‍

‍

We are consistently asked this question and getting this right is key to executing a successful strategy. There are three critical steps to finding the right partners and unlocking value from your personalized nutrition ecosystem.

‍

‍

This step requires absolute clarity on what your team can contribute uniquely well to the business model. It can be tempting to own every part of the ecosystem or deliver across many benefit areas. 

‍

For example, in partnering with an ingredient company, we focused on those ingredients that were market-ready and could deliver relevant, highly differentiated, and consumer-sought benefits. Together, we reshaped their model to a specific target consumer and need state. 

‍

‍

Now that you have identified parts of the ecosystem where you can contribute meaningfully. Next, consider which of those capabilities will be most profitable. Sometimes this can come from unexpected sources. 

‍

A company had proprietary bioactives that they expected to generate revenue. Another potentially profitable and unexpected capability came from their discovery process. They had developed an extensive database that could be used to educate consumers on the importance of plant-based bioactives and to support product development, creating a licensable asset. 

‍

‍

No company should expect to deliver every component of their personalized nutrition business model profitably. Develop a list of gaps or remaining capabilities needed to deliver your model. This will become the criteria for partner selection. This approach also has an added benefit – you will develop a clear business model for potential partners to see how their company fits, adds value, and can benefit. We recently helped a company identify and vet six strong potential partners using this process. We shared the business model with each potential partner and 100% were interested in further exploration.