Issue:
A global food ingredients manufacturer had been given the opportunity to purchase a new secret process for making microwaveable coated food products, such as chicken nuggets or battered vegetables, long considered “the Holy Grail” of fast food

Approach:
TCI undertook a series of structured interviews with catering managers across all potential end use markets, to assess the size of the potential opportunity and the likely premium that such products could sustain, in the course of which it became apparent that the size of the potential opportunity would be extremely high

Outcome:
Despite the attractiveness of the market, TCI’s discussions also unearthed some uncertainties as to the viability of the process itself, and developed a series of key technical questions for the client to address to the potential seller. Subsequent investigations of these issues by the client did not receive adequate answers and the $1 million investment was not made