MISSION

Support SEABOARD in West Africa in structuring its first insight-led innovation and brand development projects by introducing a practical approach to Consumer & Market Intelligence (CMI), directly aligned with business needs and decision-making.

CONTEXT

Seaboard operates in multiple African countries across two core businesses: human nutrition (flour and wheat-based products) and animal nutrition (feed and concentrates).
While the company had strong operational capabilities and local market reach, it lacked a structured approach to consumer and market understanding. Research initiatives were infrequent, often reactive, and not always connected to clear strategic objectives.

As Seaboard sought to accelerate its B2C innovation and brand strategy, there was a clear opportunity to define a more actionable and cost-efficient approach to market research, without requiring the creation of a centralized CMI department.

OUR APPROACH

We were brought in to support pilot projects in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and the DRC, with the objective of building foundational CMI capabilities while ensuring immediate project relevance.

Key actions included:

• Clarifying business needs through project scoping, hypothesis framing, and knowledge gap analysis

• Designing methodologies focused on cost efficiency, ROI, and decision-usefulness

• Writing research briefs and supporting the selection and evaluation of agencies

• Building internal capability through hands-on support and embedded coaching

• Introducing tools to standardize and scale the research approach

We also developed a Research ROI scoring system and a tiered agency classification, enabling better prioritization of research investments and more efficient agency partnerships.

WHAT WE DELIVERED

✔ Structured research briefs and methodologies for multiple innovation projects across West Africa
✔ A practical, repeatable CMI process tailored to local realities and decision-making workflows
✔ Standardized tools: knowledge gap templates, project classification grids, cost estimation guidelines
✔ A vetted database of research agencies with tier classification and proposal evaluation criteria
✔ Embedded coaching to strengthen local teams’ ability to frame, brief, and activate research

WHAT WE LEARNED

• Start with the decision, not the data: Focusing first on the business question leads to more targeted and actionable research.

• A good brief is half the work: Clear, structured briefs—grounded in strategy—optimize the relevance and ROI of research.

• Empowered teams are more effective: With the right tools and guidance, local teams can confidently manage insight generation without relying on central functions.

• Not every project requires research: A prioritization grid ensures that research is used where it brings the most value—and that it’s right-sized to the decision at hand