstorming question; 2min for final recommendation)

Finally, if you want to work with an expert who will be able to help you iron out your weak points and close your gap areas, book some time with one of MC’s ex-MBB case coaches.

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