AAK

A ColinKurtis Case Study

Our client AAK USA, the leader in specialty vegetable fats for the chocolate and confectionery industries, wanted to build upon their reputation and create a stronger presence in the bakery marketplace.

AAK is a leading provider of value-adding vegetable oils & fats, with a wide range of raw materials, broad process capabilities and expertise within food applications. AAK’s unique co-development approach combines their 140+ years of experience with their customers’ skills and know-how, to create successful results.

IDEAS MADE FROM SCRATCH

The challenges AAK presented were complex and inter-related, just like most real challenges. In our detailed discovery meetings, we discovered many things about AAK’s business, including their strong attributes that benefit customers in a variety of food industries, their strong reputation as a leader in fats and oils-based solutions in chocolate and confectionery, and their desire to establish that same reputation in other industries, like the bakery market. AAK offers a wealth of value-added benefits, but not everyone knew about them. Our strategic plan focused on raising awareness of AAK’s position as a strategic partner that works with customers to create effective, co-developed solutions. The strategic plan was structured to enhance perceptions and awareness level in the bakery sector and to target marketing efforts that strengthen and support throughout the sales life cycle.

FULLY BAKED SOLUTIONS

By doing some co-developing of our own, ColinKurtis was able to create a sound strategic path, a unique brand value proposition to bring the global AAK brand to the North American food and beverage manufacturer market, and prioritized application segments. All that strategy was blended together with our signature creative efforts.

All in all, we and the folks at AAK developed a strategic marketing plan, brand story, ad campaign, media buying and extensive PR efforts, a newly designed trade show booth, booth material (printed collateral and video presentation), a solutions based microsite, collateral and email blasts.

“The ColinKurtis team has become an extension of the AAK team. They have worked hard to learn our business and understand our needs and objectives. Through our collaboration, they have helped us craft a truly integrated marketing plan that we are executing with great results.”

—Leaslie Carr, Marketing Manager, AAK USA

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

All that prep is creating positive results. Mark Becker, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, AAK USA, said, “The team at ColinKurtis has been able to put forth strategies and tactics that are executable, measurable and most importantly that have delivered results.”

The result? “AAK has moved from being the ‘best kept secret in the food ingredient industry’ to being the market leader in value-adding vegetable oil solutions as measured by any number of internal and external key performance indicators,” said Terrence Thomas, President, AAK USA.