From Zero to Major Acquistion in 6 Months

The grocery landscape was shifting dramatically. Fresh foods—once confined to store perimeters—were expanding throughout supermarkets, while traditional packaged goods shelf space was shrinking. Fresh produce increasingly appeared wrapped or bagged, and meat packaging was becoming more sophisticated.

Our client, a major packaging company, saw the opportunity but faced a problem: they had zero experience in fresh food packaging. They didn't understand the distribution channels, merchandising requirements, pricing structures, or key market players.

How do you enter a complex market you know nothing about?

We designed a comprehensive two-phase investigation spanning 5 months:

Phase 1: Market Mapping

1. Profiled distribution channels for 100 individual fresh food items from farm to retail
2. Categorized items into 34 distinct packaging groups
3. Identified 31 specific packaging opportunities with detailed descriptions

Phase 2: Opportunity Prioritization

1. Applied fit-attractiveness matrix to rank opportunities
2. Selected 9 highest-potential targets for deep-dive analysis
3. Conducted in-depth interviews with researchers, engineers, packaging buyers, and marketing managers
4. Identified critical pain points and frustrations with current packaging solutions

Culmination: Strategic Direction

1. Performed high-level patent searches
2. Assessed technical feasibility for each opportunity
3. Analyzed development timelines
4. Outlined clear strategic directions and implementation roadmap

Client Feedback: "We got much more than we originally envisioned. They did an outstanding job, delivering everything we wanted and more."

Business Impact: Within 6 months of project completion, the client made a major acquisition of one of the market leaders we identified—demonstrating the immediate strategic value of our research.

Strategic Value:

1. Transformed complete market ignorance into actionable intelligence
2. Provided clear entry strategy with prioritized opportunities
3. Enabled confident, data-driven acquisition decision
4. Accelerated market entry timeline significantly