How a consumer health company built a science-based endorsement platform with academic institutions, and why the relationship model mattered more than the partner.
50%of the business, from the brand built on the platform
01 · Context
A consumer health company was building a mobility range on ingredients anyone could sell.
The range covered joint, back and bone care. The organisation knew how to run product partnerships but had never built a relationship with academic institutions, and it needed a reason to believe that competitors could not copy.
3regions screened: Europe, Asia, North America and Australia
7countries covered by expert and institution interviews
5screening criteria for every candidate
02 · Key conclusion
The briefFind the best academic partner.What we foundChoose the relationship model first; the partner follows.
With commodity active ingredients, credibility had to come from science rather than consumer insight. The real choice was between a research grant with published output and a sponsorship with proprietary content.
03 · Actions
Four moves to a final list.
Stage 1
Global long list of conventional and alternative-medicine institutions.
Stages 1–2
Expert and institution interviews in seven countries.
Stage 2
Five screening criteria, scoring and ranking of the leading candidates.
Stage 2
Two relationship models compared: research grant against sponsorship.
04 · Transformation
From 37 institutions to a final list of five.
Openness to working with an OTC brand scored high for most candidates, so it was dropped as a differentiator.
5academic institutions · from 37
05 · Result
Within three years, the brand built on the platform was half of the business.
Science gave the brand a reason to believe that competitors could not match with insight-led claims. The model stayed unique in the category for three to four years before competitors copied it. The business was later acquired by a larger competitor.
50%of the business from the new brand within three years
3–4 yearsas the only science-led endorsement model in the category
37 → 5institutions screened to a final list
From the working deck
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