Lesaffre
THE SITUATION
A third of the world’s bread is baked with yeast from this French company, the leader in quality yeast. But competitors are catching up, at 80% of the quality for 20% of the cost. Lesaffre wanted to expand into services to hold its lead, and needed to know which services customers would value most.
OUR CONTRIBUTION
We ran a global research project with commercial bakers and the distributors who sometimes played an intermediary role. It began just after the Ukraine war drove up fuel and wheat prices - a baker’s two biggest costs - and many were struggling to stay in business. In-depth interviews across 5 continents showed us global, regional, and national trends and needs. We also inventoried the services offered by Lesaffre’s 50 state-of-the-art baking labs around the world. Together, that let us prioritize the best ways for Lesaffre to empower their customers.
THE BENEFITS
Bakers and distributors needed help keeping their businesses alive - in their operations, not just the baking itself. In regions where transportation took a long time (e.g. Brazil, Argentina), customers needed to extend yeast shelf life. In regions where transportation required a lot of fuel (e.g. the Philippines), they needed to decrease the frequency of trips. In regions where the price of bread was capped (e.g. Morocco), they needed help baking luxury pastries. In China, where baked goods are seen as foreign novelties, they wanted help accelerating product innovation. We showed each Lesaffre regional unit how to be relevant and valuable to its own customers.
DuPont
THE SITUATION
DuPont has many divisions. We worked with the Mobility & Materials and Water Solutions units. Their customers and industries differed, but the problem was the same. DuPont had led by making best-in-class materials that let clients do amazing things. Now the technologies had matured, competitors performed almost as well, and they charged far less. DuPont needed to understand customer needs to shore up loyalty and retention.
OUR CONTRIBUTION
We conducted research down the value chain, to intermediaries and OEMs. In automotive, customers wanted support and advice as the shift from gas to electric created new challenges. In filtration, we learned how the needs and buying behavior of ingredient manufacturers differ from water providers. Those findings shaped DuPont’s service model strategies.
THE BENEFITS
The insights we uncovered helped DuPont make strategic decisions. They sold the Mobility & Materials business in 2022 for $11 billion. Meanwhile, Water Solutions has become one of the strongest growth engines at DuPont.