Client

Indian Consumer Products Company

Project

U.S. Marketing and Business Development

Executive Summary

The client is a leading branded consumer products manufacturer in India that wishes to launch a program targeting the mainstream retail distribution in the U.S. With steadily growing sales in the U.S. ethnic segment, the client recognized the potential for a successful foray into the U.S. mass market. With limited knowledge of the U.S., the client engaged Navigate International to investigate the opportunity and to develop a strategic roadmap for launching its business in the U.S. mainstream marketplace.

Business Challenge

The client’s distributors in the U.S. are capable importers with strong distribution networks within their local Indian communities. However, the ethnic retail segment is highly fragmented and insulated from mainstream consumers. In order to penetrate the mainstream retail sector, the client recognized the need for outside assistance in addressing the mainstream distribution channel, researching and analyzing consumer tastes and preferences, and to provide professional representation in developing the mainstream channel.

Navigate International was engaged to conduct product acceptance testing, review the performance within the ethnic market, and to develop a strategy for entering the mainstream retail channel.

How Navigate International Helped

Through extensive primary and secondary research, Navigate provided a customer and consumer-driven assessment of the client’s market opportunity and competitive position, including a detailed analysis of the client’s current U.S. distribution capabilities. Drawing upon the expertise of seasoned CPG professionals in the U.S., Navigate developed a market entry strategy for the mainstream market and provided recommendations for optimizing the development strategy for the ethnic market segment.

Navigate provided:

1. A comprehensive business development strategy and project plan for implementation
2. Professional management tools and techniques for evaluating and initiating a new market development program
3. An objective analysis of the distribution capabilities of current partners and recommendations for improving performance in the ethnic segment
4. Warm introductions to new accounts and representation in negotiating customer agreements

Value Delivered

Based on Navigate’s recommendations, the client is in the process of expanding its U.S. distribution network to enter untapped markets representing an immediate two to three times revenue increase over a 6 to 12 month roll-out period. Through the primary research process, Navigate identified prospective new customers with purchase requirements that represent a 100% increase in revenue over the next 12 months.