1. Danone sought easy entry into the emerging, untapped Bangladeshi market of 159 million people.
Another important factor for Danone was the shared knowledge and expertise of the country’s legal
system, political process, distribution channels, and local consumption habits that Grameen provided.
For Grameen’s part, they would benefit from Danone’s financial strength, manufacturing and marketing
skills. So while Danone gains a foothold in a new, developing market, Grameen benefits by providing its
country with good employment opportunities and nutritious food.
2. There are numerous potential pi)alls, especially considering the incompatibility of the two
organizations’ goals. Grameen is a non-pro%t seeking to improve the welfare of Bangladeshi citizens,
Danone is an MNC seeking to grow its market share in a nascent market. Corporate and national culture
are probably as disparate as they could be. Any number of disagreements over pricing, R&D, market
development, and strategy could potentially ensue. However, if Danone is truly interested in the welfare
of Bangladesh, and Grameen acts in good faith and I believe these both hold true, then these obstacles
can be averted.
3. Similar to the Danone-Grameen JV, in allying with Wahaha, Danone sought to be an early player in
China’s enormous, untapped, and fast-growing beverage market. Wahaha being the largest bo7led-
water manufacturer in China, Danone stood to gain their distribution channels, brand popularity, as well
as knowledge and expertise of the country’s legal, political, and social systems. Certainly, this can be
considered a success, as Danone quickly took over the largest share of the so9 drink market. For
Wahaha’s part, they benefited from Danone’s financial authority, and experience in manufacturing and
marketing.
4. Danone was in a precarious position in both the Chinese and Indian JVs because it did not have a firm
enough grasp of the respective countries’ value systems. In other words, contracts with China do not
often have much power behind them to make people obey. They are rarely enforced and litigation is
costly, time consuming and often fruitless. Typically, China does not respect foreign JV’s IP rights, and is