Publications

June 2005 (Revised April 2008)
Case

Whole Foods Market, Inc.

By: John R. Wells and Travis Haglock

Can a short-sleeved, sandal-wearing, college dropout create a company manifesting love, joy, and happiness? Chainsaw John Mackey did. This CEO took a five-month sabbatical to hike the Appalachian Trail. More credentials: Sales-per-square foot of $690 and rising. Hiring... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Motivation and Incentives; Food; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Success; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Business Growth and Maturation; Emerging Markets; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry

March 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Background Note

The Pandemic's Impact on the U.S. Food System

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note is intended not as a comprehensive account but as a starting point for discussion about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. food system. Written in late 2020, the note describes, in part through the voices of industry leaders, how the pandemic... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Agribusiness; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Leadership; Change Management; Safety; Health; Health Pandemics; Disruption; Adaptation; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States

February 1986
Case

General Foods Corp.: Project Duck Soup

General Foods must decide whether to acquire Entenmann's Bakery. Price and financing must also be decided. The teaching objectives include analysis of strategic fit, selection of purchase price, and financing method. Another issue is the debt to equity ratio that is... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Finance; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

January 1972
Case

Northeastern Food Co. (B)

By: Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

November 1991
Case

Mitsubishi Corp.: Foods Group

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

January 1972 (Revised February 1972)
Case

Northeastern Food Co. (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

May 1964
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (H)

By: Kenneth R. Andrews, Norman A. Berg and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (E1)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (C)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960 (Revised November 1968)
Supplement

Midway Foods Corp. (B3)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

October 1994
Case

Trading Foods in Russia

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Peer Ederer

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

16 May 2016
HBS Case

Food Safety Economics: The Cost of a Sick Customer

period of flat revenues or declining revenues, that sends a message to everybody in the food industry ” China, for example, has seen its share of well-publicized cases of food... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

December 2009 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Rabobank: The Global Food and Agriculture Bank

By: David E. Bell, Ray A. Goldberg, Mary Louise Shelman and Aldo Sesia

Rabobank decides to focus primarily on food and agriculture firms and farms on a global basis. View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Banks and Banking; Food; Globalization; System; Banking Industry

January 2025 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Food for Thought: Exiting Russia? (A)

By: Clayton S. Rose, Hugo Etchegoyhen and Lena Duchene

In September 2022, the French food companies Bonduelle and Danone each grappled with the difficult decision of whether to exit Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in February. Both companies were deeply embedded in Russia’s agricultural supply chains and local... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Ethics; Market Entry and Exit; Public Opinion; War; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Russia

June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Background Note

Digital Commerce and Delivery: Preparing Food and Retail Value Chains for a 50-50 World

By: William R. Kerr, Daniel O'Connor, Paige Boehmcke and Will Ensor

Increasing digitalization of grocery retail and quick commerce reveals insights about managing complex supply chains at scale and shifting revenue streams from product sales to data monetization. How are the roles of retailers changing? What happens if marginal cost... View Details

Keywords: Grocery Delivery; Grocery; Digitalization; Fulfillment; Delivery; Supply Chain; Disruption; Food; Supply Chain Management; Market Design; Trends; Value Creation; Goods and Commodities; Customer Value and Value Chain; Digital Transformation; Retail Industry; Retail Industry; United States; China

Article

The Rise of Synthetic Colors in the American Food Industry, 1870–1940

By: Ai Hisano

This article examines how, starting in the 1870s, food manufacturers in the United States began to use standardized color, achieved by synthetic dyes, as part of their marketing strategies. The emergence of the synthetic dye industry paralleled the growth of mass... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Food; Health; Brands and Branding; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

July 1998 (Revised December 2001)
Case

Jollibee Foods Corporation (A): International Expansion

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Jamie O'Connell

Noli Tingzon, newly-appointed international division VP at Jollibee, the Philippines-based hamburger chain, is faced with the challenge of expanding fast food operations in Asia in the face of stiff competition. The case describes Jollibee's six-year international... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Global Range; Global Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Philippines