Background: The client's management team had recently concluded an LBO of their division and was gearing up for world-wide commercialization of a new microbiological diagnostic technology promising multi-industry application. While expert in their technology, the management team needed to develop a short term business plan for market and product development, including a global marketing strategy. They also needed to identify a marketing partner in North America to provide resources to effect wide-scale marketing, sales and technical support. The client was planning to concentrate their own resources on the European market. Operating under strict timing and financial constraints, the team needed concrete results, quickly.
Program Objectives
- Establish a focus on one key industry where the prospect of rapid market acceptance was feasible.
- Determine the strongest U.S. and European target markets within the chosen industry.
- Determine direction for technology, product and system design that would maximize sales potential within the target markets.
- Determine marketing and sales strategies within each target market.
- Form commercial relationships with leading end-user companies in target markets who would be strategic customers. Enlist their support, and resources, to assist in efficacy testing and data development needed for submission to regulatory agencies.
- Identify and qualify U.S.-based marketing partners and assist in negotiations.
Methodology and Resources Employed:
Start-up activities involved intensive planning workshops and assignment of responsibilities among all team members. During this part of the process, the food processing industry was validated for its potential to satisfy all business objectives.
The Summit system engaged both customer candidates and alliance partners in parallel to speed development of commercial opportunity, product direction and alliance development. Discovery intelligence was also employed to expand the outreach of the program and further compress time.
The Summit involved participation of 12 leading packaged food producers in the US, represented by their corporate heads of food safety, quality control and quality assurance. Each Panelist represented a category leading company with multiple product areas spanning the breadth of the packaged food ands food service industries. The client's identity remained confidential throughout the process.
The Panel was assembled to provide a deep understanding of customer needs; assess the future of food safety in the North American food Industry; determine those segments which could most benefit from the technology; configure the technology into market-approved system configurations; project ways to grow the technology into new derivatives even more capable of addressing future customer needs.
Summit Panelists included:
- Borden Inc., Dairy and International Foods - Corporate Director of Technology, world's largest producer of dairy and pasta products, also canned seafood, snacks, soups, gravies and other products
- Webb Technical Group, Inc., - Chairman of the Board, a leading microbiological testing organization
- Miller Brewing Company - Process Microbiology Manager, market leader in the U.S. beer industry and member of the Phillip Morris companies
- ABC Research - Executive Vice President, a leading microbiological testing organization, and former head of General Foods Product Safety
- The Perrier Group - Corporate Director, Quality Services, leader in bottled water and beverage products
- Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. - Senior Research Microbiologist, leader in juices, desserts and aseptically processed and packaged products
- Kraft, Inc. - Senior Research Scientist, leader in cheese and other dairy products, prepared foods and complex meals
- General Foods USA - Director, Quality & Product Safety, leader in prepared meals, meats, poultry, fish, canned, frozen and refrigerated products, grain products, fruits and vegetables, other
- The Coca Cola Company - Senior Research Microbiologist, leader in the beverage industry
- Mrs. Paul's Kitchens, Inc./Campbell Soups - Senior Director of Purchasing & Quality, leader in frozen battered and breaded fish
- Armour Food Company - Vice President, Scientific Affairs, leader in fresh and processed meats and poultry
- Westreco, Inc. a division of Stouffers-Nestles - Senior Microbiologist, leader in prepared meals and food supplements for institutional/health care industry distribution
Discovery interviews with Panelists were conducted following the Summit to expand details of technology applications within Panelist companies and to secure interest in technical collaboration with the client. In parallel, market intelligence and Discovery interviews were conducted with partner candidates to screen for sufficient resources, interest and strategic fit.
Results
- North American commercialization of the client's technology was supported.
- 13 market segments were validated; 3 isolated as strong market entry points. Within these, specific functional applications and corresponding performance criteria were determined. Each area offered the potential to satisfy technical and financial criteria set by the client, and competitive advantage for each was determined. All directions were immediately integrated into the client's engineering design and product development departments.
- A marketing strategy was constructed which matched the strengths of the technology with identified customer needs and expectations. The strategy took advantage of the weaknesses of competing systems and established approaches for demonstrating competitive, price/performance advantages.
- Customers in each of the 3 target areas agreed to collaborate with the client in various stages of technical development and testing to dramatically speed time to market and regulatory approvals.
- Over 40 partnering candidates were identified, 15 passed preliminary qualification, 7 were validated for immediate contact.
- Programs were initiated for (1) commercial applications using inside and outside technical resources; (2) design of hardware and software; (3) studies needed for regulatory approvals; (4) sales development with market entry customers; (5) requirements for product literature; and (6) negotiations with prospective marketing partners.
Extras
While the client's initial objectives were to identify target markets for his technology in the U.S. and secure a U.S. marketing partner with whom to commercialize, the program also delivered:
- The potential for short term cash-generating sales to Summit Panelists
- Immediate outside technical assistance required for commercialization &emdash; not originally thought necessary by the client but gladly received once technology development direction and regulatory requirements became clear.
- The Summit
Panel validated the need and provided specific design
specifications for a portable system, not originally planned by
the client, but clearly needed by the market. The client
designed the unit and introduced it at a US trade show within
10 months of the Summit. The reception was positive and sales
began
