Shelf Stable Foods
Customer & Market and Operational Due Diligence of Private Label Canned Food Manufacturer: Establishing Growth Prospects, Margin Risk, CapEx Risk, and Operations Improvement Opportunities
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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Supply Chain Strategy at Global Soup Manufacturer: Refocusing North American Supply Chain for a New Competitive Environment
Created a North American Supply Chain strategy for a multinational soup company which had lost its scale advantages. Built upon a solid understanding of the company's operating strengths, the strategy leveraged collaborative alliances up and down the supply chain to extend the company's control of cans from fabrication to retail, and reduce costs in the entire system by 10-15%.
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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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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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Operational Due Diligence at Family-owned Specialty Foods Company: In A Data-poor Situation, Confirming Operational Readiness to Support Targeted National Growth
Conducted detailed observations of manufacturing operations (evaluating equipment, labor, downtime, changeovers, etc.) and developed bottom-up capacity model to quantify production increases and cost savings. Determined that target’s facility had sufficient capacity to meet 5-year targeted growth projections; identified cost per case savings 15-20% from labor and overhead reductions; found low risk of future operational surprises (e.g., major equipment cap ex requirements, food safety/quality issues, etc.); and provided PE Client with ingoing operational value capture plan. Client moved forward with acquisition and immediately began implementation of Gotham recommended improvement initiatives.
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Manufacturing Operatons Diagnostic at Private Label Nutraceutical Company: Avoiding Need for Capital Investment via Throughput Improvement and Cost Reduction
Identified significant manufacturing capacity available through a variety of key throughput levers, including: reduced number and shortened length of changeovers; reduced frequency and duration of downtime; and increased speed in bottleneck equipment. In addition, identified 35% reduction in direct labor cost. Following our implementation plan, company increased EBITDA by $7MM by the end of the fiscal year and the PE firm successfully sold the company.
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