Publications

April 1991 (Revised October 1993)
Supplement

Cat Fight in the Pet Food Industry (C)

By: David J. Collis

Describes significant developments in the pet food industry in 1987 and 1988, focusing on the competitive interactions among the industry's major players. View Details

Keywords: Competition; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Case

Can Goodr Fight Food Insecurity at Scale?

By: Daniel Isenberg and William R. Kerr

Jasmine Crowe founded Goodr to redirect food waste to people in need. Now a profitable enterprise, she’s searching for Series A funding and encountering pushback. Scaling and contract concerns are also at the forefront of her mind, but so are her values. Feeding... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Investor Demand; Food; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Values and Beliefs; Social Issues; Race; Opportunities; Contracts; Mission and Purpose; Financing and Loans

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

Find at Harvard

September 1986
Case

Pure Foods Corp.: Aquaculture Project

By: Ray A. Goldberg

Keywords: Food and Beverage Industry

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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; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 1978
Case

General Foods: Opportunities in the Dog Food Market

Illustrates uses of various sources of market and consumer behavior data, including psychographics, product positioning, and market segmentation decisions for a new dog food product. Based on cases by E.T. Popper and L.S. Ward. View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Consumer Behavior; Product Development; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

September 1999
Supplement

Jollibee Foods Corporation: International Expansion

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents interviews with CEO Tony Tan Caktiong and international division VP, Noli Tingzon, elaborating on issues and raising new issues on Jollibee's global strategy and organization. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Globalized Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Organizational Design; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

29 May 2020
Op-Ed

How Leaders Are Fighting Food Insecurity on Three Continents

COVID-19 is creating unprecedented strains on food security worldwide. The United Nations' World Food Programme warns that the pandemic could almost double the number of people facing food crises in low- and middle-income populations to 265 million by the end of 2020.... View Details

Keywords: by Howard Stevenson and Shirley Spence; Agriculture & Agribusiness

April 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Proxy Access at Whole Foods

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

Proxy access grants shareholders meeting certain ownership requirements the right to nominate directors for election to the board without going through a typical proxy contest. In August 2010 the SEC approved a rule granting proxy access for shareholders meeting... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Proxy Advisor; Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Voting; Shareholder Votes; Proxy Battle; Institutional Change; Institutional Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

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; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

31 Jan 2019
Cold Call Podcast

How Wegmans Became a Leader in Improving Food Safety

Keywords: Re: Ray A. Goldberg; Food & Beverage

September 1991
Case

General Foods Corp.: Product Management--1991

By: Stephen A. Greyser

Keywords: Product; Management; Food and Beverage Industry

Find at Harvard

February 1992 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Birds Eye and the U.K. Frozen Food Industry (A)

By: David J. Collis

Describes the forty-year evolution of the U.K. frozen food industry, and traces the emergence, dominance, and the decline of Birds Eye. Its success is as a vertically integrated producer, distributor, and marketer of frozen foods that pioneers the industry in the U.K.... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Industry Growth; Vertical Integration; Food and Beverage Industry; United Kingdom

April 2008
Teaching Note

Whole Foods Market, Inc. (TN)

By: John R. Wells

Teaching Note for [705476]. View Details

1986
Chapter

Consumer Satisfaction with Food Products

By: J. Quelch and S. Ash

April 1991 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Cat Fight in the Pet Food Industry (A)

By: David J. Collis

Describes the pet food industry in the mid-eighties prior to the breakout of a major competitive battle as manufacturers fight for share. Illustrates how when there are benefits to play in multiple markets, competitors will take action in one market to preserve their... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Markets; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Ownership Stake; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry