Strategic Growth and Partnership Acceleration

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Spinn is a disruptive coffee-tech brand offering a connected ecosystem that includes a proprietary centrifugal-force coffee maker, a curated marketplace for independent roasters, and subscription-based coffee services.  The brand seamlessly integrates hardware, software, and third-party beans into a unified customer experience.

Spinn was entering its next growth phase, requiring new strategic partnerships, capital restructuring, and a clear path for international expansion.

Support the company in forging partnerships with roasters and SDA brands, refinancing the business and exploring international expansion in Europe and Asia.

Identified and approached roaster partners aligned with the values of Spinn and UX model.

Facilitated discussions with leading SDA brands for potential ecosystem collaboration.

Supported the refinement of investment narrative and identified potential investors for refinancing.

Conducted feasibility and Go-To-Market analysis for Europe and Asia expansion, including market entry scenarios, competitive mapping and operational needs.

Enabled strategic conversations with leading SDA and roaster partners, supported investor dialogue for next funding round, and delivered clear Go-To-Market frameworks for future international expansion.

A London-based private equity (PE) fund with over USD 5 bio. in assets under management, focused on growth investments across multiple sectors.

At the time of engagement, the fund had no exposure to the food & beverage sector. The investment committee had prioritized sector diversification, identifying Food & Beverage (F&B) as a one of the areas for expansion.

Support the fund by scouting and evaluating F&B investment opportunities across Europe that align with its growth and diversification strategy.

Conducts a targeted deal-sourcing process, leveraging industry networks and strategic criteria.

Assesses multiple targets across sub-segments of the F&B value chain.

Delivers qualified investment proposals with high relevance to the fund’s portfolio strategy.

Provides sector insights and early-stage due diligence support.

Initiates active discussions with multiple targets, with continued advisory support on deal flow and target assessment.

Alessi is a century-old Italian design brand, renowned for its iconic kitchenware and housewares developed in collaboration with world-class designers and architects.  A certified B Corp, Alessi is committed to sustainability and design-led innovation.

To diversify beyond its traditional categories, Alessi identified premium coffee as a strategic adjacent growth segment.

Develop a category strategy for premium coffee and lead the initiation of growth initiatives, including strategic partnerships and product development.

Co-developed the category strategy for premium coffee with internal stakeholders.

Identified and assessed partnership opportunities aligned with the brand values and design identity of Alessi.

Initiated and led negotiations with shortlisted partners in the coffee and SDA ecosystems.

Defined a product development roadmap, including co-branding principles, design direction and Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy.

Coordinated internal functions (Marketing, R&D, Sales, Legal and Finance) to ensure operational readiness.

Secured key strategic partnerships, successfully extending the reach of Alessi into premium coffee and SDA, enhancing brand relevance and opening new revenue channels.

Development of an international expansion strategy and market entry plan for Switzerland.

Palais des Thés had long considered entering the Swiss market but lacked clarity on the strategic approach, timing, and potential local partners.

Conduct a comprehensive market analysis, identify business opportunities, propose an operating model, and build the foundation for successful market entry.

Researched the Swiss tea market and mapped key competitors and retail dynamics.

Identified and evaluated boutique location opportunities.

Designed a market entry strategy, including business model options and financial projections.

Secured qualified local partner to support operations and brand rollout.

Obtained approval for market entry strategy.

Ensured opening of first Palais des Thés boutiques in Switzerland by 2026.

Lakrids by Bülow is a premium Danish brand celebrated for reinventing liquorice through surprising flavor combinations and multi-sensorial experiences.  The company operates its own boutiques across the Nordics, Germany, Dubai, and other markets, supported by a strong global online presence.

As the brand scaled rapidly from startup to mid-sized international business, customer retention had not yet been a strategic focus which limited long-term loyalty and repeat engagement.

Support the development of a CRM strategy and framework to improve customer retention, deepen brand relationships and align activations with the global brand strategy.

Mapped existing CRM practices and customer lifecycle touchpoints across markets.

Benchmarked best-in-class retention strategies from comparable premium lifestyle brands.

Designed a scalable CRM model, including segmentation logic, loyalty triggers and data integration.

Collaborated with Marketing and Sales teams to align CRM efforts with brand experience and commercial goals.

Delivered a customer retention blueprint adopted across markets, enabling consistent engagement, improved retention KPIs and enhanced data-driven decision-making.

Cailler, founded in 1819 and acquired by Nestlé in 1931, is the world’s oldest chocolate brand and the inventor of modern milk chocolate. The brand operates a visitor center adjacent to its historic factory in Broc, Switzerland.

While Cailler retained strong brand equity, visitor growth had plateaued. Nestlé identified an opportunity to expand the brand through the creation of a chocolate-themed theme park.

Lead the development of the financial concept and investment framework for the theme park, ensuring alignment with brand, profitability goals and operational feasibility.

Assessed current operations, including visitor flow, infrastructure and capacity limits.

Benchmarked comparable food and brand experience destinations and theme parks.

Contributed to design of a full theme park concept, including commercial opportunities, collaboration models and storytelling ideas.

Built a comprehensive financial model, covering investment needs, payback timeline and P&L impact.

