Page 29 - Articulate Files

Charlie Bigham

Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Strategy

The Future of the Ready meal

The main events of

this case study

take place over a

twenty year period
from the 1996 to

2016, and charts

the development
of both Charlie

Bighams the company and its founder Charlie Bigham in the

ready meals industry.

The case follows the progression from its entrepreneurial
beginning to a more professional set-up during periods of

uncertainty such as the 2008 financial crisis and the 2013

Horse Meat Scandal.

Charlie Bighams successfully moved out of the start-up
stage of development and well into the growth stage with

distribution through Waitrose, Sainsburys etc. Perhaps fine

for embryonic/growth stage but questionable for mature
stage. The Unique Value Proposition is examined and the

ethological stance of the company is put under the

microscope. Should Bighams seek other outlets such as

ASDA, Morrison's and Tesco, if so how would this impact on
their relationship strategy?