Publications

December 2013
Case

Yara International

By: Forest Reinhardt and James Weber

This case examines world fertilizer markets from the perspective of a large Norwegian producer. The global fertilizer industry is critical to food production and to food security, and hence is the object of numerous forms of government intervention. The case analyzes... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Regulation; Strategy; Business-government Relations; International Trade; International Strategy; Agribusiness; Food; Growth and Development; Government and Politics

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; Food and Beverage 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

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

07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

If you ask any given environmentalist to identify the biggest threat to the planet, you may expect to hear about man-made climate change, consumerism, or overpopulation. But if you ask Harvard Business School's Joseph B. Lassiter, he'll toss in another: single-issue... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

24 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Reinventing the American Wine Industry: Marketing Strategies and the Construction of Wine Culture

View Details

Keywords: by Ai Hisano; Food & Beverage

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

Web

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

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 tech company with NYC-based venture studio, Alleycorp,... View Details

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

15 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Find Your Pragmatic Path through Radical Uncertainty

social restrictions and reopen businesses? Other questions depend on the answers to the medical questions. Will government funds for the disadvantaged people and businesses be sustainable? What will happen... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson, Eugene B. Kogan, and Shirley Spence

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

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

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

01 Jun 2018
News

What I Do: Minnie Ingersoll (MBA 2002)

it’s consistent from company to company.” Her new COO role at Code for America, a San Francisco–based nonprofit dedicated to improving civic tech and “strengthening America’s basic social safety net,” has proven this maxim true. “I... View Details

Keywords: Dan Morrell; illustrations by Peter and Maria Hoey

November 2006
Case

Organics: Coming Center Stage?

By: James E. Austin and Reed Martin

The organics movement has certainly come a long way. From hippie farming communes and a scattering of natural food stores in the 1960s, organics outgrew its origins as a counterculture curiosity of the 1970s to become the fastest growing segment of the food industry in... View Details

Keywords: Food; Supply and Industry; Consumer Behavior; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

December 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Rabobank Group: Leadership Role in Global Agribusiness

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Hal Hogan

The largest global agribusiness bank has lost its triple A rating and is rethinking its global strategy as the leading global food and agribusiness bank. How does it position itself in the vertical value-added global food system? View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Globalization; Finance; Risk Management; Global Strategy; Value Creation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

Find at Harvard

December 2009
Teaching Note

Diageo and East African Breweries Ltd.: Tapping New Markets for Social Good (TN)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

Teaching Note for [310010]. View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Kenya; United Kingdom