Publications

February 2025
Case

Managing Complexity at mymuesli

By: Thomas Graeber and Stacy Straaberg

In April 2009, direct-to-consumer e-commerce muesli brand mymuesli faced a flood of customer questions. The breakfast cereal startup enabled users to order personalized muesli on its website by choosing from 75 organic ingredients for a total of 566 quadrillion... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decisions; Food; Product Marketing; Product Positioning; Product Launch; Problems and Challenges; Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Customization and Personalization; Segmentation; Internet and the Web; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; Germany

January 2025
Case

Barilla: Feeding the Future

By: Sophus A. Reinert, Forest L. Reinhardt, Dante Roscini and Carlota Moniz

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

January 2025
Case

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (A)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trust; Ethics; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Business Model; Credit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

January 2025
Supplement

Negotiating a Legacy at Sustainable Harvest (B)

By: Jillian Jordan, Julian Zlatev, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

The specialty coffee importer Sustainable Harvest was the first certified B Corp in the coffee industry due to its investments in building coffee farmers’ capacity and livelihood. But in 2022, after coffee prices plummeted and the company’s bank declined to extend its... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Trust; Ethics; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Volatility; Futures and Commodity Futures; Social Enterprise; Valuation; Business Model; Credit; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe

January 2025
Teaching Note

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel and Stacy Straaberg

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 124-007. The Germany-based startup Vytal operated the largest digital-native reusable packaging-as-a-service network globally, having raised nearly €15 million, established a large network of restaurant partners, and prevented the use of... View Details

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Food for Thought: Exiting Russia? (A)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Lena Duchene

In September 2022, the French food companies Bonduelle and Danone each grappled with the difficult decision of whether to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Both companies were deeply embedded in Russia’s agricultural supply chains and local... View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Russia

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Supplement

Food for Thought: Exiting Russia? (B)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Lena Duchene

The (B) case examines the actions of Bonduelle and Danone as they responded to ongoing pressure to reevaluate their presence in Russia. While the (A) case explored the ethical and strategic dilemmas both companies faced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the (B) case... View Details

Keywords: Public Opinion; Ethics; War; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Russia

January 2025
Technical Note

U.S. and Global Agriculture: The Next Four Years

By: Forest Reinhardt, Sarah Dankens and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Less Is More: Will Aldi's Expansion Plans Pay Off in a Crowded U.S. Grocery Market?

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In 2024, the discount grocery retailer Aldi announced bold U.S. expansion plans. Within five years, the German company would increase its store count by 30% to reach 3,200+ stores across the United States and approach becoming the fifth largest grocery retailer in the... View Details

Keywords: Scope; Grocery; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Business Model; Competitive Strategy; Retail Industry; United States

December 2024
Case

Tropo Farms

By: David E. Bell, Pippa Tubman Armerding, Namrata Arora and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Ghana; Africa; Sierra Leone

December 2024
Case

Yum China: People First

By: David E. Bell, Shu Lin and Nancy Dai

Joey Wat, CEO of Yum China Holdings, Inc., which operated KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell in mainland China, oversaw KFC’s milestone as the first Western quick-service chain in China to surpass 10,000 stores, with Pizza Hut exceeding 3,000 locations. This expansion was... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Performance Efficiency; Expansion; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China

December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

WayCool: Addressing Food Loss

By: Rajiv Lal and Kairavi Dey

Headquartered in Chennai, India, WayCool started by focusing on solving the growing challenge of food losses and low farmer incomes. Dasari and Jayaraman, surprised at the amount of fruits and vegetables lost in the agricultural supply chain, set up the company with... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Food; Supply Chain; Loss; Expansion; Distribution Channels; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Asia; India; Bangalore; Chennai

December 2024 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Strategy and CEO Succession at Starbucks

By: Krishna G. Palepu and David Lane

On August 13, 2024, Starbucks announced that Laxman Narasimhan who was appointed as the CEO only in September 2023, was stepping down as CEO and board director “with immediate effect.” Laxman would be replaced on September 9 by Brian Niccol, CEO since 2018 of Chipotle... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Corporate Governance; Leadership; Management Succession; Cost Management; Labor Unions; Working Conditions; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Service Operations; Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resignation and Termination; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2024
Case

Fyffes International SA

By: David E. Bell, Damien McLoughlin and Tonia Labruyère

Helge Sparsoe, CEO of Fyffes since 2020, had taken the tropical produce importer and distributor back to a path of stable level of profitability since he joined in 2020. He was now thinking about next steps for the business, which mainly traded in bananas. He was... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Competition; Price; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Switzerland; United Kingdom; Republic of Ireland; Colombia; Guatemala; Costa Rica; Ecuador

November 2024
Case

Dr. Bombay Ice Cream

By: William R. Kerr, Alexis Brownell and Michael Liu

This case examines the creation, launch, and rapid growth of Dr. Bombay Ice Cream, a joint venture between Happi Co., a consumer packaged goods incubator, and entertainment mogul Snoop Dogg, with his son, Cordell Broadus. The brand was inspired by a Bored Ape Yacht... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Positioning; Market Entry and Exit; Distribution Channels; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2024
Case

Innovation at Master Kong Beverages

By: David E. Bell and Shu Lin

Hong-Chen Wei (HBS MBA 2014), Chairman of KSF Beverage Holding Co., Ltd. (KSFB), was steering the company toward the premium segment with the launch of “InheriTea,” a premium, sugar-free tea product. Traditionally, KSFB’s flagship brand, Master Kong, catered to the... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Trends; Behavior; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Product Launch; Product Development; Segmentation; Organizational Culture; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Asia; China

September 2024
Supplement

Red Hen Baking Company (B)

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Pre-abstract: Instructors should consider the timing of making videos available to students, as they may reveal key case details.

Abstract: This (B) case supplement is designed for use by faculty only to support classroom instruction in conjunction with "Red... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financial Strategy; Financial Management; Buildings and Facilities; Finance; Food; Risk Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Vermont

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Adoption; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Latin America; Mexico

September 2024
Case

Eat App: Building and Monetizing an End-to-End Dining Experience Solution

By: Elie Ofek and Ahmed Dahawy

Founded in 2015 in Bahrain, Eat App was an up-and-coming player in the global restaurant management software business. In early 2024, having shifted to a product-led growth strategy, the company’s co-founders faced a host of decisions that could greatly impact their... View Details

Keywords: Price; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Marketing; Negotiation Deal; Internet and the Web; Value Creation; Profit; Revenue; Applications and Software; Product; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Bahrain; United Arab Emirates; Abu Dhabi; Dubai