LightFull Foods Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for LightFull Foods case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. LightFull Foods case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by S. Christian Wheeler. The LightFull Foods (referred as “Stevia Sweetener” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Entrepreneurship, Gender, Government.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of LightFull Foods Case Study

The protagonists are Lara Jackle and Lynn Graham, CEO and VP Marketing for LifghtFull Foods respectively. LightFull is a beverage start-up based in Northern California that is struggling with a major strategic decision which centers around its use and possible replacement of an ingredient called Stevia (an all natural, zero calorie plant derivative which is often used as a sweetener by consumers and companies) with an artificial sweetener. Jackle and Graham like Stevia for its inherent qualities that play to the company's and product's strengths: all-natural ingredients, low calorie, nutritious and tasty snack-replacement satisfaction. Some board members argue, however, that replacing Stevia with an artificial sweetener will not negatively impact the brand, and may in fact appeal to a larger audience in more mainstream channels (e.g., WalMart vs. Whole Foods, the latter of which does not allow artificially sweetened food items on its shelves). While approved by the FDA for use as a dietary supplement, Stevia has not yet been approved as a sugar substitute, food additive or sweetener. In fact, companies are overtly barred from using Stevia as anything but a dietary supplement and inclusion of the ingredient necessitates that the company classify the entire product (in this case a beverage) as a nutritional supplement, not a food.

Case Authors : S. Christian Wheeler

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Entrepreneurship, Gender, Government

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for LightFull Foods Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009081)	-10009081	-	-
Year 1	3465801	-6543280	3465801	0.9434	3269624
Year 2	3973270	-2570010	7439071	0.89	3536196
Year 3	3942533	1372523	11381604	0.8396	3310227
Year 4	3248185	4620708	14629789	0.7921	2572867
TOTAL			14629789		12688913

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2679832

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Payback Period
2. Internal Rate of Return
3. Profitability Index
4. Net Present Value

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Stevia Sweetener have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.
2. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Stevia Sweetener shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of LightFull Foods

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Stevia Sweetener often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Stevia Sweetener needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009081)	-10009081	-	-
Year 1	3465801	-6543280	3465801	0.8696	3013740
Year 2	3973270	-2570010	7439071	0.7561	3004363
Year 3	3942533	1372523	11381604	0.6575	2592279
Year 4	3248185	4620708	14629789	0.5718	1857160
TOTAL					10467543

The Net NPV after 4 years is 458462

(10467543 - 10009081 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10009081)	-10009081	-	-
Year 1	3465801	-6543280	3465801	0.8333	2888168
Year 2	3973270	-2570010	7439071	0.6944	2759215
Year 3	3942533	1372523	11381604	0.5787	2281558
Year 4	3248185	4620708	14629789	0.4823	1566447
TOTAL					9495388

The Net NPV after 4 years is -513693

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9495388 - 10009081 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Stevia Sweetener to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Stevia Sweetener has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Stevia Sweetener can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Stevia Sweetener, then the stock price of the Stevia Sweetener should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Stevia Sweetener should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of LightFull Foods

References & Further Readings

S. Christian Wheeler (2018), "LightFull Foods Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.