December 2023 | Hossein Mahmoud
How to diversify the … Home Care
Business?
Student Number: 4941304
NCOI, Masterclass Business Development
Teacher: Paul Peeters
,How to diversify the Home Care Business?
NCOI, Masterclass, Business Development
Preface
Identifying a New Growth Platform for Diversification in the Homecare application Business Unit
I am Hossein Mahmoud currently working at ... as Global Business Development manager in Home Care Business
application unit. I have been working over last 14 years in chemical industry with last 9 years in business development
role for different business application units. Before joining ..., I was a founder of a company a spin-out from university
project.
As the Global Business Development Manager in ...’s Consumer Care business sector, I have been tasked with
identifying a new growth platform to diversify the homecare business application unit and increase volume demand.
Given the company's transition from a chemical ingredient supplier to a life science company and the recent sale of its
major industrial chemical business, it is crucial to find the right market segment to support the company's future
strategy.
... is a global company with headquarter in UK and with my direct line manager located in Singapore this report is
written in English.
With following the Masterclass Business Development, I was hoping to get new insightful idea’s for evolving my skills
in business development. I would like to thank my teacher Paul Peeters, as this course has truly helped me with new
way of thinking on leadership and business development. I am also very thankful to my direct line manager for the
sponsorship and allowing me to follow this course. Thank you both!
1|Page
,Summary
The objective of this business planning is to identify a new growth platform within the Home Care Business application
unit to have a better diversification in its market position. This paper is written after following Business Development
MBA course at NCOI. The new platform has been identified based on Jansen and Mom method, as described in the
book “ Naar een gezond groei bedrijf in vijf stappen” ( Towards a sustainable business growth in five steps), (Jansen &
Mom, 2021) and on the “Lean start-up method”(Eric Ries, 2013).
The first step has been identifying current company core competencies based on (Ansoff 1965) method and examined
by using the four criteria set by (Barney & Hesterly 2007). The company is a business-to-business (B2B) company
that focuses on creating high-performance ingredients for premium market and with direct delivery to its customers on
global scale.
Hereafter the market landscape in home care and the potential market opportunity has been identified by using
(Euromonitor research 2023). The global market for home care is being influenced by factors beyond hygiene.
Inflation and the rising cost of living are driving innovations around energy management and performance
improvement at lower cost. Consumers' increasing preference for value for money has led to a rise in the popularity of
discounters as a retailing channel. The consumer behaviour towards importance of wellness and digitalization are
other factors influencing the home care market.
The company's core business model is designed to create long-term, sustainable value for its customers. It
differentiates its portfolio by mainly selling ingredients that deliver vital functionality at low inclusion levels. In the h ome
care market, the company offers specialty effects such as botanical extracts, foam control, and odour neutralization
ingredients. Currently the home care business unit has little to no access to discounters in the retailing channel. As it
is expected this market to grow and is also offering higher value product range, it will be important for home care
business unit to establish this distribution channel to private label retail brands.
Home care business unit team can use its strong application customer services lab to offer a complete premium
solution as package rather than selling only ingredients. This can reduce customer product development cycle, while
increase home care business sales. Being first in the market with offering a complete solution and optimising the
distribution network, the company can stay ahead of the competition and develop a sustainable market position .
Currently the Home care business unit implement the Variety -based positioning (Harvard Business Review, Porter,
What is a strategy, 1996) with focusing on the high premium niche market. With expanding its strategy towards a more
Need-based positioning it will help the business to diversify it market segment and explore offering a complete solution
to a particular customer segment. By offering innovative and sustainable ingredients to private label brands, the
company can tap into the growing demand for value-driven products while maintaining its focus on premium niche
markets.
The new platform can help with reducing the cost by increasing the production flexibility. The company will be then
better forward integrated and can better control the ingredient production. Furthermore, as retailers (private label
brand owners) has better access to consumer data and consumer need, the company can get also quicker access to
this data. Some current customers such as indie brands could also be interested in buying a complete formulation.
The new platform will be created within Home Care business unit and therefore, the strategy involves optimizing
existing resources, forming a strategic partnership for production, and testing the market with a Minimum Viable
Product MVP to private label producers.
As ... Home Care does not have production formulation facility and direct distribution channel towards the private label
retain companies, the market strategy could be established through a partnership with an OEM company. There are
many OEM companies present in each region and countries to have a partnership. The OEM partner wi ll benefit from
this partnership for getting exclusivity to produce the product formulations for specific regions/customers. No extra
cost is expected, by using partnership model with exis ting product manufacturers. As partnership with OEM company
is critical success factor this will need to be carefully explored to find the right candidate for partnership .
With implementing and adopting agile development practices it should ensure efficient and iterative development of
the platform (Clausman, sd). An MVP based on probiotic cleaning tablet formulation can be used to go through
feedback loop and to define clear go/no go decisions.
2|Page
, It is advised to create a dedicated winning team of talented individuals who possess the skills and expertise required
to develop and manage the platform. The team should be led by one dedicated person who will champion the project
and lead the dedicated team. The team should be reporting to Home care Global Business director, but should have
full autonomy to strategic decisions and operation.
Furthermore, it is important to remain successful in the future, Jansen and Mom call this “Strengthening the growth
platform” (Jansen & Mom, 2021). A successful company is often ambidextrous, is implementing both exploration and
exploitation.
