Let’s explore the top three challenges in launching novel sustainable solutions or entering new markets, illustrated with real examples from our experience accelerating market entry and reducing risks.
Challenge 1: Understanding who is ready to pay for the new sustainable material?
A supplier developing plant-based resins for paints and coatings faced a tough question: Even as the industry talks about sustainability, who is actually willing to pay for it?
Without clear market signals, they struggled to identify the right applications and justify a premium price.
Outcome: Fast-track validation of value and pricing with real buyers
The supplier chose to adopt an agile, insight-driven approach and, in just 4 months, engaged over 1,300 coating professionals beyond its existing network to test willingness to pay, validate value propositions, and answer the questions about :
- Which segments truly value biobased benefits
- What price premium is acceptable and why
- Where the material could be adopted with minimal disruption
- Which companies are ready to engage in testing, and what are the next steps
Results: Real answers, faster decisions
Instead of relying on assumptions or slow, traditional routes, the supplier gained clear insight into what the market will actually do and prioritized the right applications.
Read the complete case study: How we identified coating applications ready to pay more for biomaterials
Challenge 2: Minimizing the risk of failure with the right market knowledge
A global supplier developed bio-derived ingredients but lacked connections and knowledge in the cosmetic industry. Despite potential as thickeners or stabilizers, the company did not know which segments would value their benefits or what specific unmet needs the market was facing.
Outcome: Validated positioning with real market interest and partners ready to co-develop
Instead of following a slow, conventional go-to-market process, the company took a faster, data-driven approach to:
- Expose the material value attributes to a large, unbiased pool of users (10,000+) across cosmetics formulators to identify the high-potential prospects and their applications,
- Benchmark against synthetic alternatives and refine value propositions for each segment.
- Initiate promising collaborations with 10 qualified companies interested in testing the material.
Results: Actionable insights, clear direction
The supplier was able to validate value, refine its positioning, and prioritize high-impact opportunities.
Read the full case study: Navigating unfamiliar applications and validating interest in bio-derived ingredients in cosmetic applications
Challenge 3: Knowing and identifying who values your material before scaling
A specialty chemical company developed a renewable-content nylon with plans to scale up production within 2–3 years. Initial interest was confirmed in one market segment, but they lacked visibility into broader adoption potential. Difficulty identifying active prospects and their motivations made it hard to keep up with their commercialization schedule.
Outcome: Market exploration with high-volume insight and high-potential connections
The supplier’s team chose a multi-stage engagement model, starting broad to generate a large volume of data, while narrowing in on the most engaged and relevant prospects. This enabled both high-volume insight and high-quality leads in a short timeframe.
- Engagement with 600+ target prospects, a first level of interest analysis by industry, geography, and profile.
- Feedback from 70+ qualified prospects to identify key application patterns and perceived value.
- 25+ deep technical interviews to confirm adoption and technical criteria.
Results: Accelerated scale-up with broad-to-focused market validation
The company identified the most promising segments and clarified the key value drivers. This enabled faster, more confident decisions on where to focus, significantly reducing time and risk.
Read the complete case study: How we helped a nylon producer break market barriers with unbiased customer insights
Do you have all the critical market insights needed to position your product strategically?
Our strategic approach to market positioning, identifying new growth opportunities, and validating product value has consistently helped clients achieve rapid market entry and sustained growth. Let our expertise guide you through these challenges.
