Publications

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
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: Food and Beverage Industry; Europe; France; Russia

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

17 Jun 2017
Research & Ideas

Amazon, Whole Foods Deal a Big Win for Consumers

Source: 400tmax Editor's Note. Online retailing behemoth Amazon announced June 16 that it would acquire upscale grocery chain Whole Foods Market in a deal valued at more than $13 billion. Though the company has dabbled with the idea of a brick-and-mortar footprint in... View Details

Keywords: by Jose Alvarez and Len Schlesinger; Retail

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

11 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

The Paradoxical Quest to Make Food Look 'Natural' With Artificial Dyes

Historians.) Hisano’s paper looks at how industry players and regulators collectively decided what any given food is supposed to look like—and redefined the marketing meaning of “natural.” The quest for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

September 1994 (Revised September 1994)
Case

ConAgra, Inc.--The Food System Company

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Quintus Travis

Keywords: Food; Food and Beverage Industry

September 1986
Case

Pure Foods Corp.: Aquaculture Project

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (E2)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960 (Revised May 1983)
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (B1)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

June 1986 (Revised October 2005)
Teaching Note

Kemp Foods Corporation (TN)

By: David F. Hawkins

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

October 1977 (Revised September 1983)
Case

Colonial Food Services Co.

By: Michael Beer and James G. Clawson

The first case in a four-part case series which outlines the events leading up to a performance appraisal interview. Describes the background of the company. View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Food and Beverage Industry

December 2018
Supplement

Amazon Acquires Whole Foods (B)

By: Rory McDonald, Sarah Mehta and Shaye Roseman

This short case, meant for pairing with HBS No. 615-013, “AmazonFresh: Rekindling the Online Grocery Market,” explores Amazon’s rationale for acquiring Whole Foods. View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth and Development Strategy; Technology Industry; Technology Industry