Publications

September 2020
Supplement

Commonwealth Joe: January 2020 Update from CEO Robert Peck

By: Alexander J. MacKay

At the end of 2016, the leadership team of Commonwealth Joe Coffee Roasters—Robert Peck, Chase Damiano, and Jeremy Martin—had begun an ambitious retail expansion strategy in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area for their specialty coffee business. That October, they... View Details

Keywords: Cold Brew Coffee; Specialty Coffee; On-premise Coffee Market; Retail Expansion Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Model; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry

21 Jan 2022
Blog Post

Tipping Point: Investing in the Women of Kenya’s Coffee Farms

At one end of the global coffee supply chain are the diners who gather for brunch at the sidewalk tables outside Chloe’s Cafe in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood. Regulars there order the fluffy banana-walnut pancakes and steaming... View Details

September 2013
Exercise

An Exercise in Designing a Travel Coffee Mug

By: Elie Ofek and Michael Norris

In recent years design has emerged as a critical factor in the success of many new products. This case exercise provides a hands-on way to experience the design process and offers a structured approach for incorporating key considerations that can aid in effective... View Details

Keywords: New Product Development; Innovation; Market Research; Competitive Positioning; Design; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

June 2004
Case

TechnoServe and the Tanzanian Specialty Coffee Industry

In 2003, TechnoServe, a U.S.-based, international, nonprofit organization, was deciding how to structure the capital investments required for Tanzanian business groups to acquire coffee bean central pulperies. This case explores the challenges of capital budgeting and... View Details

Keywords: Small Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Cash Flow; Emerging Markets; Financing and Loans; Capital Budgeting; Tanzania

27 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

The Coffee Economy That Bloomed Out of Nowhere

after the Spanish conquest. For most of the 1800s, hardly anyone lived there. But by the turn of the twentieth century, the Soconusco had become a major coffee producer and exporter. It remains so today. Casey M. Lurtz is intrigued by... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Agriculture & Agribusiness

01 Mar 2004
News

A Case for Coffee

Another highlight of the trip was a stimulating case discussion on coffee production led by two local alumni, Thomas Dixon (MBA ’88) and Tim Piper (MBA ’88). Dixon and Piper both work for the Tanzania arm of TechnoServe, a global... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

June 2015
Teaching Note

Coffee Wars in India

By: David B. Yoffie

Keywords: Competition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; India

Dataset

Coffee Production and Consumption

Clubs

Coffee and Tea Club

Dataset

Coffee Exports by Country

August 2006 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Rwanda and the Thousand Hills Coffee Co.: Breaking New Grounds

By: Geoffrey G. Jones and Michelle McDonald

Examines the strategies of a Boston-based start-up to market Rwandan coffee. Describes the history of the coffee industry, the era of cartelization and the International Coffee Agreement, and the subsequent collapse in producer prices after 1989. Also describes the... View Details

Keywords: History; Marketing Strategy; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry; Rwanda; Boston

Find at Harvard

July 1982
Supplement

U.S. Retail Coffee Market (A): Day 1 of Coffee Series, Assignment Sheet

Provides assignment questions and worksheets. To be handed out with the (A) case before Day One of the series. View Details

December 2012
Case

Trouble Brewing for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Michael Norris

In October 2011, noted hedge fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital delivered a presentation at an investors' conference analyzing the business and accounting quality weaknesses of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters. Until then Green Mountain had exhibited rapid... View Details

July 1982 (Revised June 1985)
Supplement

U.S. Retail Coffee Market (C)

Supplements the (A) and (B) cases. Designed as an in-class handout at the end of Day Two. View Details

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