Strategy for Marketing of Niche Ingredient
The Client
The North American food division of a Japanese-based highly diversified global operating and trading company with worldwide revenues in excess of $18 billion. The food division offers a broad line of quality ingredients and specialty food products which it sells globally in its retail outlets and is an originator and trader of grains and oilseeds on a global basis.
Opportunity/Challenge
The client’s subsidiary in Japan had the capacity to produce 1,500 metric tons of soy peptides per year, but was only selling 600 metric tons. The subsidiary asked the client for help in finding new markets and customers for soy peptide sales in North America. The client had conducted some research on companies that might be interested in soy peptides but had not been able to break through in the North American. As a result, the client approached HighQuest Partners to conduct a market study on the soy peptide market in the US. The study included:
- The current size of the soy peptide market and the market for competitive products in North America.
- Prices that customers in North America are currently paying for soy peptides vs. competitive products.
- The current size of the markets in North America that are or could buy soy peptides.
- A list of target companies that the client should pursue for soy peptide sales.
- A strategy for selling soy peptides in the North American markets.
Solutions
Through interviews and secondary research, HighQuest Partners was able to size the market for soy peptide sales in North America, determine price points that customers would consider to switch to soy peptides, develop a contact list of 50 companies for the client to approach, and devise a sales strategy for soy peptides in the North American market. The client decided to implement this strategy and is currently conducting clinical tests that will prove the functional attributes and health benefits of soy peptides to the North American market. Once these tests are completed, the client plans on aggressively marketing its soy peptides to health organizations and to customers in the sports and energy drink and energy bar markets.
