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Case Study

Nestlé: Developing a digital nutrition platform for Japan

By Tawfik Jelassi, Ashraf Kordy, Hitoshi Ode, Roman Podkolzine and Sunil Prabhakaran Vimala

25 pages

November 2018

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Reference: IMD-7-2034

This case study describes the strategic dilemmas that Nestlé faces as it embarks on developing an innovative digital nutrition platform for Japan. Although health food is a key growth area for the worldwide food and beverage industry, the choice of Japan is due to its increasingly aging population and stronger consumer interest in healthy lifestyles and diet. The case study describes the regulatory framework, consumer choices and habits, market structure, distribution channels as well as the opportunities and challenges in using consumer data for digital nutrition initiatives in Japan. It presents Nestlé’s activities in Japan and the outcomes there of its digital initiatives to penetrate the health food segment. The case closes by presenting the different strategies that are available to Nestlé to accelerate the adoption and use of its digital nutrition platform, highlighting the opportunities and dilemmas that each strategy presents for Nestlé.

Learning Objective

How companies can leverage digital technologies to create differentiated value for their customers/consumers that goes beyond traditional products and services.
How an industry incumbent develops a digital platform-based business through a partners’ ecosystem.
How companies can capitalize on data capture and analysis while ensuring the privacy of consumer data.
How to create a sound business innovation by leveraging the specificities of a given market in terms of demographics and regulation.

Keywords

Strategy, Digital Transformation, Digital Platform, Nutrition, Health, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence

Settings

Asia, Japan
Nestlé, Consumer Goods, Food and Beverage
2016-2018

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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