Kambly – A Small Thank You to Life

Abstract

Oscar Kambly the former CEO of Kambly, a family run Swiss biscuit manufacturer with a commitment to quality, is considering purchasing a German biscuit manufacturer named Tekrum. Oscar worried that Tekrum, owned by private investors would not fit with Kambly’s family business values. Yet could he afford to pass up the opportunity to enter the German market, the fourth largest economy in the world?

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

2024 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Resources

Exhibit 1: Bretzeli: The First Kambly Product That Conquered Switzerland’s Heart

An image of a customized waffle maker-like machine with twelve circular molds. Four out of the twelve molds have small, pancakes that have the word Kambly with a leaf-like design on the pancake, above and below the word Kambly.

Exhibit 2: Three Generations of Kambly. From Left to Right: Oscar R. Kambly, Oscar A. Kambly and Oscar J. Kambly

A black-and-white photograph of two men on the steps of a building with a child between them, holding both their hands. Both the men wear suits and the man on the left appears older than the man on the right. The young child wears a dark jacket and a light cap covering her head.

Exhibit 3: Two of Kambly’s Pioneering Products: Butterfly and ‘Goldfischli’

The image on the left has a box of biscuits with the Kambly logo on the top left corner and an image of the biscuits on the right. The packaging also reads Butterfly, just below the Kambly logo. The image also features a small tin of goldfish-shaped biscuits with images of the biscuits on the label of the tin on the right. The tin has a bright-colored band on the lower part of the label and a dark square on it that reads Kambly. The word goldfischli is also seen on the label.

This image features two of Kambly’s products.

Exhibit 4: Kambly’s “Five Pioneering Acts”

  • “Only do things, which we can do better”
  • “Quality without compromise”
  • “Permanent technological advantage”
  • “Pushing the pinnacle higher”
  • “Kambly is available wherever connoisseurs seek high-quality biscuits”

Exhibit 5: Oscar A. Kambly (Left) and BLS AG CEO Bernard Guillelmon in Front of the Kambly Train

Two men in suits are seen smiling and posing in front of a train with the image of cookies on the side of the train with the Kambly logo on it. The word Trubschachen is seen on the front of the train.

Exhibit 6: Kambly’s Value Proposition: Premiumness, Heritage and Innovation

The Kambly’s biscuit box is seen at the center of the image with the following eight captions around the image with lines from each caption leading back to the box at the center. These captions read:

  • Worldwide, discerning consumers appreciate Kambly for its superior variety and outstanding innovations.
  • Artisanal care and tradition, masterfully baked, yet with state-of-the-art equipment.
  • Kambly is available in over 50 countries. In addition to the Swiss specialities, market-specific Kambly recipes are baked locally for export.
  • All biscuits for Switzerland are baked in Trubschachen. The raw materials come from Switzerland, provided these are available in the required quality and quantity, and wherever possible from the Emmental valley.
  • A quality founded on ethical principles, being the basis and source of true sustainability.
  • Kambly puts typical Swizz values into practice systematically: ‘Uncompromising quality’; ‘A guarantee of having the best’; ‘Authenticity’; ‘Credibility; ‘Intact nature’.
  • Kambly is an independent Swiss family company with a tradition of quality dating back over 100 years.
  • Kambly is Switzerland’s best-known and most popular biscuit brand.

This image illustrates Kambly’s value proposition.

Source: Oscar A. Kambly, workshop at the University of Zurich, 2018

Exhibit 7: Kambly’s Guiding Principles for Sustainability

The diagram has three bright-colored circles labeled economy, social and environment.

Text in the economy circle reads Value creation and prosperity.

Text in the social circle reads Development & empowerment of the employees and enriching society.

Text in the environment circle reads Protection of resources and minimization of emissions.

A fourth circle superimposed on these three intersecting circles reads Human being and ethics.

This image illustrates Kambly’s guiding principles for sustainability through a diagram with four overlapping circles.

Source: Kambly internal training document, 2018

Exhibit 8: Dynamic Development (Turnover) of Kambly

The x axis shows the years 1996, 2000 and 2017. The y axis shows the dynamic development turnover in millions of Swiss Francs and ranges from 0 to 200, in 20 million Swiss Franc intervals. The table below shows the values seen for Switzerland, export and total for each of these years:

Year

Switzerland (in Million Swiss Francs)

Export (in Million Swiss Francs)

Total (in Million Swiss Francs)

1996

29.1 (45.2%)

35.3 (54.8%)

64.4

2000

64.6 (51.8%)

60.1 (48.2%)

124.7

2017

96.1 (53.2%)

84.7 (46.8%)

180.8

This stacked bar graph shows the dynamic development turnover of Kambly in millions of Swiss Francs.

Source: Kambly

This case was prepared for inclusion in Sage Business Cases primarily as a basis for classroom discussion or self-study, and is not meant to illustrate either effective or ineffective management styles. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be an endorsement of any kind. This case is for scholarly, educational, or personal use only within your university, and cannot be forwarded outside the university or used for other commercial purposes.

2024 Sage Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved

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