Strategic Opportunity Landscaping:
US Market Entry and D2C Growth Strategy for Harry Brot

The development of a go-to-market strategy for entering the US market through direct-to-consumer distribution.

Food Industry

Strategy, Opportunity Landscaping, Go-to-Market, Digitally Native Vertical Brands (DNVBs)

Challenge

Harry Brot, Germany’s largest bakery manufacturer with revenue of approximately €1.7 billion and a continued market-leading position in the packaged baked goods segment (as of 2024), holds a strong competitive position. The company operates across three core areas: traditional large-scale bakery production, frozen baked goods (Backshop GmbH), and the gastronomy concept Back-Factory.

As high future growth rates are difficult to achieve in the saturated core business alone, a strategy for entering the US market via D2C was commissioned. The objective was to close a supply gap in the US market for premium German bread through “Strategic Opportunity Landscaping” and to place Harry Brot on a sustainable path of digitalization and growth.

Solution

The chosen approach was based on a structured process divided into three consecutive phases:

Changing Market: Systematic analysis of market structures and transformation vectors, particularly in the areas of food and logistics, as well as startup activity.
Pattern Analysis: Examination of market dynamics and success patterns, along with the identification of Harry Brot’s specific strengths (“unfair advantages”).
Growth Opportunities: Aggregation of insights to derive concrete growth pathways.

The strategy was developed through a close collaborative model involving a sounding board of Harry Brot executives to directly integrate internal expertise.

Impact

The central outcome of the project is a well-founded go-to-market strategy that provides Harry Brot with a clear decision-making basis for entering the US market. The work includes detailed market, competitive, and demand analyses, as well as a precise target audience definition and a tailored brand positioning. Beyond pure analysis, concrete growth opportunities were developed, such as building digitally native vertical brands (DNVBs), establishing a logistics platform, or introducing subscription-based business models.

These options were systematically evaluated along the implementation dimensions of “Build, Partner, and Invest” to determine the optimal execution path for each opportunity. The strategy is complemented by a practical implementation roadmap and a dedicated decision framework to facilitate the selection of the most promising paths. In addition, the document provides initial solution approaches for operational logistics challenges and compliance with specific US regulations.