Branded Foods
Customer & Market Due Diligence of Leading Brand of Refrigerated Plant-based Proteins: Rapidly Establishing Growth Prospects for Check-in Bid
Conducted 1.5-week customer & market due diligence to establish a rapid, early-stage, quick read on the target’s growth prospects in the retail and foodservice channels. Gotham leveraged our significant experience and interviewed grocery category buyers to gather market insights and we leveraged our analytical expertise to decipher market trends and identify and evaluate growth opportunities. Our fact-based view on the market opportunities and the target’s brand positioning got the client excited about the growth prospects and gave them the confidence to deliver an aggressive bid.
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Customer & Market and Operational Due Diligence of Refrigerated Mexican Food Manufacturer: Validating National Expansion Opportunity for a Regional 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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Operational Due Diligence of Family-owned Branded Ethnic Foods Manufacturer: Assessing Operational Scalability to Support Targeted Growth
Built operational performance fact base and cost model for due diligence of an entrepreneurial company. Effort included: first-hand observation of operations, management interviews, data collection and synthesis, equipment condition and capex requirement assessment, food safety review, and interviews with potential co-packers. Established that: the existing plant can meet the buyer's target of growing the business 2-3X current volume; identified 5-6 viable and interested co-packers; identified opportunities to reduce cost per case by 16-17.5%; and provided a road map for improving operations. The PE firm is in process of closing the deal.
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Operational Due Diligence Of Family-owned Food, Personal, And Home Care Products Manufacturer: Rapidly Establishing Manufacturing Outsourcing Economics And Requirements
Conducted rapid operational due diligence to establish manufacturing outsourcing economics at a family-owned food, personal care, and home care products manufacturer. Gotham quickly: built a bottom-up view of the target’s cost structure, current product costs, co-pack costs, and organization structure; conducted plant walkthrough and interviewed operations management; and interviewed companies in food and personal care products outsourcing. We established that outsourcing economics are slightly favorable as logistics and G&A would generate sufficient savings to more than offset a slight increase in food manufacturing cost. As our assessment indicated higher costs and risks associated with outsourcing food products, our client successfully pursued a restructured transaction of carving out personal and home care brands and products.
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Customer & Market And Operational Due Diligence Of Leading Processor Of Freeze-Dried Fruits: Rapid Assessment Of Technology, Competitive, Customer Concentration, And Operational Risks
Provided clarity on risks (technology, competitive, customer concentration, and operational), and growth opportunities ahead of bid. Through interviews with 30+ competitors (domestic and import), distributors, equipment suppliers, academic experts, and customers, and extensive secondary research, Gotham established: the applications and advantages/disadvantages of freeze-drying technology; the target’s positioning vs. domestic and international freeze-drying processors in South America, China and Europe; and the stability/growth of its top customers. Gotham’s analysis revealed while the market was growing and the target was well-positioned and poised for growth, it could potentially face increased competitive intensity and margin pressure. Our client accounted for all these risks and tempered growth projections in its model.
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Customer and Market Due Diligence of Regional Specialty Foods Manufacturer: Validating Growth Potential
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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