Project Overview

Description of the Company:

Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company is a privately held regional manufacturer and distributor of snack foods. With headquarters in Dayton, Ohio, Mike-sell's distributes a full line of snack foods in all or part of 5 states including Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and West Virginia. They have 2 manufacturing plants located in Dayton, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Mike-sell's delicious line of snacks includes various types of potato chips, pretzels, corn products, pork rinds, and dips. All of Mike-sell's Potato Chips are prepared in 100% premium peanut oil, giving them a unique flavor.

Their primary goal is to produce and distribute the highest quality products possible.

Project Description:

MBA students conducted two marketing plans for Mike-Sell's Corporation.  One class completed a marketing plan for the introduction of a new product for Mike-Sell's - the kettle chip.  Teams of students offered various marketing mix strategic suggestions as to how to best introduce this new snack.  The other class did a marketing plan to increase sales in the Greater Dayton area.  This group initially conducted focus groups in order to determine whether or not an "awareness" problem existed for the company, then completed the marketing plan.

Link to the Company’s Website: http://www.mike-sells.com/index.html

Company Value

"It was extremely insightful to obtain information from a youthful perspective. The students focused on what our Company would consider non-traditional marketing vehicles such as the internet and sporting events with less focus on television, radio and print advertising. They provided creative content in the form of sample packaging layouts, mascots, slogans, etc. that were fun yet very much tied to the product qualities we want to communicate."
                        Kim LaVoie, Executive Vice President Organizational Development

Student Value

“Working with Mike-sell's showed that the business concepts and processes we learn about and discuss throughout the MBA program apply not only to the large, world-wide corporations, but also apply to the local and regional companies that often compete with those same large, world-wide corporations.”
                          Chris Krolikowski