In 2011, Coca-Cola India recognised the opportunity to access the rural and remote markets of India in a more effective manner by launching the ‘eKOCool’, a solar power operated cooler. This innovation had the potential to expand the hitherto underserved and hard to penetrate Indian rural market, and even bring home the first time consumers who had never tasted the company’s beverages. It also facilitated an integration of the company’s business development goals with its social responsibility initiatives – in particular, contributing towards the global 5by20 initiative of enabling economic empowerment of five million women entrepreneurs by 2020.
To make this innovative product affordable, the technical team worked through the supply chain and brought down the costs to US$779, more than a third of the original cost. However, the company’s top management acknowledged that for long-term sustainable impact and the scalability of the innovation, it was imperative that the cost be brought down further. How could this best be done, and how could the golden triangle of business, government and civil society come together to develop similar initiatives that would develop value for communities?
This case illustrates the concepts of innovation, environmental sustainability and women’s empowerment in emerging markets; and highlights the role of innovation in integrating corporate social responsibility with business development goals. The case can be used in both undergraduate and graduate courses in topics related to marketing orientations, rural marketing, corporate social responsibility and marketing innovation.
Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop [at] smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.
Download Information
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0002TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0002TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
SMU Faculty/Staff can download the case & teaching note on iNet with your SMU login ID & Password via the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0002TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via The Case Centre, please access the following links:
· Teaching Note (SMU-16-0002TN)
For purchase of the case and supplementary materials via Harvard Business Publishing, please access the following links:
(Please note you are purchasing the case only.)
Looking for something?
