Navigator Consulting began a commercial due diligence study for a $ 10 million investment in ice cream and frozen fruit production in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan, located at the strategic crossroads of Central Asia with a population of 30 million, has an extensive fruit and vegetable production capacity. Characterised by large fertile land areas and extensive irrigation capacity, Uzbekistan has produced fruits and vegetables in regions known for their fertility, such as the Fergana Valley, Samarkand or Tashkent.
A key issue is frozen storage and processing. The large majority of produce is sold fresh. The investment thesis we have been asked to review is whether long-term freezing and processing into convenience food is a viable prospect.
Our client is a leading FMCG producer with offices and a distribution network across the country. Our responsibilities are to:
Assess current production, availability, quality and seasonality of fruit and vegetable production;
Develop a financial and operational model and business plan for (a) freezing and (b) processing of fruits and vegetables;
Assess different capex scenarios for the production facility and production chain;
Interview supermarkets, HORECA customers, wholesellers, and retailers to determine supply, demand, price and quality patterns;
Implement a detailed national market survey in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Russia for fruit and vegetable production;
Implement a detailed cold chain and distribution analysis for expanding to 10,000 points of sale for ice cream in Uzbekistan.
We are pleased to be working for an international financial institution for the implementation of this project.
The project will be completed in October 2017.
For further information, please contact us.