Our in-depth industry knowledge, deep bench of expertise, and holistic approach provided the insight needed to develop optimal growth strategies.
The Challenge
A private equity client asked ChemQuest to advise on a potential investment opportunity arising from the sale of a privately held mid-cap specialty additive supplier to the beauty/personal care and CASE markets.
We were tasked with assessing the addressable market, market dynamics in several major geographic regions, product portfolio positioning vs. substitute technologies, and determining future growth opportunities in light of competitive dynamics.
Custom, Comprehensive Analyses of Market, Portfolio, and Manufacturing
The scope of this project included four main focus areas: ingredient characteristics; consumer preferences; regulatory environment; and operations, manufacturing, and supply chain.
Ingredient
Characteristics
- Analyzed ingredient properties, multi-functional attributes, and market position
- Conducted voice-of-customer interviews with beauty/personal care and coatings companies
Consumer
Preferences
- Identified preferences and rankings of attributes at different price tiers
- Identified critical decision and purchase criteria for products and substitutes in each end-use segment
Regulatory
Environment
- Evaluated pertinent VOC, “green,” and “eco-labelling” schemes in each end use
- Identified differences by region and state, as well as impact on ability to penetrate market
Operations, Manufacturing, and
Supply Chain
- Modeled price elasticity
- Evaluated service, supply, and distribution of company and competition
The Results
The ChemQuest team used their in-depth industry knowledge to evaluate criteria relative to structural attractiveness, fit, feasibility, and ability to win in light of trends, competitive positioning, and product portfolio. They identified areas to address based on competitive analysis and interviews, as well as needed characteristics for next-gen products in each region vs. the innovation pipeline. Finally, the team recommended specific actions to optimize profitability and spur growth.