Increasing Consumer Reach

and Sustainability Value

Jordan Campbell, Jordan Scott, Kristin Voss
DSO 554: Digital Strategies for Sustainability in Global Markets, Spring 2021
 The Team

Jordan Campbell Jordan Scott Kristin Voss

Graduate Certificate in MS, Social Entrepreneurship MBA
Sustainability and Business

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Thank You

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Today’s Agenda

1. Aquaculture Sustainability & BioMar

2. Preliminary Research & Analysis

3. Strategic Direction

4. Case Studies

5. Next Steps

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Aquaculture Sustainability
& BioMar
 Importance of Aquaculture
Seafood is one of the top globally traded
food commodities in the world with a

122%
steadily increasing demand internationally.

Aquaculture is the backbone to seafood

production globally contributing more
seafood for human consumption than wild growth in fish
caught seafood.
consumption
(1990 – 2018)

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Growth in Aquaculture

527%
rise in global
aquaculture since 1990

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Top Importers of
Fish and Fish
Products in Terms
of Value, 2018

Source: AO. 2020. The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2020. In brief. Sustainability in action. Rome.
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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Sustainability in Aquaculture
Sustainable Aquaculture
● Reduces overfishing
● Rebuilds overfished populations
● Is a reliable food supply that has key nutrients
● Can be highly profitable, especially when
there is vertical integration in the value chain

A huge component in aquaculture value chain ONE in FIVE seafood

is fish feed. Fish need food. Sustainable samples in the U.S. are
aquaculture needs a sustainable fish feed that
mislabeled due to fraud
is high quality and nutritious. This is where
BioMar comes in.
or human error.

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 U.S. Consumers & Sustainability
Who is most responsible for the future of the environment?
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Individuals/consumers

Manufacturers/production bodies

National government

Local government

Local communities

International regulatory bodies

Brands/advertising institutions

Influencers/celebrities
Note: United States; July 3 to 10, 2018; 16-64 years; 1,138 respondents, Source: GlobalWebIndex; ID 858237 via Statista

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 A History of Innovation
1960’s-1970’s
2000’S TODAY
Founded in Denmark in 1962, BioMar was
among the first in Europe to start Launches SMARTfeed and Today, BioMar is positioned
production of pellet-style dry feed which is the BioSustain programs. as one of the leading global
less polluting, better performing and much feed suppliers in the
aquaculture industry.
easier to handle.

1980’s-1990’s
With the launch of ECOLINE, BioMar establishes
sustainability as one of the main goals in feed
development in order to minimize adverse
ecological consequences of current and future
aquaculture activity and expansion.
2010’S
BioMar launches ORBIT, a diet specially
developed for farming in recirculating
aquaculture systems. BioMar operates
world's first cargo ship of its type powered
by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Discover App:
Corporate Partnership
Bringing Transparency
to Shoppers

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Life Cycle
Assessment &
Consulting

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 IBM Food Trust:
Storing & Securing
Food System Data in
the Blockchain

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 The Question
How can BioMar expand its sphere of
sustainable influence and build trust
with more stakeholder groups?
Particularly global fish farms and U.S.
consumers.

What role can digital platforms and data

play in furthering this growth and
impact?

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Research & Analysis
 Ecosystem
Influence is limited due to
degree of separation

Markets
Raw Materials
Partners
Processing
Restaurants
Fish
Farms Exports
Consumers

Competitors Imports

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
BioMar's Positioning

"A global leader in aquafeed" "The global leader in sustainable "Provider of food, agriculture, financial,
"#FeedingtheFuture" aquaculture feeds" etc."
"Let's Innovate aquaculture"  "Helping the world"

Produces highly specialized feeds for

Produces large quantities of feed for over 85 species of fish. Produces a wide range of agricultural
over 60 species. Provides consulting services and a products and animal feeds.
digital platform for fish farms.

What the Competition does not have: a sole focus on aquaculture feed, rather than providing feed for other types
of animals. Research and a focus dedicated entirely on aquaculture has made BioMar the leader in
sustainable aquaculture feed.
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 BioMar's Positioning​
More Revenue

More Sustainable
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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Competitive Environment

Vertical
Integration

Raw Material Suppliers Feed Producers Fish Farms

Upstream Downstream

• Leveraging of digital integrations to offer real-time data, target needs, increase growth, and ensure transparency
• Control over processes and quality of feed (typically 50%+ of spending)
• Opportunity to influence a larger portion of supply chain
• Ultimately, offering strong competitive advantage and potential leadership in sustainable innovation

