Publications

31 May 2017
What Do You Think?

Can Amazon Do What Walmart Couldn’t, Stop the 'Wheel of Retailing'?

years later another colleague relies on Amazon for delivery of dog food to a remote location in Maine at a price comparable to the local supermarket.) There is no question that Bezos has built a retailing juggernaut, one that is capturing... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

October 2018 (Revised July 2023)
Case

The Boston Beer Company (A): New CEO

By: Christina R. Wing and Marco Iansiti

In 1984, when the Boston Beer Company’s Samuel Adams Boston Lager was first sold, founder Jim Koch had helped ignite a craft beer movement by making small-batch premium beers in an era of industry consolidation. By 2018, Boston Beer was a publicly traded company that... View Details

Keywords: Beer/brewing Industry; Succession; Leadership; Change; Supply Chain; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Supply Chain Management; Management Succession; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Boston

Web

Effects of Climate Change - Business & Environment

or adapting to climate change at the local, state, federal, and international levels Transform the sources of energy we rely on, how and where we grow food , the modes of transportation we use, the infrastructure of cities , and the... View Details

August 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

Diageo and Mey Icki: Turkish Delight or Turkish Hangover?

By: Dante Roscini and Gamze Yucaoglu

In September 2013, two years after its $2.1 billion acquisition of Mey Icki Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (Mey Icki), the principal spirits company in Turkey specializing in the local beverage, raki, Diageo, the world’s leading premium drinks company, was concerned about new... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Emerging Markets; Government Legislation; Taxation; Valuation; Business and Government Relations; Government and Politics; Risk Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Middle East; Turkey

March 2002 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry

Examines the competitive challenges facing Robert Mondavi as the wine industry begins to consolidate globally. Mondavi faces challenges from foreign competitors entering the U.S. market as well as diversified global alcoholic beverage companies entering the wine... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Competitive Strategy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

January 2021
Case

Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years using a novel technology and data science. ... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Disruption; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Sustainability; Cash Flow; Disruptive Innovation; Innovation Strategy; Brands and Branding; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; United States; California

January 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Hindustan Unilever Limited

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Mona Srivastava

This case illustrates Hindustan Unilever Limited's conflict resolution and people development policies using a “leading from the middle” example. The story centers on the challenges faced by an HR manager at a factory who must meet organizational objectives while... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Labor Unions; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; India

13 Apr 2016
Research & Ideas

Why Your Company Wants to be a 'Cognitive Referent' (Hint: SpaceX)

When Rory M. McDonald was working on his PhD at Stanford University in 2007, it was the heyday of the lean startup in Silicon Valley. “It seemed like pretty much every week there was some new market category being touted as the next big thing,” says McDonald, an... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage; Food & Beverage

January 2024
Case

Vibrant Health

By: Henry McGee and Sarah Mehta

This case is about nutritional supplements company Vibrant Health, among the 100 largest Black-owned businesses in the U.S. After acquiring the company from its white founder in 2007, co-owners Ted and Paige Parker significantly grew its sales. Set in September 2023,... View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Race; Entrepreneurship; Nutrition; Ownership; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Leadership; Sales; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Eastern United States

05 Nov 2021
Op-Ed

Is the Business World Finally Ready for the Wisdom of Shibusawa?

Eiichi Shibusawa continues to gain influence in Japan—even though he died almost a century ago. Japan’s government announced earlier this year that the 19th century business leader would be the face on 10,000 yen ($90) bank notes—the highest value denomination in... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones and Rei Morimoto; Financial Services; Retail

April 2002 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Nghe An Tate & Lyle Sugar Company (Vietnam)

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Frank J. Lysy and Carrie Ferman

In September 1998, Paul Cooper, Tate & Lyle's finance director for international investments, asked the International Finance Corp. (IFC) to consider lending up to $45 million to finance a $90 million sugar mill in northern Vietnam. Ewen Cobban, an IFC agricultural... View Details

Keywords: Business and Government Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Viet Nam

September 1983 (Revised December 1985)
Case

Dunkin' Donuts (C): Growth Strategy

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi

Dunkin' Donuts franchises and operates retail donut shops for take-home and in-shop consumption. Looks at three growth alternatives: 1) More shops (owned or franchised); 2) A broader product line; and 3) More advertising. Raises important issues related to franchise... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Logistics; Franchise Ownership; Relationships; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

May 2013
Case

Launching Krispy Natural: Cracking the Product Management Code

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Heather Beckham

Pemberton Products is a U.S. market leader in the cookie and bakery snacks segment of the sweet snack market. Looking to expand into the salty snack market, the company acquires Krispy Inc., a maker of salty snack crackers located in the southeastern U.S. To compete... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Competition; Organizational Culture; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Expansion; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Acquisition; Food and Beverage Industry; Ohio; United States

18 Jan 2018
News

The Lessons of All-Day Breakfast

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on SoundCloud More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: When Kristy Cunningham (MBA 1998) arrived at McDonald’s in 2014 as vice president of strategy and insights, she asked her team about the most common requests they were hearing from US... View Details

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

14 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restarting Under Uncertainty: Managerial Experiences from Around the World

simultaneous increase in demand for home deliveries, which raised the need for operators in stores. The company worked with catering and cooking associations, whose operations were temporarily closed, to share labor. Instead of staying at home, View Details

Keywords: by Raffaella Sadun, Andrea Bertoni, Alexia Delfino, Giovanni Fassio, and Mariapaola Testa

28 Feb 2023
Blog Post

Celebrating Socioeconomic Diversity and Inclusion at HBS (Part 1)

opened a small American Chinese restaurant in Dallas, and in the classic fashion to save money, I would often help out. At HBS, I have had the privilege to explore, reflect, and find my calling. I realize that I love food and restaurants!... View Details

January 2024 (Revised July 2024)
Case

CloudEats: Revolutionizing the Cloud Kitchen in Southeast Asia

By: Paul A. Gompers and Adina Wong

Philippines-headquartered cloud kitchen CloudEats harbored the ambition of becoming the largest cloud kitchen in Southeast Asia, but it was considering several strategic paths forward. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; E-commerce; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Competitive Advantage; Food and Beverage Industry; Philippines; Southeast Asia

06 Aug 2019
Cold Call Podcast

Super Bowl Ads Sell Products, but Do They Sell Brands?

these entirely digital consumers that are out there, like my sons who have no use for anything larger than a cell phone in front of them. Kenny: Why don't we dive into the Super Bowl, itself? There are some great statistics in the case about View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Sports; Entertainment & Recreation; Media & Broadcasting

June 2012
Class Lecture

Why You're Not Buying Venezuelan Chocolate: The Provenance Paradox

By: Rohit Deshpandé

A product's country of origin establishes its authenticity. This is the provenance paradox. Consumers associate certain geographies with the best products: French wine, Italian sports cars, Swiss watches. Competing products from other countries - especially developing... View Details

Keywords: Global Business; Branding; Strategic Planning; Strategic Positioning; Emergent Countries; Consumer Perception; Developing Markets; Brands and Branding; Geographic Location; Globalized Markets and Industries; Perception; Emerging Markets; Product Positioning; Global Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; Venezuela