Overview
As consumers increasingly seek value in food and beverage on the one hand, and quality and convenience on the other, manufacturers and retailers need to find new avenues to differentiate their offerings, maintain growth and offset competition.
L.E.K. Consulting has completed more than 1,000 engagements in the food and beverage industry, including over 400 engagements in transaction support for private equity firms. L.E.K. is a trusted advisor to leading global food companies across a variety of categories and throughout the food and beverage value chain. Our advisors play a pivotal role in helping food and beverage manufacturers and retailers design and activate strategic programs, capitalize on trends like the Farm to Fork movement, gain loyalty from fickle consumers, pinpoint overlooked and underserved customer segments within a market, pioneer new markets and product categories, improve operational efficiency and optimize trade spend.
COVID-19 Impact on Retail Food and Beverage Part II
At-home food consumption in the U.S. has increased significantly over the past month as foodservice operators across the country have been forced to close or to significantly limit sales.
COVID-19 Impact on the Foodservice Industry Part I
The coronavirus crisis has created disruption of unprecedented scale for the food and beverage industry, and the impact on foodservice and grocery retail could not be more divergent.
COVID-19 in the US: Consumer Insights for Businesses — Edition 1, Part 2
In this update to our recent Consumer Insights Series, we provide new findings about declines in U.S. consumer income and “new normal” spending levels post-outbreak.
COVID-19 in the US: Consumer Insights for Businesses
The coronavirus crisis has thrown us into uncharted economic territory. Still, one thing is certain: Consumer behaviors are changing significantly.
Key questions and challenges
Our experienced professionals have a deep understanding of food and beverage manufacturers’ business challenges in today’s marketplace, and L.E.K. encourages these clients to ask themselves a few key questions:
- How do we segment our consumers in light of evolving consumer eating occasions and needs?
- What is a winning value proposition to delight our customers and consumers?
- How do we determine which new products / channels / services to pursue for growth, or "Where to Play?" How do we develop a successful plan to achieve those growth objectives, or "How to Win?"
- What is our Strategic Market Position (SMP), and how do we leverage our capabilities to enable future growth?
- What is our ecommerce and digital strategy?
- What is our pricing strategy?
- How does our Price Pack Architecture need to evolve to better meet the needs of consumers and retail partners?
- How can we optimize our trade spend in light of everyday low prices (EDLP), evolving channel dynamics and changing consumer sentiment?
- What is our acquisition strategy? What capabilities should we build to more efficiently acquire and integrate companies?
- How should we organize our resources to capitalize on evolving consumer needs and trends?
- How can we drive profitable growth and effectively manage our costs?
Winning in Foodservice
We assist our Food & Beverage clients as they navigate the complex foodservice landscape across restaurant operators, contract managers, broadline distributors, specialty distributors, noncommercial foodservice establishments, foodservice brokers, centralized purchasing groups and others.
