Unlocking brands through category growth

Top performers are transforming their growth strategies. They excel at ‘category’ using this to navigate the path to sustained growth, successfully reduce complexity and as the context for aligned engagement with internal and external stakeholders. At Quantic we believe that category is a powerful catalyst for supplier and customer responsible growth.

Captivate, connect, collaborate

In a world where everything is changing, some things remain constant. The consumer and shopper remain at the core of a winning business. But both are changing. Shifts in consumers and consumption behaviour is creating continuous challenges for all types of retailer and suppliers.

In our experience these continuous shifts create opportunities. Following and anticipating consumer behaviour to reset the market (where to play), models and mechanics of execution (how to win) is at the heart of our category offer.

‘Category’ has different interpretations. At Quantic we split ‘category’ into three ‘solutions’:

  • category growth strategies
  • category based selling
  • category management.

All three interpretations of category are entirely valid. Category management can exist totally independently of a category growth strategy.

The over-arching context provided by a full category growth strategy provides the greatest internal ‘connections’ against which to align an organisation and gains greatest credibility externally with customers.

26.4%

Total shareholder value delivered over five years by organisations with a focused category strategy vs. 12.8% for those with a diversified brand led portfolio. (Bain)

Rethink brand growth through a category lens
Embrace changing behaviours

Categories need to constantly evolve to stay relevant.

Adopting a category based selling approach will allow you to better meet the needs of consumers and shoppers, showing customers how to secure their spend. Customers favour category focused suppliers who deliver a four times win (consumer, shopper, customer, supplier).

Turn data to insight

Put the excesses of what you have to good use.

Suppliers and customers are overwhelmed with data but category is a way to use what’s available, reframe what’s needed and eliminate the surplus. Retailers place greatest value on the data they generate, own and use as a revenue stream so it should be incorporated through all three category solutions.

An internally shared agenda

Come together around a consumer and shopper-based strategy.

Great category strategy has immediate impact. It’s intuitive to understand because it’s relatable and that unleashes the potential of teams, accelerating every action they take.

Connect with customers

Unlike brands, category is a shared interest.

Customers are more likely to work with suppliers who take time to understand their business, their shoppers and how they are performing within their category. If you show them a way to build their category, growth or profit, based on fact and insight you create mutual competitive advantage.

An evolving role for category management

Category efficiency is a powerful commercial currency.

Category management done well goes beyond revenue benefits. Working in collaboration with a supplier, a food and beverage distributor raised margins by 10% while reducing inefficient SKUs by 50%.

An improvement in category portfolio that reduces cost of goods by 1% raises EBITDA by an average of more than 18%.

(McKinsey)

Influence the point of purchase

Without a ‘picture of success’ there’s no reference of what good looks like.

Most advanced customers use predictive analytics, sometimes powered by AI, to generate automated recommendations on range and space. In the absence of any other perspectives shared with a customer, a supplier’s presence at the point of purchase will be shaped for them.

Coexist with private-label

Establish a clear role that customers can get behind.

Mapping the full category portfolio against the drivers can enable suppliers to navigate retailers to harness private-label as a lever for category growth whilst maximising the role and growth of brands. Private-label integration done well is a powerful tool.

Test and learn

Embrace opportunities presented by customers from category conversations.

If 73% of opportunities proposed to retailers fail to make it to instore execution it’s critical to be part of the 27%. Showing the route to value creation opens opportunities for experimentation by brands with the support of customers.

Our approach
Our approach

We work with clients to identify growth strategies and commercialise them:

Category Growth Strategies

Challenge the current category boundaries based on consumer insight and foresight.

Identification of the category problems to be solved.

Reframe category segmentation to reflect the changes in category buying behaviour being targeted.

Determine the responsible category growth opportunities and filter to capture quantified category growth drivers. Support with activation platforms.

Develop the supplier’s strategic imperatives.

Brand and portfolio mapping to reveal:

  • innovation, renovation and deletion opportunities
  • the brand relevance of category activation platforms to strengthen the current core.

Brand architecture development to determine the roadmap to growth set against relevant category drivers.

