A major German manufacturer of flavors and fragrances as well as ingredients for cosmetics (DAX group) commissioned the interim manager in early summer 2022 to develop a growth strategy for the "Cosmetic Ingredients" division EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa). In particular, new markets and sales regions for existing products were to be identified. The development of new markets included, for example, the expansion of business into new countries (e.g. in the Middle East and Africa), but also the identification of new attractive applications and attractive customer segments. Inorganic growth, i.e. M&A options, were examined in a separate project.
Identifying ideas for new growth areas in innovation workshops
As project manager, the interim manager led an international core team of 12 sales employees and a "steering committee" consisting of three managers. With this team, he first developed a longlist of almost 15 ideas for the growth strategy in "innovation workshops". The interim manager then worked with the managers to develop specific business plans for the respective markets. After an evaluation, 6 of the growth ideas made it onto the shortlist of priority options.
Intensive management coaching facilitates prompt implementation
The client placed particular emphasis on implementing the selected options as quickly as possible. As the managers in the markets were comparatively inexperienced in implementation, the interim manager provided support with intensive management coaching. This ranged from the allocation of responsibilities and milestone planning to detailed requirements planning and calculations: What will the implementation cost in which year? What resources, machines and production capacities will be required and when? What price can be achieved for which growth segment?
Revenue expectations from growth options significantly higher than expected
As a result, the growth options resulted in cumulative revenue expectations of around €150 million over 5 years. This was significantly more than the client had expected. Based on the positive experience, the company adopted the new format of "innovation workshops" in sales in order to continue to identify potential close to the market and at an early stage in the future. Implementation of the growth options began on schedule at the end of 2022.
