Publications

November 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Monsanto: Leadership in a New Environment

By: Ray A. Goldberg, James Weber and James M Beagle

Monsanto is the biotechnology leader in agriculture. How does it use its leadership in Round Up to fund long-term research and development in biotechnology that is acceptable to the priority system of consumers in different parts of the world? Includes color exhibits. View Details

Keywords: Research and Development; Science-Based Business; Food; Business or Company Management; Agribusiness; Industry Growth; Customer Focus and Relationships; Globalization; Leadership; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States

March 2018 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Gene Lee Navigates the Darden Takeover

By: Joshua D. Margolis, H. Lawrence Culp, James Barnett and Aldo Sesia

Following a full takeover of Darden Restaurant’s Board of Directors, Darden COO Gene Lee is weighing an offer to become interim CEO. View Details

Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Investment Activism; Crisis Management; Personal Development and Career; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

26 Feb 2014
News

How Grocery Bags Manipulate Your Mind

Keywords: Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

December 1999 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Introducing New Coke

On April 23, 1985, the Coca-Cola Co. announced a decision that would rock the world. The old Coke formula would be taken off the market and replaced with a smoother, sweeter taste. The reaction of the American people was immediate and violent, causing three months of... View Details

Keywords: Failure; Product Development; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

25 Apr 2016
News

Trail Blazer

Photography by Alexander Rubin Chuck McMinn (MBA 1978) has worked at enough in startups to know that the only guarantee in technology is that today’s hot product will eventually be replaced by more innovative technology. That’s why McMinn, founder View Details

Keywords: Jill Radsken; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

Career Coach

Deborah Resnick

Deborah (HBS '06) has deep expertise in consulting (breaking into consulting, navigating a career in consulting, and breaking out!), complemented by a diverse set of operational and managerial experience... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Consumer Products; Retail

April 1986 (Revised January 1993)
Case

Au Bon Pain

An eight-year-old company is in the midst of growth. This case follows the company from its inception through its growth stages. Teaching objectives are to understand the problems of growth, partnership, and operations-driven companies. View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Growth and Development; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

19 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

How Mercadona Fixes Retail’s ’Last 10 Yards’ Problem

Imagine a retail chain that offers customers not only the lowest prices but also personalized customer service. Employees receive above-average wages and 20 times more training than the average American retailer. Sounds like a recipe for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

October 1988
Case

Harris Seafoods Leveraged Buyout

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes set of issues confronting Alison Lassiter, who is trying to help Charlie Harris arrange a leveraged buyout of the shrimp company he runs, a division of a publicly traded company, Katy Industries. Lassiter has prepared a memorandum discussing and analyzing the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Venture Capital; Financing and Loans; Equity; Cost vs Benefits; Negotiation Tactics; Negotiation Preparation; Financial Management; Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

01 Sep 2013
News

Alumni News | Book Briefs

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Food Rights: The Escalating Battle over Who Decides What We Eat by David E. Gumpert (OPM 5, 1981) (Chelsea Green Publishing) Do Americans have the right to get their View Details

Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Schools; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Elementary and Secondary Schools

August 1993
Case

Nestle S.A.: International Marketing (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Describes organization changes announced by Nestle's chariman in 1991 and updates the description of Nestle's marketing organization. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland

01 Jun 2016
News

Feedback

This pioneering effort is now a multibillion-dollar industry. —Donn Walklet (MBA 1976) via alumni.hbs.edu Community from Cuisine Re: Doug Duda (MBA 1985) Food is love, and love drives consumer behavior. As... View Details

September 2006
Case

Earthbound Farm

By: William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce company in the world. Focuses on what to do with an East Coast distribution center that is losing money but may be useful strategically. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Distribution; Food; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Capital Budgeting; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

July 2005
Case

Freemark Abbey Winery (Abridged)

Freemark Abbey must decide whether to harvest in view of the possibility of rain. Rain could damage the crop but delaying the harvest would be risky. On the other hand, rain could be beneficial and greatly increase the value of the resulting wine. This decision is... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Forecasting and Prediction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

21 Jan 2021
News

New Menu

imports 90 percent of its food supply, considered the uncertainties climate change is introducing into the global food market and set a target of fulfilling 30 percent of its... View Details

14 Nov 2019
News

Keeping Red Lobster Fresh

to do is work on is following a phased plan. And there are three phases to the plan. Phase one was fixing the fundamentals of the business, which are making sure you're operating well, making sure you got high-quality View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places

August 2024
Case

Coca Cola İçecek—Managing a Sudden Turbulence

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Namrata Arora and Gizem Cihan Dincsoy

In November 2021, Kerem Kerimoğlu, Coca Cola İçecek (CCI) Group Supply Chain Development Director, is alarmed by a news headline revealing a shortage of Turkish truck drivers impacting Europe. This crisis quickly affects CCI's distribution as third-party logistics... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Logistics; Supply Chain Management; Crisis Management; Distribution; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Turkey; Central Asia; Middle East

01 Mar 2014
News

Cutting Edge

an executive at several food companies, Silk had revived other century-old brands such as Jell-O, Lea & Perrins, Hebrew National, and Armour. Based on those successes, New York–based hedge fund York Capital... View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

January 1994
Case

National Convenience Stores, Inc.

By: Steven R. Fenster, Stuart C. Gilson and Roy Burstin

National Convenience Stores seeks to emerge from Chapter 11. Central to the nature of the reorganization plan is the company's determining enterprise value. The various constituencies (secured debt, unsecured debt, etc.) will seek to find an enterprise value that... View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Valuation; Restructuring; Strategic Planning; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Texas