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 BioMar VISOR Model
The VISOR Digital Business Model Framework shows how a company responds to five functional areas and shows the possible
capability and value of new business strategies. Overall showing places the business model can improve and find success.
VALUE
PROPOSITION
Affordable and healthy
fish feed to help with
the creation of
healthier fish and that
significantly reduces
the amount of CO2
caused by farming red
meat products.
INTERFACE
BioMar can be accessed
through their website.
BioMar has an app called
Discover that allows
consumers to be in control
of their decision-making
process when it comes to
fish and promotes
sustainability and
transparency. BioMar has
an online feeding tool for
customers.
Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar
SERVICE PLATFORM
BioMar incorporated their
Infor M3 ERP system in the
cloud as Infor CloudSuite
Food & Beverage. This
system aims to
standardize and
streamline business
processes globally with the
latest digital technologies.
Research & Analysis Strategic Direction
REVENUE/
REWARDS
As a B2B they employ
contract-based sales
with customized
highly-sustainable feed
being the premium
price product. Their
current revenue is $1.8
billion.
ORGANIZING MODEL
As any existing platforms
are internal, there are no
known core processes
used to bring forward.
The company currently
has partnerships
including Sustainable
Fisheries Partnerships
and Sustainable Brands.
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Case Studies Next Steps
 Porter’s 5 Forces
This framework analyzes competition, competitive intensity, the attractiveness (or unattractiveness) of a business, and overall if there is
profitability in the business. It includes the five forces that shape competition.

Competitive Rivalry
Threat of New Entry THREAT OF - Top Competitors: (Employees, Revenue)
Current Feed Companies could opt to purchase farms
NEW ENTRY
-
● Skretting. 3,053. $596 Million.
which would further reduce the need for suppliers.
● Cargill. 150,000. $114.6 Billion.
- High Barriers to Entry due to the amount of competition. - Cargill is privately owned which allows more freedom to make changes.
- Skretting provides feed for 41 more species of fish than BioMar currently
supplies for. (60 and 19 respectively)
Supplier Power - Access to more capital allows for room for possible changes that could
- BioMar solely deals in certified soya be detrimental to the future of BioMar.
and palm products which drastically
decreases the number of places that
can potentially supply them. SUPPLIER COMPETITIVE BUYER
Despite suppliers constantly changing RIVALRY
POWER POWER
-
prices with high volatility the feed
makers still stick with their suppliers
and simply attempt to reflect the
changes in prices to its consumers. Buyer Power 
- Threat of Substitution on the parts of the larger fish farms now
creating their own feed has forced BioMar to yield more to the needs
of its customers which is seen through its concept called best
economic performance which adopts feed formulas to what
Threat of Substitution
customers require.  
- Some of the world’s largest farmers are spending record profits on THREAT
vertical integration into the feed business creating a global stagnant OF - Sizeable number of supplies allows fish farms a wider variety of
global supply with little demand which makes it hard for suppliers to companies to choose from forcing feed makers to give in more to
SUBSTITUTION requests in order to maintain these consumers. 
keep customers.
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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 BioMar STaR Map
Maps the opportunities and challenges that can arise in a company as a result of changes in society, technology, and resources.
It can be critical for finding a sustainable response to a future issue.
Questions to Ask
What to Map How Change Affects BioMar?
and Assumptions to Challenge
Changes in • How do we get more people to care about what • Supplier markets • Increased demand for pink meat over red meat

Society their fish eat?

• How will global/national policy and regulation
changes affect BioMar?
• What social outcomes could come
from consulting services and fish feed?
• How do we get more fish farms to buy BioMar’s fish
feed over alternatives?
•
•
Competition 
Trends in aquaculture
• Increased production and profitably of aquaculture
• Societal pressure for food products that create less CO2
• Policies regarding aquaculture and growing concern for climate change 
• Fish farm and consumer trends • Increased demand for sustainable farming methods

Changes in • Does BioMar have the most up-to-date • Current technological innovations in • Increased transparency of products and services

Tech technology for their digital platforms?
• Is there technology that could make fish feed even
more green?
• Are there ways we can cut costs while improving
sustainability and quality in the production process?
aquaculture
• Competitive differentiation
• New fish feed production techniques
• Competitor’s digital business
platforms
• Total CO2 tons saved and compare it to
competitors
• BioMar is positioned to create more sustainable
solutions in the aquaculture industry
• Increased technology in fish feed would mean higher
growth and  survival rates of farmed fish
• Lower chances of fish with chemicals, parasites, or
diseases

Changes in • What nonrenewable resources is BioMar using the • Price stability • High CO2 from red meat production levels will result in

Resources most during fish feed production? What are the

alternatives to these resources?
•
•
Supply-chain shocks
Company needs
eventual need for more sustainable food sources
• Increased workforce as more people want to work for
• Are there areas in the company that need more • Workforce trends companies like BioMar
employees or expertise? • Increased efficiency at BioMar internally and overall
company growth 23
• Availability of scarce resources, such as phosphorus and
Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction wild fish Case
stocks Studies Next Steps
 Analysis Summary
As we have highlighted in our analysis there is an increasingly competitive environment and dramatically growing interest in end-to-end
sustainable practices. BioMar’s history of leadership in this space offers them a unique opportunity to capitalize on existing expertise
while building out new platforms and partnerships. These strategic moves will be critical to connect BioMar to their interest in consumer
education and expansion of high-quality sustainable aquaculture on a global scale.

