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