Health & Beauty Retailer Expands Search and Pinpoints New Acquisitions with Scout

This global health and beauty retailer wanted to expand its search capabilities to find developed technologies that it could turn into market-ready consumer products. 

The company established a team to scout for small and undiscovered brands to bring into their portfolio. Though they wanted to search more broadly, the team was given few resources. They primarily relied on Google to research but struggled to find relevant results. Without the proper tools to discover promising startups, the team leveraged their personal networks and regional relationships. Because of this, their work was geographically focused and didn’t support their worldwide view.

Based on the product line needs analysis and the organization’s strategic development goals, the scouting team defined new product areas and markets to explore. Using Wellspring’s Scout for Tech Scouting, they discovered startups, SMEs, university groups, spinouts, and researchers with relevant research activity and technologies. Leveraging Industry Network maps, the team identified the key thought leaders in academia informing the market’s future direction.

Using Wellspring’s Scout for Tech Scouting, the company gained access to a more comprehensive technology ecosystem outside its existing networks. The team created a technology landscape to guide their innovation strategy by collating data from multiple sources. Equipped with new insights, they supported other departments within the global organization, like Business Development, Strategy, and Sourcing. The company identified promising brands and technologies in the Scout tool, adding several new opportunities into the development pipeline.