Management and Supply Chain consulting

Whether you’re a start-up looking to grow or an established business whose sales have stalled, HRA Global is perfectly placed to help. Gaining an external view from experts in the food and drink industry allows you take a step back and gives you a sense of perspective on the issues at hand. Using our knowledge of your business and our wider experience in the food and drink market, we can offer you practical guidance on how to realise positive growth.

A number of international clients have trusted HRA Global to manage their merger and acquisition projects over the past decade. Our contacts in the industry and insider knowledge make us the ideal partner for food and drink businesses looking to expand. With a reputation for methodical work, results and confidentiality, HRA have seen a number of high-profile M&A projects through to completion in a variety of categories.

Conducting due diligence is a central part of our comprehensive M&A methodology. Running a thorough evaluation of potential opportunities helps minimise the risk associated with high level decision making and increases the chance of long-term success. This can include assessing commercial factors such as solidity of current contracts, likely future margin composition, reputation of the brand and quality in the trade and perspectives from current and potential buyers. It can also go further to look at the flexibility of assets, likely NPD pipeline, fit of the assets with consumer trends and strategic position of the business against competition.

Whether you are in the dairy industry or the pet food market, we can help assess your options for onshoring – whether that is finding a contract manufacturer or identifying a vacant factory site. We can analyse the financial implications of the options available to you, taking into account transport costs, raw material costs, investment required and the impact of exchange rates to recommend a strategy for your manufacturing process going forward. This may include splitting your range across a number of contract manufacturers, setting up a Joint Venture, building a new factory or just keeping production where it is. Whatever the recommendations, we can help you see the process through to its ultimate conclusion.

At HRA Global, we know the market and often have a strong working knowledge of potential M&A targets. While no one quite knows how successful a brand will be, our insider knowledge of the industry and our expertise in the food and drink the market means we often have a good idea of which brands are likely to succeed and which are likely to fail. We can use this knowledge to advise on potential targets, taking into account your ultimate business objectives.

Our experience in a broad range of food and drink sectors means we have good contacts within some of the key contract manufacturers in the UK. Whether you’re looking for a manufacturer to fill bottles, pouches, cartons or packets, we can help you find the ideal partner for your needs.

Whether you are an international business looking to onshore to the UK or a brand looking to invest in their own factory, we can help you identify potential factory sites. It is not as simple as finding a vacant site – consideration should be given to planning permission, effluent facilities, grant funding opportunities and transportation access among a variety of other factors. Our experience of factory operations means we can advise you on the ideal site for your requirements.

To truly know the right option for your business, the decision must ultimately come down to cost and efficiency. Our expertise in factory operations means we know what to look for when evaluating options, how to assess feasibility and how to put together accurate cost models. We can work with your in-house finance teams or access our own associates to deliver any technical financial requirements.