Publications

April 1979 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Baby Foods Industry--1966-78

By: Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

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

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

20 Dec 2018
Blog Post

A Time For Opportunity In Food and Agriculture

Program, moderated the event. Panelists emphasized how quickly the food industry is changing. “The little guys and the newcomers are disrupting big organizations every day,”... View Details

05 Jun 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Cellophane, the New Visuality, and the Creation of Self-Service Food Retailing

Keywords: by Ai Hisano; Food & Beverage

November 2010
Teaching Note

Belco Global Foods (TN)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

Teaching Note for 211033. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Leadership Style; Trade; International Finance; Globalization; Decisions; Customers; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Supplement

J. Perez Foods (C)

By: John A. Davis and Kacie LaChapelle

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (B4)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1960 (Revised November 1968)
Case

Midway Foods Corp. (B2)

By: Edmund P. Learned and Bruce R. Scott

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

January 1980 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Anderson Clayton Foods (A)

By: Walter J. Salmon and Steven R. Palesy

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

March 1991 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi-Cola and the Soft Drink Industry

By: Michael E. Porter

Describes the competition between Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola. Provides a summary of the history of the soft drink industry prior to World War II, and over the period 1950-1990 in greater detail. Major strategic competitive moves and countermoves are described. Also... View Details

Keywords: Competition; Industry Growth; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

March 1981
Case

Heinz U.S.A.: Baby Food

By: Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

December 1982 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Breakfast Foods Corp. (B)

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

February 1982 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Breakfast Foods Corp. (A)

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

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 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

December 1994 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Ciba Consumer Pharmaceuticals' Acutrim: Challenges and Opportunities in Today's Diet Industry

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Rebecca Voorheis

Since its introduction in 1983, Acutrim has been a major player in the U.S. appetite suppressant market and in the broader diet industry. This case focuses on the strategic, regulatory, marketing, and financial challenges this product and the rapidly changing diet... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Market Design; Industry Structures; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States