Validating Growth Potential and National Expansion Feasibility at Family-owned Specialty Foods Manufacturer
Conducted Customer and Market Due Diligence to establish/validate that company could support 10+% CAGR growth and expand nationally. Analyzed IRI/Nielsen data, conducted extensive secondary research, built and ran scenario models, conducted field research and customer interviews to establish positioning and outlook of premium product companies overall and the target specifically, as well as feasibility and requirements for growing the brand nationally. Gotham team identified 4 growth levers for the company.
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Establishing Growth Prospects, Margin Risk, CapEx Risk, and Operations Improvement Opportunities at Private Label Canned Food Manufacturer
In sync with the needs of each stage of the deal process, conducted phased customer, market, and operational due diligence, initially focusing on: 1) growth outlook – established the target’s category presence, identified key market trends, and built a model to project category growth; 2) competitive positioning – interviewed 27 PL and category buyers from supermarkets, wholesalers, food service companies, and brokers; and 3) CapEx and operational risk – visited the target’s 3 plants, assessed capacity, and reviewed operational improvement plans. After the client signed the LOI, Gotham conducted: a deep dive assessment of margin risk, using 7-year SKU-level price/margin data and outlook for major input cost drivers; and an in-depth operational diagnostic of material yield, direct labor, and inventory costs.
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Validating National Expansion Opportunity for a Regional Refrigerated Mexican Food Brand
Conducted a 2-phase due diligence to: (1) validate the national expansion opportunity in grocery, (2) validate the growth opportunity in foodservice, and (3) assess operations risks and opportunities. Gotham interviewed ~70 retail and foodservice buyers and surveyed ~4,000 consumers to establish target’s brand positioning and growth opportunity. We also leveraged Nielsen data to build an MSA-level market sizing model to establish a $2B addressable market size. To support national expansion, Gotham established second plant economics and profiled the competitive landscape to identify acquisition candidates. Our operational assessment did not reveal any significant commodity pricing margin risks and, in fact, identified material yeild and labor savings opportunities. These fact-based conclusions gave the client the conviction needed to submit an aggressive bid to win this hotly contested auction.
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Establishing Competitive Positioning And Growth Outlook
Conducted a 2-week customer & market due diligence to establish the FDA supply chain compliance services map/market size, the target’s value proposition/competitive positioning, and growth opportunities through service line expansion. To this end, Gotham: deciphered the complexity and evolution of food safety regulations; conducted interviews with food importers, exporters, and FDA officials; developed a bottom-up market sizing model; and established the competitive landscape of player segment offering U.S. Agent services and new entrants to food safety services. Gotham’s assessment armed our client with a solid understanding of market dynamics/growth outlook and the target’s reputation/competitive positioning, allowing our client to proceed with confidence to aggressively pursue the deal.
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Establishing Brand Positioning and Category Expansion Opportunity
Conducted a 3-week customer & market due diligence to establish the health and growth profile of the target’s current product categories and validate the target’s product category expansion opportunities. To this end, Gotham: analyzed retailer-/SKU-level NielsenIQ data; conducted a survey of over 2,500 consumers; and conducted interviews with key food retailers and distributors. Gotham’s in-depth analysis of the low/no-sugar sweet snacks market, the target’s brand positioning, and the target’s growth opportunities provided our client with the robust, reliable fact base needed to compete aggressively in this hotly-contested auction.
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Establishing Consumption and Shopping Behavior Post-COVID
Conducted 3-week early Phase I customer & market due diligence to: (1) establish the U.S./Canada retail premium dessert market size/consumer trends; (2) establish the U.S./Canada retail in-store bakery (ISB) dynamics; and (3) assess the U.S./Canada foodservice premium dessert market size/dynamics – all with the look to the COVID impact. To this end, Gotham: conducted a consumer panel survey; interviewed retail bakery managers, bakery buyers/category managers, and foodservice dessert buyers; analyzed NielsenIQ data at the product and retailer level; established the business outlook of key retail and foodservice customers; and established the competitive landscape for key dessert suppliers. Our fact-based market and competitive dynamics assessment allowed our client’ deal team to reliably inform its investment committee on the opportunity.
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