Publications

December 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Ajinomoto Co., Inc.

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis

In the fall of 1999, Kumio Egashira, president of Ajinomoto, a 90-year old, Japan-based processed foods and specialty chemicals company, and his team of senior executives were deciding how to globally maximize the synergies that existed between their food and amino... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Food; Chemicals; Globalization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan

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Web

Rare Disease Day – Small Numbers, Big Challenges… and Big Opportunities - Blog: Health Supplement

evaluating and launching new solutions in Subscription SaaS, Marketplace and Consumer spaces. She has passion for building zero to one, having also incubated a couple companies over the years – a real estate... View Details

March 2008 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Cadbury Schweppes: Capturing Confectionery (A)

By: David Collis, Toby Stuart and Troy Smith

In late 2002, global confectionery and beverage maker Cadbury Schweppes needed to decide whether or not to make an acquisition bid for Adams, an underperforming gum company which had been put up for sale by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer. Examining the decision from a... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mergers and Acquisitions; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1989
Teaching Note

H.J. Heinz Co.: The Administration of Policy (A), (B), (C), and (D), Teaching Note

By: Kenneth E. Goodpaster and Thomas R. Piper

Teaching Note for (9-382-034, 035, 036, and 037). View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Management Practices and Processes; Motivation and Incentives; System; Ethics; Policy; Business Divisions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry

May 1990 (Revised February 1993)
Teaching Note

Distillers Company plc (A), (B), (C), (D), and (E), Teaching Note

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

November 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

ConAgra Foods: The Next Chapter

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

In 2005, CEO Bruce Rohde has almost completed the integration of ConAgra Foods' collection of 90 independent operating companies into a focused, value-added firm and was beginning to think about his successor. ConAgra had become the second largest food company and No.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Leading Change; Management Succession; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Food; Agribusiness; Product Marketing; Management Teams; Transformation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

Article

Business Groups, Entrepreneurship and the Growth of the Koç Group in Turkey

By: Geoffrey Jones and Asli M. Colpan

This article examines the emergence and development of what became the largest business group in Turkey, the Koç Group. This venture was an important factor in the emergence of modern business enterprise in the new state of the Republic of Turkey from the 1920s. After... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Governance; History; Strategy; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Auto Industry; Turkey

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December 2018
Case

The Nature Conservancy in 2018

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Forest Reinhardt and Natalie Kindred

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a U.S.-based environmental NGO with $7 billion in assets and a presence in 72 countries in 2018. TNC originated in 1951 as a land trust, acquiring land in order to conserve it. Over the last 20 years, it developed a pragmatic... View Details

Keywords: Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2017 (Revised April 2018)
Case

Kameda Seika: Cracking the U.S. Market

By: Elie Ofek, Nobuo Sato and Akiko Kanno

In spring 2016, Kameda’s CEO, Michiyasu Tanaka, is facing difficult questions from board members over the lackluster performance of the company’s U.S. subsidiary. Kameda was the leading player in the Japanese rice cracker market and was looking to expand overseas to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Adaptation; Performance Improvement; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Japan; United States

December 2006 (Revised August 2009)
Case

Disney Consumer Products: Marketing Nutrition to Children

By: David E. Bell and Laura Winig

In an effort to capture market share in the children's foods category, Disney Consumer Products (DCP) debuted a broad line of "better for you" foods, ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables to frozen meals, through a partnership with Kroger supermarkets. In answer to... View Details

Keywords: Age; Nutrition; Brands and Branding; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; Social Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry

August 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Unilever's Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jorg Zobel

Unilever, one of the world's largest food product manufacturers, has achieved impressive growth in Europe, primarily by acquiring local food companies. Initially Unilever allowed each acquired company to manage its own product development in a way that was tailored to... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Food; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe

December 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Case

The Full Yield

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Noemie Myriam Delfassy

New firm created to provide understanding of the role of food in health and nutrition. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Food; Health Care and Treatment; Nutrition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

November 2014
Case

Nestlé SA, 2014

By: John R. Wells and Galen Danskin

In 2014, Nestlé was the largest producer of packaged foods and beverages in the world. 2013 revenues were $103.7 billion and operating profits $16.1 billion (15.5% of sales). The company owned 29 mega brands, each generating more than Euro 1 billion ($1.25 billion).... View Details

Keywords: Consumer Products; Acquisitions; Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Nutrition; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Competitive Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Europe

May 2022
Supplement

Thinking Outside the Wine Box (B): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign

By: Tomomichi Amano, Elie Ofek, Mengjie Cheng and Amy Klopfenstein

This case reveals the events that took place after the conclusion of the case “Thinking Outside the Wine Box (A): Mekanism and the Franz for Life Campaign.” After reviewing Mekanism’s pitches for the Franz for Life 2.0 campaign, TWG executives felt that the proposed... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Digital Marketing; Social Marketing; Marketing Communications; Product Positioning; Advertising; Communication Strategy; Advertising Campaigns; Social Media; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

September 2015 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Château Margaux (Abridged)

By: Elie Ofek, Eric E. Vogt and Robert J. Dolan

Château Margaux, one of only five prestigious estates in the Bordeaux Medoc wine region to have been classified as a "first-growth", is facing a host of strategic decisions in early 2013. Up until this point the estate had been selling two red wines, a first wine whose... View Details

Keywords: New Product Launch; Marketing Plan; Brand Management; Go To Market Strategy; Channels Of Distribution; Wine Industry; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Distribution Channels; Product Launch; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; France

October 1990 (Revised August 1991)
Case

Peanut Butter Fantasies

By: Amar Bhide and Myra M. Hart

Addresses the interrelated challenges of marketing and finance faced by a small, struggling packaged foods company. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Finance; Business or Company Management; Marketing; Distribution; Problems and Challenges; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2013
Case

Martin Blair

By: Howard H. Stevenson and Michael J. Roberts

Martin Blair is a first-time entrepreneur who draws on his experience in the food service industry to develop two different restaurant concepts almost simultaneously. In relating his experiences, he reveals several important concerns of the thoughtful entrepreneur,... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Franchise Ownership; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

July 2009 (Revised October 2011)
Case

VeeV on the Rocks?

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Christopher Marquis and Laura Winig

Three pressing challenges (equity split, extent of commitment to social responsibility, and product discoloration) confront VeeV, the world's first alcoholic beverage infused with acai berries. Brothers Courtney and Carter Reum founded VeeV in 2007 and the firm has... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Food; Business Growth and Maturation; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Equity; Food and Beverage Industry