Case Studies Food

Midway through the recession isn’t an ideal time to start a company, but that didn’t stop Dave Marson and his son Sam Marson, cofounders of Nature’s Bakery. In 2010, in Reno, Nevada, the pair launched Nature’s Bakery, a snack food brand that supports health-conscious living and active lifestyles through better-for-you ingredients and quality nutrition. Today, Nature’s […]

Au Bon Pain (ABP) has set the standard for fast-casual restaurants by focusing on high quality, fresh and flavorful foods and nontraditional urban markets. Since its founding in 1978, the Boston-based company has revolutionized and catalyzed the growth of the bakery and café market segment by focusing on quality, flavor and healthfulness in every sandwich, […]

Ferrero U.S.A. Inc. was established in 1969 to bring the United States distinctive confections, such as the famous Ferrero Rocher® chocolates. For over seven decades the Ferrero Group, founded in Italy and expanded worldwide after World War II, has been overseen by members of the Ferrero family, who infuse all operations with a commitment to innovation, […]

Hamdi Ulukaya grew up in eastern Turkey, where his family was in the farming and dairy manufacturing business. In 1994 he came to the United States as a student, and following graduation he put a lifetime growing up in the industry into opening his first cheese plant. Organizing his brands under the Agro Farma Inc. […]

Whether reading data from the National Coffee Association or merely walking around in public, it’s clear to see the presence of coffee in the United States beverage arena. Forty percent of 18 to 24 year olds and over 50 percent of 25 to 39 year olds will enjoy at least one cup, and on average […]

Many years ago, when Lipton was repackaging its instant soup mixes, it had lots of old inventory and that presented something of a dilemma to the venerable company. Nothing wrong with the older mixes—their shelf lives weren’t about to expire—but Lipton didn’t want its products bearing different labels and competing with each other at grocery […]

The Braswell family has supplied Americans with eggs and animal feed products since 1943. Back then, everything took place in the family’s water-powered mill in Nashville, North Carolina. Over the past 70 years that operation grew into several more locations and companies. All of them fell under the umbrella of Braswell Foods, a vertically integrated […]

In Wynne, Arkansas, the Matthews family, owners and operators of Matthews Ridgeview Farms (MRF), has been growing sweet potatoes for more than a century. The company’s roots in agriculture trace to Samuel Doke Matthews, who started out as a sharecropper, growing cotton in Arkansas. Today, Samuel’s great-great-grandson, Terris Matthews, and his wife, Kim Matthews, run […]

Fourth generation family-owned and –operated Robert Winner Sons Inc. has been providing customers throughout western Ohio for nearly 89 years. Doing business as Winner’s Quality Meat, the company specializes in meat processing, slaughtering and distribution of meat and specialty meat products. The Osgood, Ohio-based company operates several farms, two processing plants and a retail store […]

After more than 120 years in business, Buurma Farms Inc. remains a household name in the agriculture industry. Since the beginning, Buurma Farms has remained a family-owned business and is currently in its fifth generation of the Buurma family. Headquartered in Willard, Ohio, Buurma Farms manages 1,200 acres in both Michigan and Ohio, as well […]