James Ross Consulting’s Best-in-Class (BIC) Analysis gives global clients the insight they need to understand performance, identify opportunities, and benchmark against both competitors and market leaders.
For one of the world’s largest beverage producers, James Ross Consulting delivered a detailed global analysis that mapped packaging formats, materials, messaging, and sustainability performance across every major beverage technology platform – from carbonated and still drinks to hot-fill, UCF, and pasteurized products. The findings became the backbone of the client’s long-term sustainability and ESG reporting strategy.
Global packaging strategies are complex. Even within a single category, variations in market maturity, packaging technology, and regulatory standards can make it difficult to identify what “best-in-class” really looks like.
The client needed to answer three key questions:
To answer these questions, JRC designed a comprehensive benchmarking programme that would bring data, insight, and market intelligence together for the first time.
We deployed James Ross Consulting teams across six continents to conduct detailed in-market reviews. Each team assessed product packaging in retail environments, collecting samples, data, and imagery across developed and emerging markets.
The review covered:
Packaging formats and materials – PET, glass, aluminium, multilayer, and more.
Product presentation and messaging – branding, sustainability claims, and design cues.
Merchandising and shelf efficiency – how packs performed in retail space.
Weight and volume metrics – for direct comparison across technologies and regions.
This on-the-ground insight provided a real-world view of how consumers encounter packaging, something that desk-based analysis alone cannot achieve.
All findings were consolidated into a single database – forming a global picture of category performance.
This dataset revealed where the client’s packaging performed well, where competitors led in design or efficiency, and where emerging “disruptor” brands were redefining standards.
Metrics included:
Material usage and weight efficiency
Volume-to-surface ratios
Shelf and transport efficiency
Cost benchmarks
Sustainability indicators such as recyclability, rPET content, and reuse models
The result was an actionable dataset that provided both quantitative benchmarking and qualitative market insight.
The analysis enabled the client to:
Establish global packaging performance baselines across all beverage formats.
Quantify sustainability progress and report it confidently within ESG frameworks.
Identify quick-win opportunities for material and cost savings.
Gain visibility of competitor strategies across both mature and emerging markets.
This global benchmarking framework now underpins the client’s ongoing packaging development strategy and supports their sustainability reporting – delivering data they can stand behind.
By combining deep packaging knowledge with global data analytics, James Ross Consulting delivered clarity in a complex environment.
The Best-in-Class Analysis empowered the client to make evidence-based decisions, set credible goals, and align teams around a shared understanding of what “best” truly means in each market.
This project demonstrates how analytical insight, grounded in real-world market intelligence, can turn data into strategy – and strategy into measurable impact.
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