Worked in collaboration with Marketing, Sales, Finance and external experience design agencies.

Secured alignment and approval from the Nestlé Executive Board to move forward with the theme park development.

Franke Coffee Systems held a stable #3 market position for several years in a growing, highly competitive market for professional coffee equipment.

Despite overall market growth, Franke Coffee Systems was not gaining share and risked becoming locked into a permanent secondary position.

Redefine and update the global growth strategy with the objective of positioning Franke Coffee Systems as the #1 player in the category (employment).

Mapped current and emerging customer needs in the foodservice segment.

Conducted competitive benchmarking, facilitated expert interviews, and led strategic workshops.

Identified that key growth opportunities lay outside the company’s existing market scope.

Led an executive offsite to realign the strategic roadmap, resulting in expanded scope for M&A and partnerships, redesigned Sales and After-Sales organisations and updated and refined commercial policies.

Achieved the #2 market position by 2023, with a growth rate surpassing the market leader.

Special.T offers an innovative, capsule-based system designed to deliver premium tea at home, combining convenience with high-quality brewing.  The product includes a dedicated machine and a range of capsules tailored to specific tea profiles and brewing parameters.

At concept stage, the brand had no established Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy, and there were questions around consumer readiness, product positioning and commercial viability.

Define in detail the Go-To-Market (GTM) approach and establish a compelling business case (employment).

Built the financial business case, including forecasting, investment modeling and break-even analysis.

Defined the Go-To-Market (GTM) strategy across channels: online, retail and trade.

Led cross-functional alignment between Marketing, R&D, Sales, and others teams.

Launched Special.T across selected European markets as a standalone brand within the Nestlé portfolio, securing consumer engagement in a previously untapped category and internal buy-in.

Nespresso, a global leader in portioned coffee, sought to reignite growth, expand into new markets, and address evolving consumer habits.

Vertuo had no expansion strategy beyond North America.  Its integration into the core business faced internal resistance, and diverse markets demanded localised Go-To-Market (GTM) approaches.

Develop and execute a global deployment strategy for Vertuo, integrate Vertuo into the central organisation of Nespresso, and tailor the global GTM framework to fit regional market needs (employment).

Created a 5-year global deployment roadmap.

Led cross-functional integration efforts, including change management, operations and IT, to embed Vertuo into the core business.

Designed and implemented 25 localised GTM strategies across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Oceania.

Accelerated market rollout from 2 to 12 countries per year.

Reduced global launch costs by 25% via creative and operational synergies.

Vertuo generated 90% of Nespresso's growth and accounted for 20% of revenue within 5 years.

The Nespresso Club, focused primarily on online and call centre channels, lacked depth as a platform for customer engagement and long-term loyalty.

The entry of compatible capsules led to a decline in customer retention, creating risk to brand loyalty and customer lifetime value.

Develop and launch a global customer loyalty concept to improve retention (employment).

Created a new loyalty concept from the ground up, covering branding, IT systems, training, and operational rollout.

Piloted the concept in Austria, the Netherlands and Portugal within 12 months.

Mobilised 120+ employees across functions for design and implementation.

Deployed with success the program across 9 countries, covering more than 4.0 mio. customers.

Improved customer retention by +300 bps within first 12 months.

Increased GDPR consent rates by +500 bps in the first year.

Boosted average customer spend by CHF 7 within 12 months after launch

Global value chain of coffee machines, spanning R&D, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service, generated CHF 750 mio. in sell-out per year.

Not significantly evolved for many years, existing structure was limiting further improvement of profitable growth.

Identify and recommend modifications across the value chain to drive EBITDA (employment).

Conducted a comprehensive review of strategic, operational, and financial dimensions.

Benchmarked the current setup against future business needs.

Facilitated discussions with internal stakeholders and external experts to co-develop actionable solutions.

Improved EBITDA by 200 basis points over two consecutive years, following the implementation of the majority of recommendations.

The Swiss subsidiary was experiencing a marked slowdown in growth, despite its leadership position.

Growth stagnation was primarily due to high household penetration and a saturated market.

Develop a 3-year strategy to boost profitability while maintaining growth around 10% per year (employment).

Aligned business planning with the omni-channel operating model.

Increased investments in the online channel to capture shifting customer behaviour.

Optimised investments and cost structures of boutiques.

Boosted visibility in the trade channel to support sell-out of machines.

Developed an internal communication to ensure alignment and engagement of employees.

Achieved a 700-bps increase in EBITDA over the following 2 years.

Strategic repositioning of Mövenpick Ice Cream to elevate the brand into the super premium segment.

As a challenger in the premium category, Mövenpick was losing distribution, and market presence was under threat in several regions.

Reposition the brand to compete effectively in the faster-growing super premium segment (employment).

Developed a refreshed brand proposition, including brand architecture, new product development, packaging redesign, and enhanced POS visibility.

Launched international communication campaigns to re-activate brand awareness and engagement.

Designed a full PR strategy, incorporating proactive storytelling and crisis communication protocols.

Improved profitability and expanded market presence.

Secured new distribution in Russia, Australia, and Norway, while increasing listings in key markets such as France, Spain, Belgium, and UK.