Lead high impact innovation sprints to create and test concepts.

Category Based Selling

Build in-house capability across relevant functions to create category-based selling stories that are objective consumer and/or shopper truths used to help engage customers in:

  • the full category strategy
  • initiatives or activities.

Facilitation of supplier-customer working sessions to co-create long term joint category business plans.

Category Management

Develop a repeatable process to manage the point of purchase in all channels (on and offline) with a focus on range, merchandising, promotions, pricing, and shopper marketing.

Integrate RGM findings to optimise returns from available space.

Engaging supply chain partners in joint category plans to connect range recommendations to inventory management that optimise efficiency.

Example project
Consumer electronics became category-powered
Reversing brand share decline by taking a category approach
Problem

The client, a global brand leader was experiencing a long stream of unsuccessful new product introductions. This was accompanied by market share decline in major markets and declining Advantage Survey scores.

Approach

A central, cross functional commercial team were guided through the category strategy process. The key strategic outputs of category growth drivers, Activation platforms and strategic imperatives were all identified. The growth drivers created the context for portfolio mapping across the category and the client’s brands. This created a strong and meaningful brand and product portfolio strategy rooted in consumers needs. 30 markets were then engaged to adapt and adopt the strategy based on the relevance to their local realities.

Outcome
  • A clearly defined innovation and renovation pipeline aligned from the centre.
  • Greater portfolio consistency across markets maximising central ATL messaging and support.
  • Improved customer engagement.
  • Share growth in key markets.
  • Top box advantage survey scores against consumer marketing and category criteria in targeted markets.
Working with Quantic we’ve invested the time to build a coherent strategy for the category, both offline and online. It’s given confidence to us and our trade customers that we are serious about delivering transformation. It’s helped us protect business at times of challenge. We know from experience, when faced with macro space or inflationary pressures, that taking the time to show both parties are working towards the same category goals can help retailers rebalance decisions, basing them as much on future opportunities as on simply achieving short-term targets.

UK Marketing Director

I wanted to say a big thank you for all your wisdom, guidance and great camaraderie in the recent strategy project – I learned such a lot from your approach, and have been really inspired by the process. It has been especially exciting thinking of what might be possible with a truly open mind. Beyond that, I feel you are two smashing people who made things plenty of fun!

Innovation VP, Global

I have really seen the power of category strategy for both suppliers and retailers.

UK Grocery Category Director

The working sessions to share strategies, really explore what the Category Strategy means for us as a major OOH F&B business serving millions of meals and drinks, and then co-create solutions where we can partner over 2-3 years has been a game-changer. Thank you.

Marketing Director, OOH

At the beginning of this year, we never would have dared to dream that category vision would already be so well integrated throughout the entire organisation. Two weeks ago, we had our national kick-off event where category vision was the starting point on the day’s agenda. It was a recurring theme in nearly every presentation (brand, sustainability, RGM, and digital plans).

Commercial Development Director, Netherlands

Quantic has helped us not only in developing a new category vision but also in ensuring everyone in the organisation understands what a category vision is and how we use it to shape our own plans.

Senior Category Manager, Netherlands

Demand Creator clients

Our offers

Demand Creator
Creating brand growth by better meeting the needs of consumers through the development of a category growth strategy and execution via category-based selling and category management.
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Shopper Influencer
Developing organisational behaviour to bring the shopper in focus through building strategies and capabilities that close the shopper conversion gap for categories and/or brands across different missions and channels.
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Customer Engager
Building stronger customer relationships to broaden and deepen conversations about mutual value creation through customer intimacy, planning and engagement.
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Profit Generator
Supporting clients through capability or analysis to proactively manage their portfolio across channels and customers creating optimum value and/or profitability.
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Sustainability Integrator
Helping brands to authentically integrate sustainability across their value chain and build capability to engage customers in sustainability conversations.
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Capability Builder
Creating change across commercial functions in what people do and how they do it so that capability drives sustained business and personal growth.
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ACCELERATE BRAND GROWTH
Unlock category growth by aligning with consumer needs and building a strategy that delivers impact.
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