Fresh & Refrigerated 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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Sales Optimization At Foodservice Fresh Produce Distributor: Assessing Salesforce Effectiveness and Developing A Commercial Operations Turnaround Plan
Conducted a 6-week commercial assessment for an entrepreneurial regional foodservice fresh produce distributor recently acquired by a PE firm, with the objectives of diagnosing financial underperformance and designing a commercial operations turnaround plan. To this end, Gotham: conducted a robust customer attrition analysis; interviewed salesforce and customers; mapped and assessed current processes; and reviewed performance measurement tools and KPIs. Gotham identified customer attrition drivers, sales process gaps, and organizational challenges, and redesigned the sales model to a hunter-maintainer structure with inside sales and improved service coordination. New KPIs, reporting dashboards, and a structured meeting cadence were implemented, unlocking 6–8% revenue and 10–12% EBITDA improvement opportunities.
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Customer & Market Due Diligence of Retail Damage Prevention Product Manufacturer: Establishing Growth Outlook and Competitive Positioning
Conducted a 3-week customer & market due diligence to: (1) establish growth outlook of the target’s market and products; (2) establish target’s competitive positioning; and (3) validate target’s pipeline and growth projections. The effort included: 90+ interviews with customers and influencers; extensive market research to establish retail channel trends, strategy, retailer location dynamics, and risk; profile of major competitors’ product portfolio and positioning; and bottom-up market sizing model by product segment, spend type, and channel. Gotham’s comprehensive, fact-based assessment indicated that despite the increasingly challenging brick and mortar retail environment, the asset damage prevention product market continues to be robust. Furthermore, the target has strong positions by product and channel, enhanced by strong customer relationships and long-term contracts. As a result, our client felt confident to move forward and closed the transaction successfully.
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Operational Due Diligence of Premium Fresh and Frozen Food Manufacturer: Rapidly Pinning Down Capacity/CAPEX Situation in Support of 2nd Round Bid
Built a robust plant and equipment profile and comprehensive capacity model to provide client with understanding of true capacity picture in support of valuation assumptions for target in competitive bid process. Determined target could achieve ~3X stated capacity through minimal CAPEX; established 10% in quick-win cost savings available in labor, material, and overhead; and provided client with preliminary growth strategy utilizing co-packers, including targeted list of 9 potential co-packers interested in potential strategic alliance. Client moved forward with a more competitive bid based on Gotham’s capacity assessment.
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Distribution Cost Reduction at National Seafood Company: Cleaning Up Distribution as a First Step in Establishing a Growth-supporting Distribution Platform
Conducted a diagnostic to reduce distribution costs as a part of an effort to integrate the distribution systems of two companies by identifying and sizing cost levers with savings benefits (quick hits, process changes, and cultural changes). Targeted cost savings of $1.5 to 2MM on a base of $7MM, of which $1MM are estimated to be achieved by quick hits alone.
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