Voice of Customer (VoC)
Market readiness for a sustainable chemical
Client overview
A large European company active within sustainable chemical production wanted Strategic Allies Ltd (SAL) to assess commercial interest in a novel sustainable product. They had developed an innovative process to synthesise a widely used inorganic chemical using captured CO2 as a feedstock. Lab trials had been successful, but prior to scaling to pilot production the client wanted to engage with potential customers and key opinion leaders (KOLs) to gauge interest in this product.
Sustainable chemical production is an extremely hot topic, but to offset the high cost of scaling these processes, high market demand is essential. The project was designed to determine whether pilot scaling was appropriate at this time. They were also keen to understand what other sustainable materials or properties are of interest within these markets and could be potentially explored by the company in the future.
The search
Initial secondary research highlighted key industries where the chemical was currently being used. These included coatings, construction, automotive, plastics, FMCG, paper, adhesives and tyres. Potential customers were identified and interviewed to gauge market readiness and interest.
It was also important to ascertain what would ‘need to be true’ for companies to consider trialling / adoption (in terms of price, functionality, availability, data provision etc.). The views of customers more likely to value the improved sustainability credentials of the client’s product were of particular interest.
In total, SAL engaged with 20 commentators from 8 different industries over the course of the project, many sourced from SAL’s extensive network of industry experts. To further enrich the landscape, SAL also profiled other chemical suppliers offering similar products to help validate the client’s market positioning and USP (Unique Selling Proposition). The project was delivered in 3 months, and findings were detailed in a PPT report highlighting key learnings, and providing clear recommendations and tangible next steps to support their market access strategy.
“…very good project”
Outcome
SAL presented their key findings and recommendations and the intelligence directly influenced the client’s decision as to whether to scale up production.
The client was impressed with the level of detail and clarity of findings and expressed interest in engaging with SAL on similar projects in the future