3|Page
How to diversify the … Home Care
Business?
Student Number: 4941304
NCOI, Masterclass Business Development
Teacher: Paul Peeters
,How to diversify the Home Care Business?
NCOI, Masterclass, Business Development
Preface
Identifying a New Growth Platform for Diversification in the Homecare application Business Unit
I am Hossein Mahmoud currently working at ... as Global Business Development manager in Home Care Business
application unit. I have been working over last 14 years in chemical industry with last 9 years in business development
role for different business application units. Before joining ..., I was a founder of a company a spin-out from university
project.
As the Global Business Development Manager in ...’s Consumer Care business sector, I have been tasked with
identifying a new growth platform to diversify the homecare business application unit and increase volume demand.
Given the company's transition from a chemical ingredient supplier to a life science company and the recent sale of its
major industrial chemical business, it is crucial to find the right market segment to support the company's future
strategy.
... is a global company with headquarter in UK and with my direct line manager located in Singapore this report is
written in English.
With following the Masterclass Business Development, I was hoping to get new insightful idea’s for evolving my skills
in business development. I would like to thank my teacher Paul Peeters, as this course has truly helped me with new
way of thinking on leadership and business development. I am also very thankful to my direct line manager for the
sponsorship and allowing me to follow this course. Thank you both!
1|Page
,Summary
The objective of this business planning is to identify a new growth platform within the Home Care Business application
unit to have a better diversification in its market position. This paper is written after following Business Development
MBA course at NCOI. The new platform has been identified based on Jansen and Mom method, as described in the
book “ Naar een gezond groei bedrijf in vijf stappen” ( Towards a sustainable business growth in five steps), (Jansen &
Mom, 2021) and on the “Lean start-up method”(Eric Ries, 2013).
The first step has been identifying current company core competencies based on (Ansoff 1965) method and examined
by using the four criteria set by (Barney & Hesterly 2007). The company is a business-to-business (B2B) company
that focuses on creating high-performance ingredients for premium market and with direct delivery to its customers on
global scale.
Hereafter the market landscape in home care and the potential market opportunity has been identified by using
(Euromonitor research 2023). The global market for home care is being influenced by factors beyond hygiene.
Inflation and the rising cost of living are driving innovations around energy management and performance
improvement at lower cost. Consumers' increasing preference for value for money has led to a rise in the popularity of
discounters as a retailing channel. The consumer behaviour towards importance of wellness and digitalization are
other factors influencing the home care market.
The company's core business model is designed to create long-term, sustainable value for its customers. It
differentiates its portfolio by mainly selling ingredients that deliver vital functionality at low inclusion levels. In the h ome
care market, the company offers specialty effects such as botanical extracts, foam control, and odour neutralization
ingredients. Currently the home care business unit has little to no access to discounters in the retailing channel. As it
is expected this market to grow and is also offering higher value product range, it will be important for home care
business unit to establish this distribution channel to private label retail brands.
Home care business unit team can use its strong application customer services lab to offer a complete premium
solution as package rather than selling only ingredients. This can reduce customer product development cycle, while
increase home care business sales. Being first in the market with offering a complete solution and optimising the
distribution network, the company can stay ahead of the competition and develop a sustainable market position .
Currently the Home care business unit implement the Variety -based positioning (Harvard Business Review, Porter,
What is a strategy, 1996) with focusing on the high premium niche market. With expanding its strategy towards a more
Need-based positioning it will help the business to diversify it market segment and explore offering a complete solution
to a particular customer segment. By offering innovative and sustainable ingredients to private label brands, the
company can tap into the growing demand for value-driven products while maintaining its focus on premium niche
markets.
The new platform can help with reducing the cost by increasing the production flexibility. The company will be then
better forward integrated and can better control the ingredient production. Furthermore, as retailers (private label
brand owners) has better access to consumer data and consumer need, the company can get also quicker access to
this data. Some current customers such as indie brands could also be interested in buying a complete formulation.
The new platform will be created within Home Care business unit and therefore, the strategy involves optimizing
existing resources, forming a strategic partnership for production, and testing the market with a Minimum Viable
Product MVP to private label producers.
As ... Home Care does not have production formulation facility and direct distribution channel towards the private label
retain companies, the market strategy could be established through a partnership with an OEM company. There are
many OEM companies present in each region and countries to have a partnership. The OEM partner wi ll benefit from
this partnership for getting exclusivity to produce the product formulations for specific regions/customers. No extra
cost is expected, by using partnership model with exis ting product manufacturers. As partnership with OEM company
is critical success factor this will need to be carefully explored to find the right candidate for partnership .
With implementing and adopting agile development practices it should ensure efficient and iterative development of
the platform (Clausman, sd). An MVP based on probiotic cleaning tablet formulation can be used to go through
feedback loop and to define clear go/no go decisions.
2|Page
, It is advised to create a dedicated winning team of talented individuals who possess the skills and expertise required
to develop and manage the platform. The team should be led by one dedicated person who will champion the project
and lead the dedicated team. The team should be reporting to Home care Global Business director, but should have
full autonomy to strategic decisions and operation.
Furthermore, it is important to remain successful in the future, Jansen and Mom call this “Strengthening the growth
platform” (Jansen & Mom, 2021). A successful company is often ambidextrous, is implementing both exploration and
exploitation.
3|Page
