Publications

Find at Harvard

March 2021 (Revised May 2021)
Case

ALDDN: Advancing Local Dairy Development in Nigeria

By: Meg Rithmire and Debora L. Spar

In 2020, Ndidi Nwuneli, founder and CEO of Sahel Consulting in Nigeria, faced a thorny set of problems. Her firm partnered with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in a large project to develop the local dairy industry as a way to facilitate equitable growth and... View Details

Keywords: Animal-Based Agribusiness; Food; Rural Scope; Growth and Development; Nonprofit Organizations; Globalized Markets and Industries; Business and Government Relations; Equality and Inequality; Food and Beverage Industry; Consulting Industry; Nigeria

01 Mar 2014
News

No Small Beer

The biggest thing in the beer business these days is the little guy. Research firm Technomics reported that the craft beer and premium import market rose almost 15 percent in 2012, with an "upward trajectory" that continued in 2013. And beer makers are looking to meet... View Details

Keywords: Morrell, Daniel; craft beer; Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

1982
Chapter

The Capacity Expansion Process in a Growing Oligopoly: The Case of Corn Wet Milling

By: A. Michael Spence and M. E. Porter

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Duopoly and Oligopoly; Food; Performance Capacity; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2019
Case

David Yin's Vegetarian Mission

By: Boris Groysberg and Evan M.S. Hecht

After the establishment of his critically-acclaimed upscale vegetarian restaurant, King’s Joy, in Beijing, chef and entrepreneur David Yin must decide whether or not to expand to other locations or continue to invest in his existing location in order to fulfill his... View Details

Keywords: Restaurant; Restaurant Industry; Creative Ability; Creative Industries; Values; Entrepreneurship; Creativity; Food; Values and Beliefs; China

15 Jun 2016
News

This Startup Wants to Put Unusual Vegetables on Your Plate

July 2009 (Revised October 2011)
Case

VeeV on the Rocks?

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Christopher Marquis and Laura Winig

Three pressing challenges (equity split, extent of commitment to social responsibility, and product discoloration) confront VeeV, the world's first alcoholic beverage infused with acai berries. Brothers Courtney and Carter Reum founded VeeV in 2007 and the firm has... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Food; Business Growth and Maturation; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Equity; Food and Beverage Industry

15 Dec 2011
News

An HBS gift guide

Wondering what to get the HBSer in your life this year? In the holiday spirit, we're highlighting a few alumni-led companies and ideas that you may not know about. Since roughly 1 in 6 alumni work in manufacturing, high tech, retail, and consumer products, there are... View Details

Keywords: Bulletin Staff; holiday; gift giving; Manufacturing; Retail Trade

03 Jun 2020
News

Keeping a Community Connected

new ways to support the community. In early March, the organization had to close all of their on-site programs and figure out how they could continue to help the community’s vulnerable populations, especially school-aged children, families struggling with View Details

Keywords: Susan Young

13 Dec 2018
Blog Post

"I Wanted to Move from Analyzing Results to Creating Them": Cynthia Samanian, MBA 2012

Cynthia says, "I wanted to pursue a career that would be personally fulfilling. As exciting as product management was, it didn't mesh with my desire to work in the food space." When Path was acquired in 2015, she had the... View Details

01 Aug 2013
News

For Clover CEO, openness is first

Keywords: Food and Beverage Stores; Food and Beverage Stores

16 Dec 2011
News

A Texan in Tokyo

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

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

September 2006
Case

Earthbound Farm

By: William A. Sahlman and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of Earthbound Farm, the largest organic produce company in the world. Focuses on what to do with an East Coast distribution center that is losing money but may be useful strategically. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Distribution; Food; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Management Teams; Capital Budgeting; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Corporate Finance; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

31 Mar 2022
Blog Post

Setting Interns Up for Success at Your Startup

silk and apply it to food, creating natural protection that slows spoiling and keeps food fresher for longer. Products can be integrated at any time from farm to shelf, allowing food producers, processors,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

01 Jun 2012
News

Made in the USA

Wisconsin cheddar, but how about Wisconsin Ackawi or Wisconsin Asadero? Twenty years ago, Paul Scharfman (MBA 1979) acquired a small, undercapitalized cheese manufacturing operation in rural Wisconsin, about an hour’s drive from Madison. “From the start,” says... View Details

Keywords: Blagg, Deborah; cheese; lobster fishing; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing

December 2022 (Revised July 2023)
Case

Applegate Farms

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Consumer Behavior; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Brands and Branding; Integration; Strategy; Change Management; Change; Organizational Structure; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States