Case Studies

Strategic Planning for Plant-Based Category Growth

2 minute read

The Client

Dairy and food products company

The Challenge

A multinational food & beverage company was focused on accelerating plant-based category growth to keep up with market and consumer trends.

The company needed to strategize and present a three-year roadmap for plant-based growth for North America but didn’t have the resources to complete it.

The Solution

The company engaged Catena Solutions to assist. We deployed a Strategy Consultant to partner with the Vice President of Marketing to translate the plant-based strategic plan into a roadmap to present to the CEO. Our consultant:

  • Leveraged new consumer segmentation work to uncover opportunities to target dairy switchers or plant-based users/enablers to expand usage
  • Identified specific base-types within the plant-based beverage category to drive hyper focus to accelerate growth
  • Developed initial programming ideas to kickstart consumer and retail activation
  • Developed a full category diagnostic to understand “where to play” and “how to win”
  • Helped build a full storyline on how the plant-based business unit would accelerate growth in the next three years

Because our consultant was a former executive at a similar-sized food and beverage company, their industry knowledge and transferrable skills enabled them to hit the ground running, making an impact on the project right away. The consultant also offered a unique third-party perspective, bringing new ideas and methodologies to the company.

The Benefit

The presentation was successful and well-received by the global CEO. Additionally, the client was able to use our consultant’s presentation as a model for future strategic planning initiatives for their yogurt, coffee creamer, and RTD beverage categories.

For the RTD beverage category specifically, the consultant using the model was able to deliver high-impact planning materials that secured alignment from senior Marketing leadership, enabled strategic clarity across functions, and guided prioritization for long-term investment and brand growth.

Facing any similar challenges? Contact us to discuss how Catena Solutions can help.

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