We have added this page to allow you to get some insights into the projects we are dealing with. While each summary is dedicated to a unique problem, you may see something that applies to the reason you are on our site. If not, please do not hesitate to contact us for a no obligation discussion with one of our principals.
When you go viral – Marketing
Recently one of our clients achieved viral status for one of his promotional videos that was posted by Odditymall on their Facebook page and got over 1.2 Million views in 11 days.
This was not an accident however! Our client had been building his relationship with Odditymall for over two years and they had previously given his products exposure on their site and even had posted videos, but nobody expected this.
From our clients perspective, the 1000+ orders came out of left field. While he had inventory, it was not enough. A key supplier had a personal tragedy during that period and that held up the production of additional units resulting in delayed shipments during the critical Holiday period – communication with customers became an instant priority and managed to preserve almost all orders and certainly Goodwill.
Another aspect were inquiries from foreign markets. These inquiries were not just from end-users, but also importers and sporting goods stores. We took responsibility for handling the large foreign inquiries and provided quotations and liaison.
The New Year will show how lasting the foreign business will be, but as of now things are positive.
If you are bank or ice fishing this product may be of interest to you. Here is the link to the clients main site: The Fishing Caddy
Who is sitting in my chair? – Business Plan
Outdoor Recreation Equipment manufacturer needed a complete rework of their business plan after an ownership change. Owner was looking for a working partner with $ 500k as contributing capital. Company had run a successful Indiegogo campaign showing a positive response from their target market. With no funding for the initial order, the company will not be able to fulfill the pledged orders.
Indiegogo when things go wrong
Specialty Food Manufacturer – Lean Manufacturing
Organic and gluten free product manufacturer was overwhelmed by market. We conducted a physical review of their processes, plant and equipment. Our suggestions resulted in an immediate 30% capacity increase without capital expenditure. Created a machinery and personnel plan for going forward.
Entomophagy – Business Plan
Working with several international small businesses that are using insect based protein as a way to differentiate. In addition to protein powders and bars, these companies are creating baked products from insect raw material. Demand in the developed markets is still small, but especially in the US and Canada we have seen an increase in the number of players and in the quality of financing they are able to get. In addition, there has been an increase in interest by capital equipment manufacturers geared to adapting machinery for hygienic processing of the raw material.
Buhler Group’s take on the issue.
Consumer Food Product – Funding
Review of business plan presentation in the consumer packaged foods space for submission to an Accelerator competition with $ 500,000 in grant money available.
If you are a start-up company located in Michigan or willing to relocate there, this is a “must”. 200+ companies competed in 2016. Excellent exposure and very professional.
European Capital Equipment Manufacturer – Market Research
We had to analyze an industry where capacity distribution closely follows a power distribution with the fat end of the tail dominated by seven mostly private companies. The client requested a deep dive into ownership and purchasing policies of the top 50 companies.
Graph 50 largest Whiskey Distillers
International Sourcing – Viability test
Review of business model for importation of raw material from Brazil.
What is that competitor doing on my shelf? – Primary Research
Primary research for foreign CPG company. Required analysis for both competitor and owned products. Data alone does not do it – you have to see it with the human eye to get the nuances.
Pathogen test for food manufacturers – Viability test
Primary research and reworked business model for DNA based food test manufacturer. The client has a truly great product but target customers refuse to buy it. The reason: In a regulated environment such as food, each new test has to be accredited by an International agency before it is accepted for use in HACCP plans by the USDA.
Agricultural Startup – Funding
Analysis, primary research and grant application for vertical hydroponic farm in South America.
Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO)
Restaurant Wars – Social Media where Size does not Matter!
We had been closely involved with a multi-unit restaurant operation that decided on testing a new concept in a rapidly changing NY neighborhood. While limited to Yelp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram the company was forced to wage a multi-front war on Social Media while battling through the start-up problems normal to a new restaurant. Some pointers on how to deal with an attack are at:
Where is the beef? – Business Plan
Business plan for start-up importer of specialty high value food product. Imported from Asia to US and distributed to restaurants and hotels nationwide.
Dealing with a Recall! – Crisis Management
If you are manufacturing food products, odds are that you will face at least one recall during any five year period. More often than not, it is one of your ingredients that is having a recall and you are simply collateral damage. Nevertheless you need to be prepared or you will be out of business.
How much space do you really need? – Primary research
Research project for a client needing to establish a statistical correlation between facility size and service vehicles deployed.
B2B or B2c that is the question!
Distribution Decisions for Food Managers
To be, or not to be? That is the question—