Why the Swiss Matterhorn Matters

Decisions made by Toblerone’s parents company mean that the Swiss chocolate bar will need to shed some of its “Swissness.”

The Difference Between the Best and Worst Airlines

Looking at the Wall Street Journal’s annual scorecard for the best and worst airlines, we see examples of competitive strategies.

Where the Most Trusted Cereal is a Star

With advertisements easy to ignore, food and beverage companies are increasingly using TV product placement as a competitive strategy.

When a Judge Has a Tasty Case

Judges sometimes have tasty decisions when they have to decide what a food name like Mexican or gruyère means.

The Economic Side of a Pringle

During the 1950s, a Procter & Gamble chemist developed a potato chip that would not crumble in the bag. Actually, there never was a bag and regulators said it was not a potato chip. It was called Pringles. Pringles History…

How Tiger Woods Helped Nike Sell Golf Balls

At $20 million a year for 30 years, a sports marketing expert said Hideki Matsuyama could “unlock $600 million in endorsements” because of yesterday’s Masters win at Augusta National. It’s all about the hats and the shirts. Let’s take a…

Learn With Elaine: A Bucatini Mystery

The product differentiation that led everyone to love bucatini also created a mystery when it disappeared from supermarket shelves.

Why Our Root Beer Needs a New Label

A&W Root Beer tells us that it’s made with Aged Vanilla: Not necessarily. Real and Artificial Vanilla Flavor Our story starts in Madagascar where 80 percent of the world’s vanilla is produced. Growing up tree trunks, vanilla is a labor-intensive…

The Mystery of the Missing Bucatini

Our story starts when a journalist named Rachel gets a call from her mom. The mother is distressed because her supermarket has stopped selling De Cecco bucatini. Even on Amazon, there is none: But it gets worse from here. A…

How to Develop a New Apple

Like iPhones and iPads, Cosmic Crisp apples were developed and tested and patented by scientists during many years of research.