Attack the Gap! How consulting is changing and how building brands is your new gateway to growing your portfolio.

The fastest way to a client isn’t a cold call or a glossy portfolio. It’s showing up with a brand they can already see themselves making.

Here’s the reality: most manufacturers don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “I need a consultant”. They wake up thinking about their production lines, their capacity, and their next volume opportunity. They only come hunting when the gaps are screaming. By then, you’re competing with ten others pitching the same half-baked ideas.

High Agency thinking says: don’t wait. Find the client first.

1. Work out what they do best – Every manufacturer has a superpower. Some nail proteins. Some own the frozen pastry game. Others are masters of trays, sleeves, or complex pack assembly. Know their strength better than they do.

2. Scan the aisle for gaps – Gaps don’t announce themselves with a neon sign. They show up in missing price points, in tired categories, in shelf spaces where consumer behavior has already shifted but the products haven’t caught up.

3. Map your fit – The trick isn’t just spotting a gap—it’s aligning that gap with the manufacturer’s capability. That’s where you create immediate credibility. You’re not pitching a dream. You’re showing them a project they’re already built to win.

4. Put them at the center of the endgame – When you present, don’t offer a “concept.”

   

   Offer the finished picture: the brand, the positioning, the price point, the packaging format. The manufacturer sees themselves in the middle of it—execution is the only step left.

   
   
   
   

Take Confucius as an example. It wasn’t just an abstract idea of “premium frozen Asian meals.” It was a gap: air-fryer-first, 350g single-serve, clean-label, intelligent packaging, $12 RRP. Premium but accessible. Then we matched it with a manufacturer already skilled in proteins, sauces, and tray-based assembly. The result? A complete pathway, not just a concept.

This is the new gateway to clients: building the brand before the client even asks, showing them exactly where they fit, and attacking the gaps that no one else has the patience—or the nerve—to map.

That’s how you stop being “a consultant” and start being the partner who delivers growth.