Publications

December 2023
Case

Raízen: Helping to Decarbonize the World?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Pedro Levindo, Daniel Tong and Rafaella Mazza

Raízen, the world’s largest sugar and ethanol producer, strived to find ways to expand the second-generation ethanol (E2G) market, which it pioneered. The company planned to invest R$24 billion (around $4.6 billion) in 20 production plants, with a total capacity to... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Energy Industry; Brazil; Europe; North America; United States; Argentina; Paraguay

October 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Nestle Refrigerated Foods: Contadina Pasta and Pizza (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Nestle Co.'s Refrigerated Foods Division has very successfully launched its Contadina brand pasta and sauces. The new product has achieved nearly $100 million in sales in three years. The division now considers an extension into the pizza line. This case provides a... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Sales; Commercialization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2023
Case

Russia's Invasion of Ukraine in 2022: Consequences for Agriculture

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine that begain in February 2022 caused major destruction to Ukraine's agriculture sector, one of the most productive and important in the world. This note provides a brief overview of certain singificant moments and moments... View Details

Keywords: Food; Agribusiness; War; Disruption; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Ukraine; Russia

April 2020
Supplement

Luvo (B)

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This case, a follow on to HBS No. 517-049 "Luvo," provides a brief look at changes that have occurred at Luvo, now called Performance Kitchen, since the timing of the first case (mid-2016). Set in January 2020, “Luvo (B)” touches on developments such as the company's... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Behavior; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Nutrition; Food; Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Canada

Article

Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption

By: Janet Schwartz, Jason Riis, Brian Elbel and Dan Ariely

Policies that mandate calorie labeling in fast-food and chain restaurants have had little or no observable impact on calorie consumption to date. In three field experiments, we tested an alternative approach: activating consumers' self-control by having servers ask... View Details

Keywords: Food; Labels; Consumer Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Motivation and Incentives; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

16 Apr 2015
News

Improving employee productivity: On your toes

2024
Working Paper

Chimeric Antigen Receptor T-Cell Therapy—Living Drugs: Case Histories of Transformational Advances

By: Amar Bhidé and Srikant M. Datar

In 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an immunotherapeutic treatment, called CAR-T therapy, for two kinds of blood cancers—acute leukemia (ALL) and a lymphoma. We describe 1) how CAR-T works, 2) the foundational advances and discoveries, 3) the... View Details

Keywords: Immunotherapy; Health Care and Treatment; Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

SSRN

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19 Jun 2020
News

Pandemic Prises Open Inflation Information Gap

March 2005 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Ito-Yokado: The Challenge of Apparel

By: Rajiv Lal and Arar Han

Ito-Yokado, the 16th largest retail conglomerate in the world, has struggled with the declining performance in the apparel division of its superstores for over a decade. Apparel sales are slipping, eating hard-won gains in the retailer's food division. CEO Toshifumi... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Transformation; Performance; Problems and Challenges; Sales; Strategy; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Japan

10 Mar 2011
News

Warren Adams: Searching for profits and saving Patagonia

News

How to End the Plasma Shortage for Coranavirus Patients

2014
Other Teaching and Training Material

Marketing Reading: Segmentation and Targeting

By: Sunil Gupta

This Reading introduces two of the integral parts of any marketing strategy: segmentation and targeting. It covers, first, all of the methods, techniques, and variables with which a business first uncovers the full range of its potential customers and then... View Details

Keywords: Behavioral Segmentation; Conjoint Analysis; Demographic Segmentation; Geographic Segmentation; Market Opportunities; Market Segmentation; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Psychographic Segmentation; Unethical Marketing Practices; United States

January 1987 (Revised January 1988)
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: A Strategic Transition (A)

The setting is a food manufacturing company which has stumbled in terms of its historic growth and profit achievements. In trying to recapture its momentum, the president has used information technology as one element in his program of transition. The case focuses on... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

February 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Cherkizovsky Group (A), The

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately-owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Privatization; Transformation; Global Strategy; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

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

06 Aug 2014
News

Constant challenges, no certainties for new CEOs at Market Basket

August 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Cherkizovsky Group, The (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details

Keywords: History; Business Conglomerates; Privatization; Transformation; Management Teams; Sales; Brands and Branding; Business or Company Management; Marketing Strategy; Crisis Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

Find at Harvard

03 Dec 2014
HBS Seminar

Ginger Jin, University of Maryland

March 2014 (Revised June 2014)
Case

Noma: A Lot on the Plate

By: Mukti Khaire and Elena Corsi

In 2014, the restaurant Noma, based in Copenhagen, Denmark, was considered to be amongst the best restaurants in the world, and its co-founder, co-owner and chef, René Redzepi, among the most influential chefs. The restaurant was also leading the new Nordic food... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant Industry; Food; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe