Project Objective

As part of the Healthcare Management, Design and Strategy masterclass at Columbia Business School, our multidisciplinary team engaged in a project sponsored by Zoetis, the world’s leading animal health company. Zoetis develops vaccines, diagnostics and medicines for pets and farm animals. Together with farmers and the veterinarians who care for cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep and fish, Zoetis works to assure a safe, sustainable global food supply from healthy livestock. As part of our project, we examined the alternative protein market, its impact on the animal health industry, and how Zoetis can continue to support its livestock customers.

 

Solution Approach – Choice structuring, Options

We took a two-pronged approach to address the objectives of this project:

1.        Understand the alternative protein market outlook

a.       Perform primary and secondary research to understand the alternative protein market landscape

b.       Quantify the alternative protein market by category and geography 

c.       Review how market players (including animal protein producers) are currently investing in the alternative protein market

 

2.        Analyze implications for Zoetis and its customers

a.       Determine which market segments are most likely to be impacted by alternative proteins (if any)

b.       Discuss innovations that Zoetis can deploy to support its livestock customers   

 

Recommendation

At the culmination of our project, we presented three takeaways to Zoetis:

        Alternative protein is unlikely to pose a threat to the livestock industry in the near term

o   Plant-based protein currently has the largest share of the alt protein market, trailed by cell-cultured protein and insect-based protein

o   Barriers to alternative protein success include differences in taste, price, and ingredient/macronutrient composition vs. animal protein  

o   Scalability will be a challenge for certain segments of the alternative protein market

        Zoetis should continue to support livestock customers across the continuum of care, including diagnostic tools, vaccines, treatments, and digital solutions 

        We recommend that Zoetis continue to monitor the space for additional developments 

 

Final Thoughts

We learned a lot from our collaboration with Zoetis on this project. We have learned how to manage clients’ expectations and how to answer difficult questions. We have also improved our leadership and project management skills, and we are excited to apply these skills to situations beyond this class.

Contributors: Udaya Malik, Dharmesh K. Thakkar, Christine Wilson, and Xin Yuan