CHILE

Chile Bevdesur (east)

A major liquor distiller and distributor in South America would like to market Latin American distilled liquor in the United States.  The US liquor market is growing as people have developed a taste for foreign liquors.  The client believes that the success of European distillers has opened the door for other foreign made liquors in the US.  The team will assess the opportunity in the US and develop plans to market brands that expatriate Latinos will recognize and buy. 

This project will interest a variety of students as they develop experience and skills in the alcoholic beverage industry, consumer products marketing and consulting. 

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Market research into the purchasing and consumption habits of target consumers
• Market strategy and tactics for beverage marketing
• Competitive dynamics in the liquor/spirits industry
• Sales and distribution targeting consumers and the trade
• Regulatory parameters governing liquor imports, sales and distribution 
• Financial projections driven by the expansion strategy
• Operational implementation plan

Chile Latinomed (east)

A Latin American health insurance company is interested in offering Latin American expatriates the opportunity to buy supplemental health care insurance for their families in their home countries.  Currently, many Latin American countries provide basic medical care for free to their citizens.  The care ranges in quality at the free clinics.  The best care can be found in the non-public medical facilities and the insurance sold by our client would provide partial or total coverage for superior care.

Our client, through a partnership with an American company, can offer their product in some US states such as Florida and Arizona.  The engagement will address their expansion in this service offering.

This project is suited for students who are interested in financial services, healthcare service businesses and related consulting areas. 

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Competitive analysis
• Branding and marketing a service to ethnic populations
• Market research and segmentation
• Marketing strategy and tactical implementation
• Sales design
• Regulatory issues governing insurance
• Financial projections based on market analyses

Chile Porterwhipple (west)

One of Latin America’s leading wood/pulp manufacturers with sales approximating US$2 billion, offers many different product lines ranging from wood molding for buildings to cardboard for boxes. This returning client would like the GCP to look at its toilet paper product line for US expansion.  The client has an established brand in different parts of Latin America and would like to develop its position in the US.  They believe that many expatriates will recognize and buy their brand as an initial foothold in the US market.

This project will appeal to students who want to learn about consumer products marketing, brand development/deployment and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) consulting.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Market research into consumer purchasing motivations
• Marketing strategy and tactics in a fast moving, highly competitive segment
• Competitive analysis of leading and lesser-known brands
• Understanding channel dynamics and retail buyer interests
• Financial projections driven by the strategic plans

Chile Southerncado (east)

A Latin American Avocado association would like to help its members expand their market outside of South America and enter the US market.  The association’s members are the leaders in their industry.  They are partnering with a major packaging company to determine how they would break into the US market.  They believe that they can penetrate a target population who are familiar and enjoy their product and then leverage early success to go after a broader market.  The GCP team will review management’s decision stage at the time of the engagement to discuss and determine the engagement’s execution path – possibly validating (or refuting) management’s initial outlook, the marketing implementation plan to follow and the market expansion strategy.  One of the critical issues that will drive the engagement is an understanding of the differentiation basis for the goods.  The GCP team will be encouraged to question management’s initial outlook in order to determine the going-in assumptions as has occurred on several successful GCP engagements.

The project is suited for students who are interested in the consumer product, agricultural and packaging fields and related consulting areas.  Although this engagement vision and scope will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Competitive Analysis within an agricultural commodity group
• Branding and marketing a product to ethnic populations to differentiate from other goods
• Market research
• Marketing strategy and tactical implementation
• Sales design
• Regulatory issues governing the import of fruits from Latin America
• Financial projections based on market analyses

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CHINA

China TaiChiBiotec (west)

Tai Chi Biotech is an innovative startup pharmaceutical company based in the suburbs of Shanghai. They have developed a portfolio of opportunities in drug development and drug discovery. These include novel, proprietary molecules based upon traditional Chinese medicines. In addition, they have developed platform technologies which can be used by them and by larger biotech and pharma companies to speed drug development processes. Finally, they are ready to offer high quality, low cost outsourced research to major pharma companies for preclinical development in animal models.

This will be an exciting engagement offering the student teams the opportunity to address many of the critical issues in early stage scientific companies. This client will offer a high degree of access and will be ready to execute on the GCP recommendations. The consulting engagement will include prioritization of the multiple revenue prospects available to the company and then concentration on the execution of the most promising avenue. The team will likely focus on joint venture and partnering opportunities with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, team members who will particularly benefit from this client project will include those interested in:

• Growth issues in early stage medical technology companies
• Partnering relationships between start-ups and established bio-medical firms Contracting and negotiating factors in outsourcing pharmaceutical research and development
• Regulatory considerations in globally distributed biotech and pharma R and D

ChinaTuft (east)

One of China’s leading manufacturers of handmade and machined carpets/rugs has acquired a US brand leader in handmade tufted carpets while building a high-profile Chinese brand in the US.  Within the product portfolio offered by the company, they offer custom-designed, high-end goods sold exclusively through interior designers. The company’s residential and boutique commercial customers include multi-millionaires, exclusive hotels, the White House, the Pentagon, airlines, etc.  The company has recently embarked on a brand enhancing initiative in the US market including showroom upgrades, product diversification, sales force growth, etc.

