Source: The Valen Group

The number of obese Americans has more than doubled over the past two decades. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two thirds of all Americans are overweight, and the number of states with more than 20% of their population defined as obese has more than tripled over the last five years. This obesity epidemic has fueled mounting public concern and created regulatory and Wall Street pressures on food and beverage companies to make a stance on the issue. At the same time as consumers become more aware and interested in eating healthy, significant growth opportunities are taking shape in the health & wellness food market, which can best be exploited by companies that are well organized around this space. In the face of these issues, obesity is not a trend that will fade away; it is based upon two decades of momentum. Food company executives will have to take a stance.

Indulgent food brands are faced with issues of brand relevance in the eyes of an increasingly health conscious consumer base. They need to develop a portfolio strategy with offerings to this consumer base and reconcile how to keep their brands or portfolio of brands relevant in the face of changing consumer attitudes. Those who act first and embrace opportunities for growth in emerging segments will be rewarded handsomely and be positioned well in the long-run.

Valen Group Growth Strategy

The Valen group works with Fortune 500 food & beverage companies and leading food service operators to develop and implement growth strategies within the health & wellness market. Our Growth Strategy program helps executives identify and size attractive opportunities in the health & wellness food market early enough to capture their mainstream potential. If the strategy dictates a company should leverage their existing brands in the health and wellness market, our growth strategy methodology can provide an assessment of brand extendibility and help them carve out a competitive market positioning.

If the strategy calls for developing brands or products in the health and wellness market, our Innovation-Based Growth Strategy will accelerate the garnering of distinctive market insights and generate an idea pipeline to develop winning products and brands that meld nutrition with good taste and convenience and that fit with their core product positioning.

If the strategic conclusion is to leverage capabilities of others in order to enter this space because the competency gap is too wide to “go-it-alone,” a New Business Development Alliances engagement will provide access to new health food platforms, brands and technologies to effectively compete.

Why the Valen Group

We have had extensive experience in positioning Fortune 500 food companies to better compete with this growing consumer segment within mainstream distribution outlets.

•  Developed strategy for a leading Fortune 100 food manufacturer to access growth inhealth & wellness market segments. Identified leading market entry opportunity and sized market potential

•  Developed a strategic alliance between a major food manufacturer and a specialty healthful food company to enable new channel and product growth through leveraging complementing competencies

•  Our consultants possess practical experience in launching diet food and beverage offerings within Fortune 100 corporations