Meridian Consulting Group


	Client Issue:
	A leading provider of spices and extract products had aggressive growth objectives that could not be achieved within the mature categories that it dominated. Their opportunities for growth were limited within the narrow business they had defined.

	Meridian Solution:
	Meridian’s strategy work often begins with a fundamental redefinition of the client’s business. A close examination of “what business you in” from a consumer/shopper and customer/retailer perspective often leads to a broader definition of business and to new business opportunities. Meridian’s work changed the client’s definition of their business from a manufacturing process to a consumer solution of “making meals taste better”, with significant implications for their product portfolio, acquisition strategy, infrastructure and business processes.

	Results:
	In the past three years, the client has experienced consistent and record setting growth as a result of a rethinking of their core product portfolio; branded expansions into “adjacent” categories like condiments and marinades; an aggressive acquisition plan into regional and ethnic foods; a realignment of their marketing organization to be more consumer versus manufacturing focused; a realignment of their sales organization to better focus on the new customer departments where their products are sold; and, a total overhaul of their business planning process to better accommodate a more consumer-centric and customer-centric alignment.