Publications

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May 1982 (Revised April 1984)
Case

Consolidated Foods Corp. (A)

Top management at Consolidated Foods was concerned about consumer complaints and threatened boycotts, some relating to television and print ad content and others relating to sponsorship of television programs thought to portray excessive sex or violence. Describes the... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Marketing Communications; Crisis Management; Advertising

14 Nov 2019
Podcast

Making the Food of the Future

Agriculture contributes a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas, and 60% comes from manure and methane emissions from animals like cattle. How is the beef industry changing to address this challenge? Could plant-based or clean meat truly change our diets enough to make... View Details

April 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Proxy Access at Whole Foods

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

Proxy access grants shareholders meeting certain ownership requirements the right to nominate directors for election to the board without going through a typical proxy contest. In August 2010 the SEC approved a rule granting proxy access for shareholders meeting... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Proxy Advisor; Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Voting; Shareholder Votes; Proxy Battle; Institutional Change; Institutional Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

19 Jun 2017
News

Amazon Buys Whole Foods

Research Summary

New Technologies and the Future of Food and Nutrition

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Ray A. Goldberg has been investigating the impact of new technologies on, and the functioning of, the global agribusiness system in the twenty-first century. He is currently developing a seminar to bring scientists, business leaders, academics, and consumer... View Details

November 2016 (Revised March 2018)
Background Note

Note on the Impact of Millennials on the Food System

By: José B. Alvarez, James Weber and Natalie Kindred

In 2016, the millennial generation (those age 19 to 35 in 2016), the largest generation by population in the U.S., was entering its prime home buying, family forming, earning and spending years. This generation was showing different beliefs and behaviors than previous... View Details

Keywords: Millennials; Consumer Packaged Goods; Food; Age; Consumer Behavior; Agribusiness; Demographics; Values and Beliefs; Consumer Products Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

April 2020
Supplement

Oaktree: Pierre Foods Investment

By: Victoria Ivashina and Terrence Shu

This case is a setting to discuss “loan to own” investment strategy that is often pursued by distressed investors. The aftermath of the 2007 financial crisis left many companies with poor liquidity and limited ability to obtain credit. One of these companies was Pierre... View Details

Keywords: Distress Investing; Investment; Debt Securities; Strategy; Restructuring

11 Aug 2016
News

Food Recovery Entrepreneurs Workshop Summary

May 2020
Teaching Note

Danone: Changing the Food System

By: David E. Bell, Federica Gabrieli, Daniela Beyersdorfer, Amy Klopfenstein and Aldo Sesia

Teaching Note for HBS No. 520-053.
This is a teaching note for the case “Danone: Changing the Food System?” The case examines the efforts of one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies to resolve the social, environmental, and economic issues within... View Details

Keywords: Food; Goods and Commodities; Agribusiness; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Paris

December 2017
Case

Clover Food Lab in 2016

By: Lena G. Goldberg, Sonia Smith and Sandra Bahous

Ayr Muir, founder and CEO of Clover Food Lab, has grown his restaurant chain from a single food truck to 11 thriving stores but he has no interest in running a regional chain. His ambition is to change the way America eats and his goal is national expansion. As he... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant Industry; Food; Growth Management; Strategic Planning; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Innovation and Management; Customer Satisfaction; Small Business; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Food and Beverage Industry

July 2012
Case

Barclays Capital and the Sale of Del Monte Foods

By: John Coates, Clayton Rose and David Lane

This case explores the reputational and legal issues that arise as Barclays Capital attempted to manage client conflicts by following established industry practice in the face of changing legal norms. In February 2011, Judge Travis Laster granted a preliminary... View Details

Keywords: Client Management; Fiduciary Duty; Mergers ＆ Acquisitions; Investment Banking; Private Equity; Ethics; Finance; Reputation; Banking Industry; United States

2017
Working Paper

Cellophane, the New Visuality, and the Creation of Self-Service Food Retailing

By: Ai Hisano

This working paper examines how innovations in transparent packaging, specifically cellophane in the mid-twentieth century United States, helped retailers create full self-service merchandising systems, including selling perishable food. While self-service stores began... View Details

Keywords: Food; Product Marketing; Business History; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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October 2004
Case

DNA Traceability at Maple Leaf Foods

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Joan McRobbie and Matthew L. Reisman

Maple Leaf Foods is concerned about the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease) issue in Canada and the reputation of Canadian meat products in the domestic and global markets. DNA can now trace products from sow and piglets to consumer pork products.... View Details

Keywords: Food; Globalization; Nutrition; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Safety; Technology Adoption; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada

24 Apr 2014
News

Improving the quality of food in Nigeria

Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli (MBA 1999) is helping her country rethink the way it feeds itself. The cofounder and director of AACE Food Processing & Distribution, an agroprocessing company in Nigeria, is empowering... View Details

February 2018
Case

Whole Foods and JANA Partners

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Quinn Pitcher

In 2017, JANA Partners decided to launch an activist campaign at struggling supermarket chain Whole Foods Market. The company had struggled for the past several years, and JANA thought the presence of new directors could help turn around its operations, while Whole... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Information Technology; Institutional Investing; Investment Activism; United States

23 Oct 2013

2+2 Information Session: Georgia Institute of Technology

The information session is an opportunity for college and master degree students to learn more about the 2+2 application process to the MBA program and ask questions to an Admissions Board Member. The session will begin at 7:00 PM EST in Bill Moore Student Success... View Details

December 2022
Case

The Magic of Marks & Spencer Food

By: David E. Bell, Natalie Kindred and Damien McLoughlin

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Food; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Competition; Price; Inflation and Deflation; Trends; Growth and Development; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom

September 2012
Article

Food Choices of Minority and Low-Income Employees: A Cafeteria Intervention

By: Douglas E. Levy, Jason Riis, Lillian M. Sonnenberg, Susan J. Barraclough and Anne N. Thorndike

Background: Effective strategies are needed to address obesity, particularly among minority and low-income individuals.

Purpose: To test whether a two-phase point-of-purchase intervention improved food choices across racial, socioeconomic (job... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Safety; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Advantage; Cost