Case Study: Frozen Foods Company. From Imminent Receivership to Strong Profit

The Challenge

This frozen foods company was on the brink of receivership, with losses running at 4% of sales. Although the business had been growing and capturing market share, it was simultaneously accruing unsustainable losses.The company’s bank granted a brief stay of execution — funding a Cogent study as a final attempt to reverse the decline.

Our Approach

Cameron Consultants applied the Cogent methodology to identify the true cost generators in the business. This included a granular analysis of product and customer profitability, as well as profit tracking at key division points within the production process.

The assessment revealed that while certain growth areas were generating strong profits, many others — which were consuming senior management time — were either break-even or loss-making. These areas had been obscuring the company’s real performance picture.

The Solution

We identified substantial variations in the profit impact of sales growth across different product areas. A revised strategic focus was recommended, including:

• Reshaping     the product range
• Refocusing     customer strategy
• Rebalancing     senior management time and priorities
• Enhancing     pricing and operational control, particularly in yield and packaging
• Strengthening     performance management systems

The company implemented a comprehensive transformation programme, targeting profitable growth and organisational realignment.

The Outcome

Within two years:

• Sales     volume increased by 73%
• Sales     value increased by 59%
• Profitability     rose from a 4% loss to a 4% profit (as a percentage of sales)

What began as a last-ditch intervention became a turnaround success story — saving the company, restoring confidence, and re-establishing profitable growth.