Publications

April 2012
Case

Introducing iSnack 2.0: The New Vegemite

By: Anat Keinan, Francis Farrelly and Michael Beverland

Vegemite is an iconic Australian breakfast spread and is often seen as a quintessential Australian product. This case focuses on Kraft's decision to revitalize brand performance through the introduction of a brand extension. Drawing on extensive social media analysis... View Details

Keywords: Food; Product Launch; Conflict and Resolution; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

7 PM – 9 PM PST, 26 Feb 2015

HBS San Francisco Young Alumni Reception

HBS alumni MBA 2010-2014 are invited to an evening of socializing and networking in San Francisco. View Details

01 Mar 2004
News

Ron Shaich’s Café Society

Ron Shaich (MBA 1978) is cofounder, chairman, and CEO of Panera Bread, the fast-growing bakery-café chain with over six hundred locations in mostly suburban markets across the United States. Panera’s ability to deliver high-quality View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Food Services and Drinking Places; Food Services and Drinking Places

December 1997
Case

Intercontinental Breweries (Abridged)

By: Thomas R. Piper

A senior executive of a U.S. multinational is attempting to develop a set of financial, operating, and ownership arrangements that will be acceptable to the management and employees of a major Polish company and to the Ministry of Privatization. The arrangements must... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Multinational Firms and Management; Joint Ventures; Food and Beverage Industry; Poland; United States

March 1999 (Revised January 2000)
Case

Hundred-Year War, A: Coke vs. Pepsi, 1890s-1990s

By: Chiaki Moriguchi and David Lane

Through their competitive battle, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have created a stable and highly profitable duopoly in the U.S. soft drink industry. As the domestic industry matured and the cola wars moved to international markets, Coke and Pepsi tried to redesign their... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Industry Structures; Food and Beverage Industry

06 May 2019
News

Are You Ready for Veggie Fast-Casual?

The founder and former CEO of Panera Bread has a new lease on life. Life Alive, that is. And it’s not a lease—he’s the owner. Ron Shaich (MBA 1978), has tapped his $300 million fund, Act III Holdings, to buy... View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

Roger A. Enrico

Enrico helped to transform PepsiCo through a number of major initiatives including the spin-off of its fast food restaurant chains (Tricon), the acquisition of Tropicana, and the initial public offering of... View Details

Keywords: Food & Tobacco

September 2006
Teaching Note

Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation Series (LCA) (TN)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Aldo Sesia

Keywords: Food; Nutrition; Food and Beverage Industry

16 Feb 2004
Research & Ideas

Marketing Wine to the World

purchase wine at the same place that they procure other food and beverage products. So, I guess your view of these changes depends on your position in the marketplace. Q:... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

Teaching Interest

Overview

Lena teaches the required first year MBA course on Leadership and Corporate Accountability, an elective second year MBA course on Law, Management and Entrepreurship, and an elective second year MBA course on Challenges and Opportunities in the Restaurant Industry. View Details

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Supplement

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A2)

By: V.G. Narayanan, Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Business and Shareholder Relations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Conflict and Resolution; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

October 2005
Case

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool 2005

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mary L. Shelman

CEO Mayo Schmidt had just guided his firm through five difficult years. Survival had come with the difficult decision to change the 80-year-old agricultural cooperative into a Canadian business corporation. The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool (SWP) now faced the future with a... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Customer Value and Value Chain; Capital; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Demand and Consumers; Partners and Partnerships; Expansion; Technology Adoption; Food and Beverage Industry; Canada

Find at Harvard

March 2012
Teaching Note

Pepsi-Lipton Brisk (TN)

By: Thales Teixeira

Keywords: Food; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2011 (Revised April 2014)
Case

sweetriot 2.0

By: Christopher Marquis, Donna Khalife and Bobbi Thomason

In the fall of 2010, Sarah Endline, CEO and Founder of sweetriot, an organic chocolate company, was deciding the best way to grow her organic chocolate company, while keeping her chocolate physically and conceptually on the shelf. She wanted to grow the offerings and... View Details

Keywords: Social Entrepreneurship; Profit; Business Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Experience and Expertise; Economic Growth; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (state, US)

May 2024
Case

Pernod Ricard: Uncorking Digital Transformation

By: Iavor Bojinov, Edward McFowland III, François Candelon, Nikolina Jonsson and Emer Moloney

This case study explores the opportunities and challenges of the digital transformation journey of French wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard. As part of the transformation, the company launched four key digital programs (KDPs) aimed at using data and artificial... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Business Divisions; Talent and Talent Management; Global Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Digital Transformation; Digital Strategy; Advertising; Sales; Organizational Culture; Product Development; Decision Making; Technology Adoption; Alignment; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; France; Europe

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A1)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

April 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2003 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Newport Creamery (A)

By: Paul Marshall and Todd Thedinga

Describes the operating challenges of Newport Creamery, a Rhode Island-based chain of ice cream restaurants. Profiles the company's transition from longtime family ownership to a real estate developer, the developer's expansion strategy, and the company's subsequent... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Crisis Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Food and Beverage Industry; Rhode Island

May 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Camposol

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

With $289 million in 2015 revenues, Camposol is a Peruvian grower, exporter, and marketer of fruits and vegetables, with a focus on the high-growth, high-margin blueberry category. Camposol aspires to become Peru’s first multinational branded produce company. It... View Details