Creating a category vision is a vital way for foodservice manufacturers and artisans to achieve strategic growth. It enables businesses to make data-driven decisions and build valuable partnerships with trade partners. In the foodservice industry, we often hear that this is (much) more challenging than in retail. Does this sound familiar? There’s not enough data, the data is unstructured, there are so many channels to consider…?
Given these challenges, we’ve developed a clear step-by-step plan to help you build and implement an effective category vision.
Step 1: Collect data and insights
Developing a category vision starts with gathering relevant data and market insights. This can range from public sources (e.g., CBS or BelStat), segment-specific reports (e.g., Mintel, FSIN, FSA), to specific information from the GROUP7 Professional Community, internal systems, and wholesaler data. It’s crucial to use both quantitative data (sales figures, market share) and qualitative insights (customer feedback, market trends). This gives a clear understanding of the current situation and helps in identifying market opportunities and threats.
Step 2: Engage with trade partners
You can’t develop a category vision in isolation. Engaging trade partners is essential to build buy-in and understand their needs and challenges. This can be done through interviews, workshops, and joint analysis sessions. By collaborating based on shared insights, you can move from being just a supplier to becoming a strategic partner, which significantly increases the chances of commercial success.
Step 3: Identify opportunities and challenges
Use the data you’ve collected and feedback from trade partners to pinpoint key opportunities and challenges. This involves structuring the information and identifying growth opportunities with a sense of urgency. Proven market analysis frameworks and growth strategies help provide a solid foundation on which to build your category vision. Urgency is key, as it outlines the biggest challenges and opportunities for you and your trade partner to grow the category together.
Step 4: Turn opportunities into growth drivers
The next step is to translate opportunities into concrete growth drivers. This means identifying specific actions or strategies that will drive category growth. Focus on the key drivers that apply to the category as a whole, not just your company. The goal is to grow the entire pie, allowing you to grow alongside it. Keep in mind the different channels and the role of wholesalers. These growth drivers form the basis for the further development of the vision.
Step 5: Turn growth drivers into practical ideas
Once growth drivers are established, it’s time to turn them into practical ideas. In this step, develop conceptual ideas for each growth driver, bridging the gap between strategy and execution. These ideas should bring the vision to life with actionable steps that will contribute to category growth.
Step 6: Create a compelling vision document
A category vision needs to be not only strong in content but also presented in an attractive and convincing way. A vision document should be well-structured, so it can be presented in both detailed and concise formats. A visually impactful presentation reinforces the message, and the document should be flexible enough to be used at different levels within your organization and with partners.
Step 7: Implement and execute
The final step is to implement the category vision. Start by embedding the vision within your organization. Sales and marketing teams should work together to make it a living document and drive results. You may also need to consider investments, such as building a business case. Your category vision can be used for product launches, commercial strategy, perfect store execution, content creation, and much more. Continuously monitoring and optimizing results is essential to ensure long-term success.
Conclusion
A well-developed category vision is more than just a plan; it’s a strategic tool that enables you to build valuable partnerships and strengthen your joint market position. By following these seven steps, you can create a successful, data-driven category vision that is both practical and inspiring.
But remember, the market changes, and so does your business. It’s crucial to review your vision critically each year and fully update it every three years!