A Harvard Case Study Analysis on Crescent Pure,an organic energy drink under the guidance of Prof. Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow for the Marketing Management Internship

1. CRESCENT PURE
Harvard Business Case Analysis

2. Portland Drake Beverages
Overview
• Manufacturer of organic juices and sparling water
• Successfully managed to make 120.5m in revenue in 2012
• Main focus of the company towards Quality and Affordability

3. Players Involved
• Michael Booth – Chief Executive Officer, Portland Drake
Beverages(PDB)
• Sarah Ryan – Vice President of Marketing, Portland Drake
Beverages(PDB)
• Peter Hooper – Founder of Crescent Pure

4. Situation
Portland Drake Beverages acquired
Crescent to expand into the rapidly
growing functional beverage segment in
order to maximize revenues.

5. Decision To Be Made
Energy Drink Positioning Vs Sports Drink Positioning

6. Factors that influence the decision
1. Living up to the brand image of PDB
2. Market Share
3. Competitors
4. Customer Response
5. Price point
6. Uniqueness

8. Sports Drink
1. Pros
• Attracting a wide range of customer base
• Regular usage of sports drink than an energy drink
• Market share is 6.3 billion
2. Cons
• Crescent’s price point $2.75 is significantly higher than other sports drink
of the same quantity
• Recent government rules of restricting sugar and high calorie drinks from
schools and educational institutions posed a threat to the sports drink
area.

9. Energy Drink
1. Pros
• Contains less sugar and caffeine content comes from natural herbs making
the product unique unlike other energy drinks.
• Growth in market for energy drinks (About 40% growth in 2012-2013)
• The average price point of an energy drink is $2.99 whereas that of Crescent
is $2.75 which could provide a boost in customer base.
2. Cons
• Consumption of energy drinks has lowered after media attention towards
health risks.
• Only 32% customers claim that they have consumed an energy drink in the
last 6 months
• Some young customers think that Crescent has less energy than the other
competitive energy drinks.

12. Final Verdict
Organic
Energy
Organic
Energy
Drink
Crescent Pure needs to be
positioned as an organic
energy drink which is healthier
than the other energy drinks.

13. Customer Response

14. 35% of the customers found
Crescent Pure to be

15. Pricing Strategy
Manufacturer Distributor Retailer
18% 25% 40%
$1.24 $1.64 $2.75

17. Crescent pure, on strategizing as an organic energy drink can
turn out to be a massive success for the following reasons:
• Consumer perception about Crescent aligns well with an alternate
choice of a energy drink
• There are lesser leading competitors with similar drink characteristics
• They have strong points of difference as a energy drink due to their organic
certification
• They can position it at $2.75 which is lower in comparison to the average price
of energy drinks
• Portland Drake Beverages is an established organization with an efficient
workforce and latest technology in order to produce the best possible drink
which uplifts the customer trust on the product.

18. DISCLAIMER
Created by Prayas Gupta , VIT Vellore , during
a Marketing Internship by Prof. Sameer Mathur,
IIM Lucknow