Case Study 3: Opportunity Assessment
The Brief
A leading international carbohydrates manufacturer needed to decide whether to invest in a major new greenfield production site for a specialist anti-microbial ingredient.
The opportunity rested upon a technological breakthrough which offered the potential for groundbreaking price positioning in the target sector.
Our Approach
Firstly, we assessed market demand in thirteen countries across the Americas, Middle East, Asia, Australasia and Europe. This involved detailed discussions with existing and potential users of anti-microbials in high usage product sectors, including processed cheese and meat.
We then reviewed the competition, focusing on the product offering, market positioning and technology assets across each of these countries. This allowed us to analyse the key issues affecting the customer's business decision, including:
- Market size and segmentation
- Key demand drivers and constraints, such as manufacturing and distribution issues
- Product pricing and profitability
- Customer awareness and perceptions on usage
- Strengths and weaknesses of key competitors
Our Solution
We delivered a thorough, independent evaluation of the business opportunity in question, outlining the attractiveness of a launch into this sector and its critical success factors.
Our core recommendation to defer the proposed investment pending the client's definitive cost and pricing analysis significantly mitigated their risk in the venture.
