Publications

06 Sep 2022
Blog Post

To Go-Go: A Foodtech Startup Serves Up Scale in Latin America

For all their variety, restaurants have two things in common: a kitchen where food is prepared and a dining area where customers consume it. But what if you could use technology to ditch the dining area and... View Details

01 May 2020
Blog Post

5 Reasons to Join a Club at HBS

‘celebrities’ performed the 47th annual HBS Show live over Zoom for the first time in the show’s history to thousands of students and alumni around the world. In short, our clubs are unstoppable. 1. Community When students arrive on campus for the first time, the... View Details

October 2023
Case

Foodology: Creating a Virtual Restaurant Group in Latin America

By: Rembrand M. Koning, Jorge Tamayo and Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago

In April 2020, Daniela Izquierdo (HBS, 2019) and Juan Guillermo Azuero (HBS, 2019), awaited the results of Harvard Business School’s Alumni New Venture Competition. Operating since September 2019, Foodology, a Colombian food-tech startup in the cloud kitchen segment,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business Model; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; South America; Colombia

14 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

Jamie_Hall Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods last August was the corporate equivalent of mixing tap water with organic extra virgin olive oil. You’d be hard-pressed to find two companies with more different value propositions. Even so,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

02 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Careers: Cloud Kitchens Are Now Serving

overnight. What is a cloud kitchen? Cloud kitchens are commercial facilities purpose-built to produce food specifically for delivery. They do not have brick-and-mortar dine-in areas and consist of shared kitchen space with culinary staff... View Details

Keywords: by Lena Ye and Geoffrey Jones; Food & Beverage

11 Apr 2023
Op-Ed

The First 90 Hours: What New CEOs Should—and Shouldn't—Do to Set the Right Tone

weeks: Prepare the groundwork. Before you step into the job on Day One, you should already know as much about the position and the organization as possible. If you’re appointed from outside the organization, ask to extend your start date... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

July 2023 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Vytal: Packaging-as-a-Service

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Lena Duchene and Daniela Beyersdorfer

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 millions of single-use take-out food... View Details

30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Your Crisis Response Plan: The Ten Effective Elements

Organizations inevitably face crises, but few are well prepared to deal with them. The following elements summarize the findings of research and experience about what it takes to respond effectively in crisis situations. The accompanying... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

09 Jun 2022
HBS Case

From Truck Driver to Manager: US Foods’ Novel Approach to Staff Shortages

When COVID-19 swept across the world in 2020, more than 110,000 restaurants and bars closed at least temporarily, so demand fell for the company’s pre-chopped vegetables, prepared cheesecakes, and other products. US View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

November 1987 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Groen: A Dover Industries Company

By: Francis Aguilar

Describes the challenges facing the president of an old-line foodservice and food processing equipment manufacturing company as it attempted to accelerate sales and profit growth through the introduction of innovative products. The introduction of a "revolutionary"... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Labor and Management Relations; Machinery and Machining; Management Style; Management Teams; Performance Efficiency; Technological Innovation; Product Development; Organizational Culture

11 Sep 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, September 11, 2018

markets in organizations. Purchase this case:https://hbsp.harvard.edu/product/718487-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 818-130 Feeding America (A) This case describes how Feeding America, the third-largest nonprofit organization in the U.S., designed a marketplace... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

June 2024
Case

PRAN-RFL Group: A Diversified Family Business

By: Christina R. Wing, Paul Wuensche and Brittany L. Logan

The PRAN-RFL Group was founded in 1980 by Amjad Khan Chowdhury, and grew to become one of the largest conglomerates in Bangladesh in 2023. Throughout the years, Amjad established fast food chains, production manufacturing lines, retail stores, and his own foundation... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Retirement; Bangladesh

01 May 2025
HBS Seminar

Dan Iancu, Stanford Graduate School of Business

08 Nov 2016
First Look

November 8, 2016

consequence of actual leverage than it is of risk premiums. Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940 By: Hisano, Ai Abstract—This... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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 2009 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Targanta Therapeutics: Hitting a Moving Target

By: Arthur A. Daemmrich

This case explores regulatory, product testing, and business strategy at Targanta Therapeutics, a biotech company preparing its first new drug application to the FDA. In October 2007, Mark Leuchtenberger, president and CEO of Targanta—which has just held a successful... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Health Testing and Trials; Product Development; Business and Government Relations; Business Strategy; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

March 2013
Teaching Note

Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) (TN)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Matthew Preble

In December 2012, Hans Jöhr, Nestlé's head of corporate agriculture, was preparing to meet with the company's board of directors to discuss its vision for the future related to sustainable agriculture. Nestlé's continued success depended on its ability to access the... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Agribusiness; Environmental Sustainability; Food; Nutrition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry