Food for… thought!

Harvard Business School Professor, Geoffrey Jones, will be visiting Auckland next month to discuss the origins and growth of the food and beauty markets.

Today, the worldwide organic food and drinks market is worth at least $60 billion, and the organic beauty market represents at least a further $7 billion. In a lecture, to be held at the AUT Business School (February 1), professor Jones will take a historical and global look at this phenomenon, discussing: ‘Entrepreneurship in the natural food and beauty industries’.

In his lecture, he will explore how these now substantial categories were created and grown by people who worked for decades as marginal figures in their industries and societies, alternatively dismissed as irrelevant, eccentric, and dangerous.

The professor has extensive experience writing on the evolution of international entrepreneurship and multinational corporations, specialising in consumer products.

Dr Simon Mowatt, AUT Associate Professor of Management, says the lecture will be a great opportunity for business students and professionals to hear from an expert in his field, visiting from the world’s leading business school.

“Professor Jones is a highly respected Fellow of the Academy of International Business and this lecture is sure to be of great interest to a wide audience, including those with an interest in retail markets. With the beauty industry constantly at the forefront of our society and culture today, this lecture will shed some light on how successful entrepreneurs have built up the brands we know today and shaped our perceptions of beauty in the 21st century, as well as providing insights into the key processes of change, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

During his visit to AUT University, Professor Jones will also be collaborating with Dr Simon Mowatt on the New Zealand-based research for a new book, examining the origins and development of ‘green’ business worldwide.