NIZO Food research is a leading company in contract research for better food and health. NIZO is a unique and private independent company with focus on Research & Development for the global food industry. The company was taken over by private equity in 2016 and needed more market focus, better project management and the owners of the company asked me to reduce costs, increase Order Intake, and set out a new strategic direction for the company.

Solution

The vast amount of knowledge in the company was a well-kept secret. Value Propositions were defined for specific market segments and different types of customers, from multi-national to start-up. The COVID-19 epidemic made this even more challenging since all customer and employee contact became remote. A new website and inbound marketing were implemented which acted as a change agent for teams to redefine their added value, define propositions and customer journeys. It proved we could reach significantly more parties through webinars than congresses and trade shows.

Simultaneously the project execution was improved with better delivery to the customer. A cost reduction and better control of expenses made the company better positioned for the future. Order Intake 2020 during COVID improved over 2019, and the cost base was significantly improved.

Contract Research for Food & Health

NIZO’s customers can be large multinationals, lacking specific knowledge, or smaller companies having a specific outsourcing strategy, or startups lacking resources. All choose NIZO for the quality and speed of the research, a multi-skilled team, and excellent project management. NIZO is focusing on the actual big sustainability themes: the protein transition from animal protein to plant-based food; health benefits of food and probiotics, food safety as a condition precedent to supply, and food-grade processing as the final step to be able to scale up.

Role

As CEO I managed the transition at NIZO

Links

Photos

  1. Lab testing
  2. Pilot plant
  3. NIZO Website
  • Strategy
  • Digital Marketing
  • Technology