Publications

12 Sep 2006
First Look

First Look: September 12, 2006

brand strategies. They looked to emerging international markets to fuel growth and broaden their portfolios of alternate beverages like tea, juice, sports drinks, energy drinks, View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 1974 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Midwest Ice Cream Co.

Midwest Ice Cream (a disguised name) serves as an example to examine a planning and control system. Useful management information, which otherwise would not be apparent, is derived by preparing a basic profit variance analysis. This illustrates how the company is doing... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Management Systems; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2016 (Revised February 2016)
Course Overview Note

The Sustainable Core: Operations Management

By: Michael W. Toffel and L. Beril Toktay

This note is designed to help faculty embed environmental sustainability content into their core Operations Management course at the MBA or undergraduate level. It can also be used to identify cases with environmental content that can be used in operations electives... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Management; Operations Management; Sustainable Operations; Environmental Regulation; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Construction Industry; Forest Products Industry; Retail Industry

February 2023 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Doing Business in Accra, Ghana

By: Hakeem Belo-Osagie, Leonard Schlesinger and Namrata Arora

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Ghana. It highlights Ghana economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main obstacles... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Foreign Direct Investment; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Agribusiness; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Ghana

15 Mar 2024
News

Hungry for Change

As a management consultant at Kurt Salmon, Kate Flynn (MBA 2012) often worked with clients in the packaged food industry. She saw customers asking for healthier and more sustainable foods, and she herself was seeking better options. From that hunger, Sun & Swell was... View Details

01 Feb 2000
News

Jerry Shafir: A Simmering Success Story

Boston's Legal Sea Foods restaurant chain, where he met his future partner, Christopher Nessen. A production chef at the company, Nessen provided the culinary and technical expertise for Kettle Cuisine. He... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

August 1987 (Revised June 1992)
Case

Adolph Coors in the Brewing Industry

Describes a company that had traditionally followed a strategy quite distinct from its major competitors', its eventual decision to imitate them, and its subsequent performance. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Performance; Food and Beverage Industry

August 1972 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Prelude Corporation

Describes a company that is seeking to restructure the lobster fishing industry by applying technology and management to what has been essentially a cottage industry. The student is expected to identify and evaluate the strategy pursued by the company to date and then... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Strategy; Leading Change; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Industry Growth; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

April 1991 (Revised July 1991)
Supplement

RJR Nabisco Board: Guardians of the Gate? (B)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

The special committee of the RJR Nabisco board has extended the bidding deadline for the company by 10 days. The case explains the process by which Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and the management group bid against one another for ownership of RJR Nabisco. The board of... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Situation or Environment; Bids and Bidding; Decision Making; Managerial Roles; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2011
Case

Keurig: Confidential Information for Negotiation with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann, Shikhar Ghosh and James K. Sebenius

Case provides confidential information for students assuming the role of senior executives of Keurig, a startup that has developed an innovative "portion pack" coffee brewing solution, in a negotiation to license technology to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR). The... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Food and Beverage Industry

Web

Staff Catering Guidelines | About

Head (AOM) or Business Manager. HBS may also pay for a meal when there is a business meeting with EXTERNAL guests. In some cases, the School pays for the food and beverages for... View Details

September 1974 (Revised April 1975)
Case

Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. (B)

A consumer attitude survey involving more than 1,000 cranberry users has been conducted. Multivariate statistical procedures including factor analysis, cluster analysis and multiple discriminant analysis have been employed to suggest four attitude segments in the... View Details

Keywords: Surveys; Product Positioning; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Behavior; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Lurtz researches the history of agricultural economies in Latin America. She has a particular interest in export agriculture and attendant state- and locally-driven modernization projects. Her current work looks to the coffee economy of southern Mexico in the 19th... View Details

30 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Managing the Family Business: Preparing to Sell

On important occasions, we gather for family portraits. If you were to take a picture of your family business today, what would it show? Family businesses represent the aspirations, achievements, and struggles of one or more generations... View Details

Keywords: by Jonathan Pellegrin; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

January 2015
Case

Brentwood Associates: Exiting Zoës Kitchen

By: Joan Farre-Mensa and Stephanie Siu

The case discusses the trade-offs associated with the different exit options that private equity firm Brentwood Associates contemplated for its investment in Zoës Kitchen during the summer of 2013: an IPO, a sale to a strategic or financial acquirer, or waiting a few... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; California

28 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Minimum Wage Hikes Drive (Lousy) Restaurants Out of Business

Fittest: The Impact of the Minimum Wage on Firm Exit. One lesson is clear: Businesses that provide higher-quality service and maintain a solid reputation can become more insulated from market shocks, such as increases in fixed costs. The... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

January 2023
Case

Kavnia Coffee

By: Lindsay N. Hyde, Thomas R. Eisenmann, Kumba Sennaar, Sarah Mehta and Jiyoon Han

Case on a coffee hardware startup where a series of experiments and pivots led founder to conclude that the venture was no longer viable. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Operations; Business Startups; Failure; Business Exit or Shutdown; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2009 (Revised November 2012)
Teaching Note

Global Wine War 2009: New World versus Old (TN)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Teaching Note for [910405]. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Segmentation; Competitive Advantage; Globalized Firms and Management; Consumer Behavior; Industry Structures; Food and Beverage Industry; United States