Publications

April 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

Cafes Monte Bianco - Fixed Interest Solution

By: Robert L. Simons

This is the fixed interest solution to the analysis required in the case Cafes Monte Bianco (HBS No. 198-088) View Details

August 1972
Case

Smokey Valley Cafe

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April 2017 (Revised August 2019)
Supplement

Cafes Monte Bianco - Varying Interest Solution

By: Robert L. Simons

This is the varying interest solution to the case Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan (HBS No. 198-088) View Details

September 2001 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Cafe de Colombia

By: Rohit Deshpande and Alexandra de Royere

Discusses sustaining brand equity after a highly successful commodity-product branding ad campaign. View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Brands and Branding; Advertising Campaigns; Product; Goods and Commodities; Colombia

March 2020
Teaching Note

Cafe Kenya (Brief Case)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James T. Kindley

Teaching Note for HBS No. 920-551. View Details

June 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Sorelle Bakery and Cafe

Two sisters begin a bakery/cafe and have difficulties organizing the work and defining their roles. The case is written from the mother's perspective as she tries to figure out how to keep the business from falling apart. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Entrepreneurship; Family and Family Relationships; Retail Industry

January 1998 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Alert: This case has been revised since its original publication; all amounts have been converted to euros and the dates have been updated to 2020. If you’ve taught with this case in the past, please note that changes may affect teaching plans and classroom use. Using... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Profit; Financial Statements; Food and Beverage Industry; Italy

March 2020
Supplement

Cafe Kenya, Spreadsheet for Instructors (Brief Case)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James T. Kindley

March 2020
Supplement

Cafe Kenya, Spreadsheet for Students (Brief Case)

By: Lynda M. Applegate and James T. Kindley

November 2000 (Revised July 2019)
Teaching Note

Cafes Monte Bianco: Building a Profit Plan

By: Robert Simons and Indra Reinbergs

Teaching Note for (9-198-088). View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Cash Flow; Capital Structure; Business Earnings; Financial Statements; Business Plan; Profit; Cost Management; Performance Evaluation; Strategic Planning; Financial Management; Investment Return; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Italy

October 2018
Case

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Café Cupcake (CC) is a fast-casual restaurant chain that offers artisan cupcakes and light fare throughout the southeastern United States and Texas. This case chronicles the growth and evolution of Café Cupcake. It also considers the specific human resource challenges... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Human Resources; Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

October 2018
Teaching Note

Recipe for Success: Growth and Evolution at Cafe Cupcake (Brief Case)

By: Anthony Mayo and Heather Beckham

Teaching Note for HBS No. 919-509. View Details

January 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Case

Stay Green or Go In-Between? A Sprouting Debate at Life Alive Cafe

By: Michael S. Kaufman and Abi Chen

August 2013 (Revised July 2014)
Case

Coffee Wars in India: Café Coffee Day Takes On the Global Brands

By: David B. Yoffie and Tanya Bijlani

Café Coffee Day (CCD) is contemplating how to respond to the entry of Starbucks into the Indian coffee chain market. The case study describes the emergence of CCD as the leading coffee chain in India, with over 1,400 cafes in India. In early 2013, Starbucks, the... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitors; Competition; Market Entry and Exit; Retail Industry; India

February 2013 (Revised May 2013)
Case

Juan Valdez: Innovation in Caffeination

By: Michael I. Norton and Jeremy Dann

Corporate entrepreneurs attempt to revive Colombia's famous Juan Valdez brand in the age of Starbucks, with café chain and packaged coffee ventures. In the 1970s and 80s, the iconic "Juan Valdez" ingredient brand was the most recognized in the world of coffee. The... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Branding; Global Business; Sales; Marketing; Retailing; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Change; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Brands and Branding; Innovation and Invention

March 1987 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Au Bon Pain: The French Bakery Cafe, The Partner/Manager Program

By: W. Earl Sasser

In recent years, Au Bon Pain (ABP), a chain of upscale French bakeries/sandwich cafes based in Boston, confronted a set of human resource problems endemic to the fast food industry (i.e., a labor shortage which made it difficult to attract and maintain quality crew... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Managerial Roles; Retention; Employees; Performance Improvement; Recruitment; Problems and Challenges; Compensation and Benefits; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Boston