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W20825

MAPLE LEAF FOODS (A): CONSUMERS

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Karen MacMillan wrote this teaching note together with Tima Bansal and Wren Montgomery solely to provide material for class
discussion. The authors do not intend to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of a managerial situation. The authors may
have disguised certain names and other identifying information to protect confidentiality.

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Copyright © 2020, Ivey Business School Foundation Version: 2020-10-15

Sarah Hedley 1 was excited as she opened her front door and welcomed in her friends, Jala Jadek and Avery
Adonte. It seemed amazing to her that she had known these women for only a few months—it felt like they had
been friends forever. They had met only three months earlier, when their 13-year-old daughters had ended up on
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the same soccer team. Since then, they had spent a lot of time chatting together on the sidelines during games
and practices. Occasionally, they found themselves so engrossed in their conversations with each other that they
forgot to watch what was happening on the field. They had come to mean a lot to each other.

“Sarah, your house is so beautiful! You’ve really got a fabulous sense of style,” said Jadek as they walked
into the kitchen. Adonte nodded her agreement, and added, “I don’t know how you do it. With three kids
underfoot, my house always looks like a hurricane just blew through.” Hedley shrugged, and said, “Believe
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me, it’s a struggle here, too. Who has time to keep everything in order, what with work, and meals, and,
let’s not forget, the driving across town several times a week to make it to a soccer game or a practice?”

She gestured for them to have a seat at the kitchen table as she grabbed the prepared pot of coffee and a
couple of mugs. Filling their cups, she said, “Help yourself to cream and sugar right there. Oh, and there
are cookies, too.” Seating herself, she continued, “All right, we had better get to work on planning the end-
of-the-season soccer party. I don’t really remember how we got elected to do this, but if we’re going to do
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it, we may as well do it right.”

Smiling, Jadek said, “It will be so nice to reward the girls for playing so hard all season.” Adonte spooned
a third spoonful of sugar into her coffee, as she raised her left eyebrow and gave a different perspective:

Pfft. Heck no, woman. I think we should be rewarding ourselves for lugging these little people all
over town, bringing the snacks, keeping track of the schedule, washing the uniforms, and cheering
them on during the rain, the scorching hot sun, and the swarms—yes, I said swarms—of
mosquitoes. I don’t even know if we should invite the kids to this party!
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The others laughed, and Hedley said, “Come on, Avery. I think we have to invite the children. We would
never live it down with the other parents if we tried to ditch the kids.”

1
Names and details have been changed.

This document is authorized for educator review use only by Ajitabh Dash, Other (University not listed) until Oct 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860
 Page 2 9B20M175

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Pulling out her phone, Adonte rolled her eyes, and said, “Fine. We’ll invite the littles. I don’t want to be

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called a bad mother. Mommy guilt is a real thing, you know. Okay, I guess I had better take some notes.
You said you would host it here, right Sarah?” Nodding her head, Hedley said, “I don’t mind at all. There’s
lots of room for everyone in the backyard. The kids can swim in the pool while we chat on the deck. But
what do we want to eat? Should we just do hamburgers and hot dogs?”

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Jadek replied,

That sounds good to me, but I guess we should have some vegetarian options, as well. There are
always a few people around who don’t want to eat meat. 2 I know! We can get some of those plant-
based burgers and sausages. They are really getting popular, aren’t they? I haven’t tried them
myself, but I heard some of them are just as good as meat.

Sitting up in alarm, Adonte exclaimed, “Oh no . . . you have got to be kidding me, Jala. We can’t serve that.

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Can’t we just have extra salads or something for the vegans and vegetarians?”

Hedley shook her head, and said disapprovingly,

Avery, you are the one who is always talking about the environment and how we have to do
something about climate change. If you care about those things, you had better start getting
comfortable with plant-based foods. 3 Our population is growing crazy fast. We have to find
different types of protein options.
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Adonte crossed her arms, and said, “Arggh. I hate it when my words come back to bite me. . . . Fine! We
can have a few plant burgers, I suppose. Are they cheaper at least?”

Hedley responded, “No, they might even cost a little more. But isn’t it worth it if it’s supporting a more
sustainable lifestyle and balancing meat consumption? Don’t you want to make the world better for when
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our kids grow up?” Groaning, Adonte said, “You’re using the ‘good for future generations’ card? Come
on, Sarah. That’s not playing fair. I already said okay. We can eat the plant burgers or whatever so we can
prove we care about the environment.”

Patting Adonte on the arm, Jadek added, “Don’t feel bad, friend. Plant-based foods not only help the
environment, they taste great and are good nutrition. Maybe we can get the girls to try it. I know we all
want the girls to be healthy. How else are we going to keep winning soccer games?”
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Reaching for a cookie from the plate on the table, Adonte smiled ruefully as she replied, “You want me to
save the world and worry about everyone’s health? Why not? I’ll just add that to the very long list of things
that I need to do to be a good mom.” With a sigh, she opened a note-taking app on her phone, and looked
at her friends as she said, “Okay, what else needs to go on the shopping list?”

The Ivey Business School gratefully acknowledges the generous support of RBC Foundation in
the development of this case.
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2
In a 2018 Gallup poll, 5 per cent of Americans described themselves as vegetarian, while another 3 per cent identified as
vegan. Niall McCarthy, “Who Are America’s Vegans and Vegetarians? [Infographic],” Forbes, August 6, 2018, accessed
December 8, 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2018/08/06/who-are-americas-vegans-and-vegetarians-
infographic/#615c67fc211c.
3
For more information on the trend towards plant-based diets, see “The Rise of Plant-Based Diets Gathers Momentum,” Food
Sustainability Index (blog), accessed December 8, 2019, http://foodsustainability.eiu.com/rise-plant-based-diets-gathers-
momentum/.

This document is authorized for educator review use only by Ajitabh Dash, Other (University not listed) until Oct 2023. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright.
Permissions@hbsp.harvard.edu or 617.783.7860