Global industrial packaging manufacturer: Building a data-driven growth strategy

1 min read

Manufacturing

Business & Operating Models

Our client, a leading industrial packaging manufacturer, was struggling to drive growth across its diverse European product and geography portfolio with inconsistent economics and unclear strategic priorities. We conducted a pan-European portfolio review to identify high-value opportunities and define a new commercial strategy. This delivered a clear growth roadmap and $13M in EBITDA improvement initiatives.

Outcome 1: Defined a clear roadmap to deliver $13M in EBITDA improvement across the European business unit
Outcome 2: Identified high-priority growth opportunities across eight countries and seven product categories
Outcome 3: Achieved 9% growth in sales and 8% in EBITDA in the year following implementation

The challenge

The European industrial packaging sector has become increasingly competitive, shaped by fluctuating commodity prices, diverse market structures and rapid changes in end-customer demand across geographies. Our client’s European portfolio reflected multiple countries and product lines, each with its own economics and competitive dynamics.

Variability in market growth, profitability and competitive intensity made it difficult for leadership to identify where to invest and which segments to prioritize. After several years of stagnation within its existing footprint, the business needed a data-driven view of its true market position and a strategic plan to unlock new sources of growth.

Our client was struggling to generate meaningful growth across its current European portfolio. Despite operating in multiple countries and serving varied end markets, leadership lacked a clear understanding of which products, geographies and customer segments held the highest potential. Economic performance varied widely and internal teams were unsure where to focus resources to drive sustainable growth. The business needed a structured market and portfolio assessment that’s grounded in robust data to highlight profit pools, competitive positioning and opportunities for improvement in order to set a repeatable process the leadership team could use going forward.

The approach

We conducted a pan-European portfolio review across eight countries and seven product categories, analysing profit pools, competitive intensity, product economics and growth potential to pinpoint the highest-value opportunities. By assessing value drivers across geography, product and segment, we quantified market headroom, identified competitive strengths and set clear near and long-term growth priorities. For each priority area, we completed deep-dive opportunity assessments, built actionable execution plans and strengthened leadership capabilities to replicate this strategic planning approach across future markets and business units.

The impact

The engagement delivered a clear roadmap to unlock $13M in EBITDA, driven by portfolio optimization, investment in high-growth markets and targeted strategic acquisitions. Following implementation, our client achieved a breakout year, delivering 9% sales growth and 8% EBITDA growth. The structured methodology and tools created during the project equipped senior leaders with a repeatable approach for evaluating future markets and guiding strategic decisions.