Publications

05 Jun 2017
Working Paper Summaries

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

Keywords: by Ai Hisano; Food & Beverage

2016
Working Paper

Standardized Color in the Food Industry: The Co-Creation of the Food Coloring Business in the United States, 1870–1940

By: Ai Hisano

This working paper 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. Food manufacturers along with dye makers and regulators co-created the... View Details

Keywords: Food; Supply and Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

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March 2018 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Clover Food Lab

By: Paul Gompers and Silpa Kovvali

June 2014
Teaching Note

Tesco Group Food

By: Jose B. Alvarez, Damien P. McLoughlin and Mary Shelman

Teaching Note for Tesco Group Food, HBS No. 514-022 View Details

August 1978
Article

World Food Council at Three Years--Global Food System Manager?

By: James E. Austin and Mitchel B. Wallerstein

Keywords: Food; System; Management; Governance

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April 1979 (Revised July 1985)
Case

Baby Foods Industry--1966-78

By: Michael E. Porter

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

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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; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 1998
Case

Wegmans Food Markets: Diabetes Counseling

By: Ray A. Goldberg, David E. Bell and Ann Leamon

Danny Wegman, president of Wegmans Food Markets, is trying to decide how to evaluate the success of a nutrition-counseling program for diabetics, and whether and how to expand the program beyond the two stores currently involved. Wegmans, with 57 stores and $2.3... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Expansion; Programs; Human Needs; Financial Management; Health Care and Treatment; Nutrition; Consumer Behavior; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

November 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Case

Royal Ahold NV: A Global Food Provider

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

Ahold decides how strategy and partnerships will enable it to lead the global food industry for the future. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Globalized Firms and Management; Partners and Partnerships; Food and Beverage Industry

20 Dec 2018
Blog Post

A Time For Opportunity In Food and Agriculture

food and agribusiness is growing among MBAs at Harvard Business School. In the past couple of years, for example, membership in the student Food, Agriculture, and Water (FAW)... View Details

February 2007
Teaching Note

J. Perez Foods (TN) (A), (B) and (C)

By: John A. Davis and Courtney Sampson

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

May 2009
Supplement

The World Food Programme during the Global Food Crisis (B)

By: Anette Mikes, Peter Tufano, Eric D. Werker and Jan-Emmanuel De Neve

Keywords: Crisis Management; Food; Non-Governmental Organizations

September 2010 (Revised January 2016)
Case

Grameen Danone Foods Ltd., a Social Business

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Katharine Lee

Grameen Danone is a joint venture between the Grameen Group (a sister company of Grameen Bank) and Groupe Danone, a $2 billion (revenues) French food company. The company's goal was to provide nutritional yogurt (brand name Shoktidoi) for the nearly 50 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Food; Distribution; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Food and Beverage Industry; Bangladesh; France

1986
Chapter

Food Marketing Public Enterprises

By: James E. Austin and Michael J. Buckley

Keywords: Food; Marketing; Distribution; Public Sector; Government and Politics; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness 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; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

1976
Book

Food and Nutrition Policies in a Changing Environment

By: James E. Austin

Keywords: Food; Nutrition; Change

January 2007 (Revised January 2007)
Background Note

Note on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration

By: Robert F. Higgins, Richard G. Hamermesh and Virginia Fuller

Describes the U.S. FDA with particular emphasis on its role in the development of new drugs, biologic products, and medical devices today. Provides context for the drug approval process by describing the FDA's history and organizational structure. View Details

Keywords: Health; Governance Compliance; Policy; Product Development; Government and Politics; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

2009
Article

Modeling Expert Opinions on Food Healthfulness: A Nutrition Metric

By: Jolie M. Martin, John Beshears, Katherine L. Milkman, Max H. Bazerman and Lisa Sutherland

Research over the last several decades indicates the failure of existing nutritional labels to substantially improve the healthiness of consumers' food and beverage choices. The difficulty for policy-makers is to encapsulate a wide body of scientific knowledge in a... View Details

Keywords: Judgments; Food; Nutrition; Labels; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Demand and Consumers; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods

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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