Canada - Door Skins and Candy Mints
Door Skins
Prior to making a $100 million investment in a door skin factory this Canadian company hired CBEX to do deep market research in the United States to justify the investment. CBEX worked across the U.S. in its network meeting with prospective door skin customers 
(door manufacturers) to validate market positioning and opportunity. CBEX facilitated meetings across the U.S. between our client and prospective door skin customers. The market was validated and the plant was built. Subsequent to the research phase of the project CBEX was held under long term (2 year) contract to design, implement, and manage the U.S. program for the client.
Candy Mints
This leading manufacturer of candy mints had tried unsuccessfully to 
penetrate the U.S. market. They made several trips to the U.S. to visit distributors and each time returned with marginal, temporary sales. What they had failed to understand was that going direct to distributors was not the accepted protocol to penetrate the market. Through careful analysis and CBEX’s network a strong sustainable market was built in the U.S. The client had failed to uncover the following crucial components to success:
- the re-bagging market was the most effective way to enter the market
- mint texture had to be changed to reflect U.S. tastes
- a packaging system and pricing structure to accommodate bulk shipments had to be developed
- 3-step distribution with an acceptable pricing structure was needed to maintain market position
The company launched a conversational heart program that challenged the category leader NECCO