Publications

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Supplement

Asda (B)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Describes Archie Norman's efforts over a five-year period to turn around the company by regaining financial control, delivering management, creating experimental projects where individuals felt free to innovate, instituting a back-to-roots strategy that put customers... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Customer Relationship Management; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

May 1998 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Taco Bell Inc. (1983-1994)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Dave DeLong

Details the actions of John Martin, newly named CEO, as he leads Taco Bell through a decade of incremental and radical changes. By the end of the case, total system sales within Taco Bell, a Mexican style fast-food restaurant chain and a division of PepsiCo, have grown... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Transformation; Economic Growth; Food; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Design; Performance Effectiveness; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

01 Dec 2019
News

Action Plan: Tapping into a Legacy

As the new managing director of Hall & Woodhouse, one of England’s leading regional breweries, Matt Kearsey (AMP 193, 2017) knows that the best-tasting beer requires more than premium hops and pure spring water. “We give the process the time it needs,” he says. “We... View Details

Keywords: Leah Flickinger; manufacturing; craft beer; leadership; management; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing; Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing

25 Nov 2018
News

How This Entrepreneur Went From 200 Investor Rejections To A $300 Million Acquisition

Keywords: Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

25 Aug 2014
News

Starbucks Reinvented

Keywords: cases; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

14 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 14

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Rakesh Khurana, Rajiv Lal, and Eric BaldwinHarvard Business School Case 412-079 This case explores a shift in strategic direction at PepsiCo, the second-largest food and beverage company in the world. It concentrates... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

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

January 2018
Case

OldTown Berhad

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Greg Saldutte

In December 2017, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE, a Dutch coffee company) made an offer to acquire OldTown Berhad (OTB), a Malaysian coffee company. Three large shareholders, representing more than half of the outstanding shares, have agreed to tender their shares, and... View Details

01 Sep 2007
News

Riding It Out

An ailing horse and an overweight Labrador retriever provided the inspiration for Becky Minard and Paal Gisholt (both MBA ’93) to launch SmartPak, a business that provides nutritional supplements, dog food, and supplies to customers devoted to their four-footed... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; dog food; pets; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

29 Jul 2013
News

Opening New Markets for Black South African Winemakers

Selena Cuffe On a trip to South Africa in 2005, Selena Cuffe (MBA 2003) happened across an advertisement promoting the first Soweto Wine Festival. Cuffe, the director of an exchange-student nonprofit, didn't know a lot about wine. Yet the event sounded so intriguing,... View Details

Keywords: wine; wine making; wine importing; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

20 Nov 2018
Cold Call Podcast

Building a Nonprofit Marketplace to Feed America

Keywords: Re: Scott Duke Kominers; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

August 2022 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Evaluating the Impact of Hillside Harvest

By: Archie L. Jones, Mel Martin and Amy Klopfenstein

In fall 2021, the HBS Impact Investment Fund student team had just finished their last round of due diligence on the BIPOC-founded premium hot sauce company Hillside Harvest. They thought the business had a fine performance, showing potential to grow into a successful... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Entrepreneurship; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Investment; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Massachusetts

December 2018 (Revised June 2019)
Case

Wolfgang Puck: Setting the Table for the Future

By: Boris Groysberg and Matthew G. Preble

Chef Wolfgang Puck oversees a disparate business empire that includes fine dining restaurants, a catering business, and various licensed products that run from cookware, to soup, to fast-casual restaurants. His businesses activities are divided among three separate... View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Growth and Development; Management Systems; Business Processes; Leadership; Transition; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2017 (Revised January 2018)
Teaching Note

Bega Cheese: Bidding to Bring Vegemite Back Home

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Lauren G. Pickle and Greg Saldutte

In January 2017, the leadership team of Bega Cheese—the Australian dairy company—was considering a bid for Mondelēz International’s Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) grocery business which included several leading consumer brands such as Vegemite, the iconic Australian... View Details

June 1997
Teaching Note

Nutra Foods TN

By: David F. Hawkins

Teaching Note for (9-196-038). View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Bain Capital: Outback Steakhouse

By: Paul Gompers, Kristin Mugford and J. Daniel Kim

Bain Capital had purchased Outback Steakhouse in 2007 and despite the myriad initiatives to improve operations, the financial collapse in 2008 threatened the company's ability to meet its loan covenants. Outback's performance steadily declined throughout the year. How... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Expectations; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

January 2000
Case

The Dimensions of Brand Equity for Nestlé Crunch Bar: A Research Case

By: Jill Avery and Gerald Zaltman

An in-depth study of consumers' thoughts and feelings about a branded candy bar. View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Equity; Brand Communication; Brand ＆ Product Management; Brand Building; Brand Positioning; Brand Storytelling; Brand Strategy; Brand Value; Branding; Marketing; Advertising; Customer Satisfaction; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 1994 (Revised January 1997)
Case

Nestle Refrigerated Foods: Contadina Pasta and Pizza (A)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Bell

Nestle Co.'s Refrigerated Foods Division has very successfully launched its Contadina brand pasta and sauces. The new product has achieved nearly $100 million in sales in three years. The division now considers an extension into the pizza line. This case provides a... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Sales; Commercialization; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry