Strategic Consulting

As a fully accredited BCORP business, we are one of the genuine early adopters of the mantra ‘people, planet and profit’.

Sustainability credentials have gone from a nice to have to a necessity. For both consumers and retailers – both expect brands to take full responsibility of their environmental impact.

To reach your sustainability ambitions you need to embed new ways of thinking about – as well as doing – business. One which is focused on improving your impact. This is a fast-moving field with retailers requiring suppliers to adopt new standards in short timelines. Framing your sustainability narrative in a way that is authentic, distinctive and compelling is something we have been helping brands with for many years.

From repositioning your company mission to inspire effective change, to reducing the carbon impact of your supply chain, we can help. Our solutions will empower you to build a business strategy that is not only environmentally proactive but also delivers commercial success.

As a BCorp accredited business HRA are perfectly positioned to assess, evaluate and guide your company towards your eco-goals, wherever you are on your sustainability journey. Whether you are searching for broad, all-encompassing guidance or are aiming for a specific goal, such as an environmental certification (BCorp), we have the tools to help you grow.

We are all about helping you unlock the power of opportunity. When developing a new product or improving an existing one, it is easy to get lost in the weeds, or pursue the wrong idea.

Successful NPD execution relies on product development excellence but is built on a solid foundation of deep consumer insight allied to commercial understanding. Maintaining the right product portfolio that’s both positioned for the future yet maximises the value from existing and legacy markets is a key focus for HRA.

Many lose sight of their number one priority, which is to create a product that consumers want to buy whilst standing out from the crowd. We work hard to give you a solid understanding of who, what, when, how and why your product is needed to stress test thinking and help optimise it’s positioning, pricing and promotional plan.

But to truly succeed in the space you are trying to own, you can’t just stop at the consumer. Will new government legislations impact the success of your product? Or has a competitor tried to enter the space with a similar product but flopped? What did they do wrong and how can you learn from it?

With well-defined processes and practices from over ten years supporting NPD launches and the right dose of market research ingrained into everything we do, HRA Global is perfectly positioned to work with you to unlock the power of new markets, consumers and channels.

One of the most profound impacts of COVID19 has been the headlong move of brands into e-commerce. This involves maximising online sales through traditional multiples, accessing sales via online platforms and also creating bespoke e-commerce sites for selling direct to the consumer.

Building a streamlined and effective eCommerce business is challenging. Structuring it in a way that adds to total sales rather than cannibalises is hard and managing the mix across retailers, platforms and direct to the consumer channels takes time to optimise.

Our approach is to help you drive growth both online and through bricks and mortar retail, with the two channels working together so you become a e-commerce digital category leader, rather than a laggard.

Whatever stage you are in your eCommerce journey we have the knowledge, expertise and passion to help you win in the market.

To succeed in front of a retailer you need to know your shopper and their needs and pain points, the competition and the category performance of the retailer. Buyers value independent and objective category insight and advice and are tuned in closely to the needs of the shopper.

They have likely sat through many, many sales pitches and as they only have limited shelf space you need to quickly and powerfully prove why your product deserves a listing in their store or foodservice outlet. Making your pitch compelling, distinctive and effective is where we shine.

With our access to the most up-to-date market data and industry expertise, we create a thorough category analysis including detailed consumer trends, recent NPD, competitor brand positioning, pricing and performance. This provides you with the platform you need to secure a listing. Establishing the category narrative and anchoring it in the pain points of the shopper but also the commercial sweet spot of the buyer is what we aim for.

Retail buyers will expect you to be fully up-to-speed with price movements, market share, competitors, packaging trends and the latest flavours and formulations. Having this knowledge to hand highlights to the buyer that you are diligent and committed, increasing their confidence in you as a supplier. But it also provides you with essential market insight. This will either help you prove how your product fills a gap in the market, or will highlight where repositioning your product may help it stand out from competitors and also improve the shopper and buyer appeal.

Today’s FMCG landscape is more competitive than ever with high levels of competition, product churn in the category and bold, well-resourced brands. It has never been so important to ensure your brand cuts through the noise and delivers on it’s promises to customers in the most compelling, targeted and relevant way.

Simply having a beautiful brand design isn’t nearly enough. Your customers’ needs should be at the heart of everything you do. Successful brand development, strategy and positioning requires the right mix of creative thinking, commercial expertise and a solid understanding of the commercial reality in the category. Having a strategic mindset and of course, making decisions from a base of solid, actionable insight is key.

Our expertise across Market Research, Strategic Consulting and Commercial Solutions combined with our exclusive focus on the Food and Drink industry means nobody is better placed to develop your Brand and Brand Strategy.

At HRA Global, we are experts in creating impactful, relevant brand propositions with a proven track record of success in the market. From the initial stages of Segmentation, Occasion Mapping, Targeting and Positioning, through developing compelling Value Propositions, all the way to writing your Creative brief, everything we do is founded in insight and market knowledge – and viewed through a commercial lens in order to maximise success and sales.

A number of international clients have trusted HRA Global to manage their merger and acquisition projects over the past decade – whether on the buy or sell side.

Our contacts in the industry and insider knowledge make us the ideal partner for Food and Drink businesses looking to expand via merger or acquisition or divest assets and brands.

With a reputation for discreet and methodical work combined with agility, results and confidentiality, HRA have seen a succession of high-profile M&A projects through to completion in a variety of categories over the last decade.

We’re often called into lead the Commercial Due Dilligence work alongside financial and legal experts as part of a sale or bid team and are flexible, expert and discreet partners.

Adapt, grow and adapt again. Food and drink is alive! Working in Food and drink can sometimes feel like a never-ending race, as once you think you’ve hit the needs of your customer… the space will change, and you’ll need to get back to the drawing board again.

At HRA Global we know better than anyone how fast and flexible a company needs to be to keep up with the constantly evolving FMCG landscape. With trends, politics, consumer demands and many more external and internal factors being so subject to change, businesses need to keep their finger on the pulse to ensure they aren’t left at the back of the commercial pack.

Having in-depth knowledge of the market is vital, but the benefits of this knowledge is limited without the tools to turn it into an action plan you can implement swiftly and effectively.

Whether it’s delivering an action plan and financial targets via conducting Where to Play, How to Win and Size of Prize analyses, or encouraging ideas to flourish via Rapid Proposition Development Testing and Internal Business Workshops, at HRA Global we have the solutions to empower you to harness your own growth.

A go-to-market strategy is a plan that outlines how a company will introduce its products or services to the market and attract customers. For food and drink companies, having a strong go-to-market strategy is essential for success, and this is where working with HRA Global can help.

The first step we would do in developing a go-to-market strategy for you is to conduct thorough market research. This involves analysing the industry, the competition, the target market, and the current trends in the market. We would then help to define the value proposition and messaging that resonates with the target market, alongside recommendations for a competitive pricing strategy.

Let us help you increase your chance of success in the market by using research and consumer feedback to optimise the best go to market strategy for you.