Based on initial conversations with management, the GCP team will help the company address marketing and operations integration issues, translating marketing priorities into international supply chain improvements (including China and the US).  The CEO is an aggressive, goal oriented professional who will look to both sides of the GCP team (in the US and China) to assist in a very dynamic project environment.  The company’s Board also includes Wharton friend(s) in China who will look at the project’s results in order to understand how the operational improvements translate into financial results.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Service design to support luxury goods marketing
• Marketing and customer needs that drive manufacturing and supply chain goals
• Enhancing service support within low-cost manufacturing
• Manufacturing/Supply chain improve

The project will likely appeal to students interested in high-end luxury goods, arketing/supply chain integration and interior design-driven industries. 

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COLOMBIA

FestivalFoods (east)

The firm is an entrepreneurial commercial enterprise dedicated to the import and export of frozen and refrigerated food products. Three years old and growing, the company operates in the major cities of the country servicing supermarkets, food distributors, fast food companies. Exports include specialty products (plaintain, yucca, creole potatoes) and tropical fruits, and they currently reach markets in Japan and Europe

The project will be suited for students with consumer marketing interests, brand development, food industry dynamics, consulting, financial analysis, and strategy implementation.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Consumer patterns, market analysis, and segmentation
• Channel and value chain analysis
• Competitive assessment
• Regulatory parameters influencing food product import and distribution
• Operational and capacity analysis and planning
• Financial projections and investment analysis

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ISRAEL

Israel IsraeliWonka (east)

One of Israel’s largest food conglomerates, known for the candy, snacks and other foods, manages a large number of brands and is well known for its innovation as it continuously introduces many new products. The company is also well known for introducing new technology while maintaining the long-held values of the founding family that still manages the conglomerate. The company has recently acquired a Mediterranean food manufacturer in the US as part of their global expansion.  The company has a strong brand presence in the food categories and has shown good momentum in building its brand mindshare within US segments.

Given the global trends in ethnic food consumption, the company would like to leverage their recent acquisition and expand in the Mediterranean food segment – which they believe has significant market growth potential.

This project will appeal to students interested in experiencing marketing strategy work for a food company targeting rapid expansion in an ethnic sub-segment. Although this engagement vision and scope will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Marketing strategy and brand-building tactics in a fast moving, highly competitive segment in the food industry
• Competitive analysis of leading and lesser-known brands in the food industry
• Understanding channel dynamics and retail buyer interests
• Financial projections driven by the strategic plans
• Market research into the purchasing and consumption habits of target consumers to be segmented
• Sales and distribution targeting consumers
• Operational implementation plans

Israel ShopSoft (east and west)

This Israeli client is an enterprise software provider for the retail industry. The client is asking us to identify a new vertical segment to enter within the retail industry and also to formulate an entry strategy. The scope of the project is the European and U.S. market.

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PERU

Peru TasteWorld (east)

One of the country’s leading producers of condiments and food products is looking for opportunities to enter the US market with their specialty condiments. The company is noted for its award-winning (Effie Gold Award) launch of a distinctive mayonnaise brand; in just two years, the mayonnaise became the favorite of 51% of polled homemakers (beating out Unilever’s and Nestle’s products).  Building on this and other successes, the company anticipates capitalizing on the market for international tastes and widely varied foods; the Wharton project will provide consumer and market place intelligence to support company decisions.

The project will be suited for students with consumer marketing interests, brand development, food industry dynamics, consulting, financial analysis, and strategy implementation.  In addition to the engagement itself, students interested in brand management will also find the company’s brand launch history particularly enlightening.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Consumer patterns, market analysis, and segmentation
• Channel and value chain analysis
• Competitive assessment
• Regulatory parameters influencing food product import and distribution
• Operational and capacity analysis and planning
• Financial projections and investment analysis

Peru TopCuisine (east)

An enterprising family business in Latin America produces a line of marinades for roasts and gourmet dishes, including a highly popular special recipe for preparing the holiday turkey. In addition, the family runs a cooking school in a country known for its varied and multi-ethnic cuisine. Currently prepared for expansion into international markets, the firm is looking for a comprehensive consultation that will provide input on market positioning, product branding, operational and production implications.

The project will challenge students who are interested in consumer products marketing, brand development and deployment, strategy implementation planning, capacity planning, and entrepreneurial management.

Although the scope and vision of this engagement will be further reviewed and refined by the team based on client discussions, the following areas may need to be addressed:

• Market research and industry profiling
• Competitive analysis
• Assessment of barriers and sustainable advantage
• Customer segmentation analysis
• Branding and marketing strategies
• Operational and capacity analysis and planning
• Venture options

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