Challenges Opportunities
- Market Trends: there are seasons where wild caught fish - Vertical integration could be highly profitable
market will thrive. For example, the peak fishing season for
salmon is June to August and sales for wild salmon drastically - Expansion of fish farming consulting services to acquire
increase. and retain customers

- Consumer Preferences: some consumers will prefer wild
caught fish over the fish farms that BioMar supplies
- Competition: Global leaders, like Skretting and Cargill, also sell
fish feed
- Consumer Awareness: consumers need more education about how
sustainable fish feed affects them
- IBM Food Trust Project and Discover app: has potential
to be popular with fish buyers if it has more simplicity
and made interactive
- Build Brand Awareness: along with the Discover app will
have consumers checking if their fish was fed
sustainability (preferably with BioMar feed)

- Food Safety: much like there have been recalls for meat (e.g. BSE or
mad cow disease), there could be future recalls on farmed fish due
to issues such as mercury poisoning 24

Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 A North Star
These are the guiding decisions and actions a company should take in order to provide itself more opportunities than it previously had. As well as promoting
innovation, challenging current strategies, and improving the business model.

Proposed North Star Goal

Vertically integrate with fish farms, increase
customer engagement with digital tools, reach
more feed customers through consulting and
education programs, and increase brand
recognition in key consumer markets by 2022.

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Strategic Direction
 3 Strategic Growth Options
Buy
Vertically integrate
downstream.
Acquisition offers a strength in
- -
an established and proven firm
- Creating synergies across
entities can be complex
- Potential to capitalize on
existing brand equity
- Complete ownership of data,
IP, and product
Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar
Borrow Build
Create joint ventures. Establish farms and grow
fish directly.
- Invest in aquaculture
Lots of time and money
development with the
needed to build from scratch
potential for equity while
mitigating risk - Caters to the exact needs of
BioMar
- Positioning to drive innovation
downstream using external - Might be too slow to truly
resources compete in the current
market
- Benefit from data, customer
loyalty, and greater consumer
influence
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Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 2 Stakeholder-centric Tracks
Global Fish Farmers U.S. Consumers
- End reporting (LCA) with clear - Awareness and basic education
recommendations to increase ROI
- Guidance for purchasing, ease of use
- Guidance in developing sustainable practices
and achieving certifications
- Increased trust and affinity

- Shared marketing and increased product value

Benefit to BioMar Benefit to BioMar

- Critical insights via industry data to - Stir up passion, create advocates & drive
bolster competitive positioning action in individuals

- Influence and collaboration - Brand and certification awareness

for product development - Increase in shared value, “growing the pie”
- Growth of customer relationships
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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 1 Integrated Approach
Digital Transformation, Education, & Outreach
- Data sharing across partnerships, leverage IoT connectivity of farms
- Expand blockchain partnership with IBM and explore other possible partnerships
- Research automation opportunities for LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), carbon footprinting reports
- Explore dashboard creation for customers, move toward real-time updating
- Formalize consulting offerings to leverage deep expertise in sustainability
- Is there a way streamline certification systems (ACS, GGN, BAP), on the consumer end? Is there a way to
rank customer sustainability on a ladder and help them achieve certification?
- Extend reach through offering Discover Seafood app & Support Your Planet sites
- Acquire or complete consumer research, including interviews, to refine UX/UI
- Consider informal education for consumers: videos, documentary, paid advertising
- Highlight simple ways to ID products, build trust, reduce confusion or misperceptions
- Awareness campaigns could increase value creation for BioMar and partners through pooling resources
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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Case Studies
 From Exhibition
to Global Program

+
wide reach,
good recognition

-
static, lacks clarity

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Certification
Branding

+
clarity of numbering system,
on-product labelling

-
controversy,
lack of transparency

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Open Sourcing

+
industry-wide impact,
extensive recognition

-
not scalable, threat to
competitive advantage

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Ingredient
Branding

+
transformative campaign,
simple, cooperative endeavor

-
costly, pigeonholed

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
 Cooperatives &
Collective Trademarking

+
memorable, amazing job
raising awareness

-
did not translate to sales

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Next Steps
 Project Timeline 

 Industry
General Defining Initial Interim Final
Interviews &
Research Project Strategic Presentation & Recommendations
Further & Report 
& Analysis Scope  Direction Workshop
Research

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Introduction Aquaculture & BioMar Research & Analysis Strategic Direction Case Studies Next Steps
Questions