Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution

Ray A. Goldberg; Mollie H. Carter

Case | HBS Case Collection | October 1996 (Revised November 1996)

Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution

by Ray A. Goldberg and Mollie H. Carter

Abstract

Boston Beer Co. revolutionized the beer industry by identifying and responding to a new consumer segment. Using the excess capacity in the brewing industry to establish contract brewing arrangements and an extremely capable sales force, the company opened the industry's eyes to the need for high quality product and freshness. The emphasis on unique product development and freshness was a first for the industry.

Keywords: Transformation; Leadership; Product Marketing; Product Development; Production; Quality; Salesforce Management; Segmentation; Food and Beverage Industry;

Format: Print

37 pages

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Citation:

Goldberg, Ray A., and Mollie H. Carter. "Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution." Harvard Business School Case 597-040, October 1996. (Revised November 1996.)

Book | 2018

Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust

Ray A. Goldberg

The global food system is the largest segment of the world's economy. As agribusiness-studies pioneer Ray Goldberg suggests, it is also the largest health system on the planet. And it is changing fast. Its size and importance to human, environmental, and economic health means that no system is viewed with as much suspicion by so many people around the globe. Changing societal expectations and scientific and medical advances have made the drivers of the food system—the world's food citizens—realize they must take more responsibility for society's nutritional needs, economic development, and the health of the environment. Goldberg argues that the traditionally commodity-oriented, bargaining relationship between segments of the food system has become win-win, collaborative, and characterized by public and private partnerships. Those who are responding to society's needs are succeeding; those who are not are losing out. The food system's greatest growth area is the developing world, where millions of small-scale producers, workers, and impoverished consumers need help to become part of the commercial food system. In this book, Ray Goldberg interviews the change makers of today's food system: leaders and constructive critics in government, private industry, nonprofits, and academia who provide a panoramic and in-depth look at a revolution in progress.

Keywords: Food; System; Global Range; Health; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Partners and Partnerships; Public Opinion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry;

Citation:

Goldberg, Ray A. Food Citizenship: Food System Advocates in an Era of Distrust. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018. View Details

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Boston Beer Company: Samuel Adams, Brewmaster Leading a Revolution

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