Publications

December 2017 (Revised April 2018)
Technical Note

A Note on the Snack Food Industry

By: David Bell, Kerry Herman and Amram Migdal

This note provides an overview of the snacking industry in 2017. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Europe; Asia; China; Latin America; Middle East

September 2015 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Merieux NutriSciences: Marketing Food Safety Testing

By: John A. Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

March 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Supplement

Hometown Foods Spreadsheet Supplement for Students

By: Julian De Freitas, Jeremy Yang and Das Narayandas

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

13 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Entrepreneurship in the Natural Food and Beauty Categories Before 2000: Global Visions and Local Expressions

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

January 2020
Supplement

Clover Food Lab in 2016 (B)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Michael S. Kaufman

16 May 2019
News

To Improve Food Inspections, Change the Way They’re Scheduled

March 2022 (Revised March 2024)
Supplement

Hometown Foods Spreadsheet Supplement for Instructors

By: Julian De Freitas, Jeremy Yang and Das Narayandas

November 2004
Case

The Electronic Product Code: Future Impact on the Global Food System

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James Weber

The Electronic Product Code (EPC) is a successor to the Uniform Product Code and will improve the efficiency and traceability of the global food system. This case focuses on how best to implement this new system and respect the privacy of the ultimate consumer, and the... View Details

Keywords: Information; Rights; Ethics; Consumer Behavior; Management Systems; Technology Adoption; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2004 (Revised March 2005)
Case

Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd

By: David E. Bell and Hal Hogan

Bright Dairy has been growing rapidly since becoming a public company. The Chinese market for milk products is still wide open. What should it be doing to make sure it captures a significant share of the potential market? View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development; Public Ownership; Emerging Markets; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; China

August 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Clover Food Lab: Building Out the Team

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Payton and Ali Huberlie

Keywords: Hiring; Firing; Foodservice Industry; Business Startups; Selection and Staffing; Resignation and Termination; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Boston

11 Jan 2017
News

The Paradoxical Quest To Make Food Look 'Natural' With Artificial Dyes

December 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Doug Rauch: Solving the American Food Paradox

By: Jose B. Alvarez and Ryan Johnson

Keywords: Food; Policy; Social Issues; Business Model; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

May 16, 2019
Article

To Improve Food Inspections, Change the Way They're Scheduled

By: Maria Ibanez and Michael W. Toffel

Health inspections are an important tool to increase food safety, but there are still 48 million cases of food-borne illnesses and 128,000 hospitalizations every year in the United States. Our research finds that inspectors reported fewer health code violations as they... View Details

Keywords: Inspection; Scheduling; Food; Safety; Health; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Improvement

Read Now

February 2001 (Revised August 2001)
Case

Henry Heinz: Making Markets for Processed Foods

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Outlines many of the supply-side innovations, such as improved transportation, communication, and technological developments, that greatly expanded the productive capacity of the United States in the late 19th century. Explores a range of demand-side shifts, including... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Competitive Advantage; Corporate Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Supply and Industry; Innovation and Invention; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

November 2023 (Revised March 2024)
Case

Infarm: Betting the (Indoor) Farm on Food Security

By: Elie Ofek

In the summer of 2023, the co-founders of Infarm, a controlled environment agriculture (CEA) company, were contemplating a major pivot going forward. While Infarm had successfully shown it could grow over 75 products—mainly herbs, leafy greens and mushrooms—in modular... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Science-Based Business; Business Strategy; Transition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Europe; North America; Toronto; Northeastern United States

February 1984 (Revised January 1994)
Teaching Note

Breakfast Foods Corp. (B), Teaching Note

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

Article

Cooks Make Tastier Food When They Can See Their Customers

By: Ryan W. Buell, Tami Kim and Chia-Jung Tsay

While existing theory suggests that increased contact between customers and employees diminishes efficiency, recent research demonstrates that when employees can see their customers, the beneficiaries of their efforts, the quality and efficiency of the service they... View Details

Keywords: Operational Transparency; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Service Management; Service Industry