The interdisciplinary Nutella Biscuit case for first-year Master in Management students was held as part of the "Next Leaders with Ferrero" Chair programme. We take a closer look at the students' work that so impressed the Ferrero jury members!

The Nutella Biscuit case, coordinated by Alain Broutin, Professor in the Strategy and Entrepreneurship Department, was launched on January 6 and has the particularity of combining 3 disciplines: accounting/trust, law and marketing.  The 1,000 first-year Master in Management students involved were divided into 103 groups and worked on an initial cross-disciplinary issue for one week. They received coaching in Marketing from Françoise Collard, legal aspects from François Potier and accounting and finance from Anne Prevost. At the end of this first stage, a total of 12 teams were selected, 6 from the Reims Campus and 6 from the Rouen Campus.

At the beginning of March, Françoise Collard took over the role of coordinator for the final two stages of the case and launched the semi-final with a new brief given by the Ferrero teams: "In a context of consumer mistrust, frequently relayed by the media (limiting foods that are high in fat and sugar, palm oil, alternative offers...), what communication levers should a brand like Nutella activate to inspire consumer confidence and maintain its Love brand status in the long term?" Following the semi-final presentations, held just before the campus closures, 3 groups of students from Reims and 3 from Rouen were selected for the 3rd stage, the final.

Initially scheduled for 8 April at the Ferrero Head Offices in Mont-Saint-Aignan, the case study's ultimate stage, the final, took place on 13 May via Zoom with a jury of Ferrero employees, Valérie Savoye, HR Talent Director, Virginie Fleury, Country Manager Marketing, Pauline Cledat, Business Strategist and Katja Ehret, Senior Product Manager, and three of the School' professors, Françoise Collard, Marie Claire Niort and François Potier. "It was a real pleasure for Marie-Claire Niort and myself to coach the 6 groups of finalists. The students worked really well, they put a lot of effort into the task and were very creative. We were confident in their ability to take up the final challenge and shine!" says Françoise Collard.

Louison Nansenet, student, Vice-President of Neoma Alumni Team Support and member of the winning team, says: "We came up with a marketing project based around reforestation and Nutella's love brand image and managed to win the contest organised by Ferrero and NEOMA. Our project is based on four actions: 5 jars purchased = 1 tree planted; Choconut, an instructive game on the origin of Nutella's basic ingredients; Green June, an event offering 1,000 surprise jars containing family-themed eco-activities; and a TV, poster and social network advertising campaign."

The Ferrero teams were also keen to acknowledge the excellent work of the 6 groups of finalists. "The quality of the analysis and understanding of the issues, together with the creativity, precision and refinement of the proposals, all of which were set to music and so well-presented with such dynamic visual support, reflect the hard work and level of investment of each team. We were extremely impressed... especially given that the case is designed for first-year students! And as this success does not simply appear out of nowhere, we would also like to congratulate all the professors for the quality of their teaching. Bravo and congratulations to all!" concludes Valérie Savoye, Ferrero's HR Talent Director.

Next autumn, the winning team will be given the opportunity to visit the Nutella production facility located in Villers-Ecalles, near Rouen.

>learn more about NEOMA Master in Management programme