Publications

March 2011
Case

Cash Flow Productivity at PepsiCo: Communicating Value to Retailers

PepsiCo developed a new metric that better measured the value added by Pepsi products than did gross margin, the traditional metric used by retailers to determine shelf space and promotional activity. The new metric, cash flow productivity, captured the value of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Cash Flow; Measurement and Metrics; Distribution; Performance Productivity; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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January 2024
Teaching Note

Frank Cornelissen: The Great Sulfite Debate (A) & (B)

By: Tiona Zuzul

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 724-391 and 724-398. In 2018, artisanal Italian vineyard Frank Cornelissen was one of the world’s leading natural wine vineyards. Its founder, Frank Cornelissen, faced weather related conditions that forced him to have to decide between... View Details

September 1997 (Revised August 1999)
Case

Boston Chicken, Inc.

By: Paul M. Healy

This case examines Boston Chicken's franchise strategy for growing its innovative restaurant business, and the associated accounting reporting issues that arise. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Franchise Ownership; Financial Strategy; Business Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2012 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Bain Capital: Outback Steakhouse

By: Paul Gompers, Kristin Mugford and J. Daniel Kim

Bain Capital had purchased Outback Steakhouse in 2007 and despite the myriad initiatives to improve operations, the financial collapse in 2008 threatened the company's ability to meet its loan covenants. Outback's performance steadily declined throughout the year. How... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Expectations; Borrowing and Debt; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Oct 2000
News

Raymond A. Baxter: Sweet Smell of Success

improve their ability to approach the public, make plans, and set goals." Baxter worked at the "Grandma's" cookie division of Frito-Lay before coming to Interbake Foods in 1987. His earliest priorities... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna

October 2014
Teaching Note

MuMaté

By: Thomas Eisenmann

This teaching note is designed for use with "MuMaté: Funding Growth," "MuMaté (B-1): Confidential for Maxwell," "MuMaté (B-2): Confidential for Cantor," HBS Nos. 814-063, 813-149, 813-150, to help faculty deepen student comprehension of business issues and energize... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Growth Management; Negotiation; Expansion; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Culture; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry

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; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

May 2017
Article

Psychologically Informed Implementations of Sugary-Drink Portion Limits

By: Leslie John, Grant Donnelly and Christina Roberto

In 2012, the New York City Board of Health prohibited restaurants from selling sugary drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces. Although a state court ruled that the Board of Health did not have the authority to implement such a policy, it remains a legally viable... View Details

Keywords: Nutrition; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; New York (city, NY)

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Read Now

01 Oct 2002
News

What's Cookin'

chocolate-chip cookies. Fox, who owns Community Bakery in Little Rock, Arkansas, says he never imagined he'd one day make his living absorbed in the business of food and its many challenges, including long... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia

February 1998 (Revised June 2000)
Case

Delamere Vineyard

Delamere Vineyard is a small, integrated winemaking business in Tasmania, specializing in pinot noir (red) and chardonnay (white) wines. Richard Richardson, Delamere's owner and winemaker, manages and operates the vineyard and winery largely alone. His products have... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Quality; Production; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

26 Jan 2015
News

The Ingredients for Success

something in a different way.” Markowitz was surrounded by creative types recently as she presented NOCHI’s plans to a group that included restaurant owners, tourism officials, chefs, and food business... View Details

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

January 2009 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Appellation Shanxi: Grace Vineyard

By: William C. Kirby, Michael Shih-ta Chen and Keith Chi-ho Wong

Grace Vineyard was a rare family-owned, private winery in China that was set on establishing itself as a world-renowned, quality vintner. Judy Leissner, the second-generation company leader, was at a crossroads in how she wanted to grow the business that her father... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Growth and Development Strategy; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry; China

January 2015 (Revised August 2016)
Case

Chateau Pontet-Canet

By: Daniel Malter

This case discusses the situation of Chateau Pontet-Canet in early 2000. Alfred Tesseron was the director and son of the owner of Chateau Pontet-Canet, a red wine producing estate in Pauillac (Bordeaux, France) and member of the fifth class of the ancient grand cru... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Alignment; Strategy; Competition; Food and Beverage Industry; France

May 2020
Teaching Note

Kraft Heinz: The $8 Billion Brand Write-Down

By: Jill Avery

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 519-076. On Friday, February 22, 2019, following an unexpected and disappointing earnings report, The Kraft Heinz Company’s stock price fell 27%, wiping out $16 billion in market value. CEO Bernardo Hees had announced that the company had... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

17 May 2017
News

Nisa Godrej Takes Over

company] for 25 years." A recent piece in Quartz suggests that Godrej’s appointment is part of a larger cultural movement in India, with more and more women taking on visible executive roles. Last July, Coca-Cola India appointed its... View Details

June 2022
Teaching Note

Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-419. 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... View Details

Keywords: B2B Vs. B2C; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Cost Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

April 2014
Case

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.: Taking on Seasonal Starvation in Latin America

By: Christopher Marquis and Zoe Yang

A company with a strong commitment toward corporate social responsibility since its founding days, Green Mountain faced an ethical decision point in 2007 as new information from the field uncovered a chronic dire problem facing coffee communities—seasonal starvation.... View Details

Keywords: Fair Trade; Coffee; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Food and Beverage Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Latin America; Central America; Mexico; Guatemala; Nicaragua