Saudi Chocolate Factory: Building a Greenfield Model from Scratch
Built the full supply chain and financial model for a vertically integrated chocolate factory, sourcing inputs directly from cocoa traders and machinery suppliers.
Darshan Patil
Business Analyst at Preferred Square
From their time as
Business Analyst
Preferred Square • 2024 - 2025
Overview
Darshan joined this project as one of two analysts assigned end-to-end to a client who wanted to build a vertically integrated chocolate factory in Saudi Arabia. The ambition was significant: own the cocoa supply chain from African farms through to finished product, and create a Saudi-owned brand in a market dominated by Western multinationals like Mondelez, Nestlé, and Hershey's.
The Story
Darshan joined this project as one of two analysts assigned end-to-end to a client who wanted to build a vertically integrated chocolate factory in Saudi Arabia. The ambition was significant: own the cocoa supply chain from African farms through to finished product, and create a Saudi-owned brand in a market dominated by Western multinationals like Mondelez, Nestlé, and Hershey's.
There was no existing data to work from. No industry database had the specific inputs needed, and no comparable Saudi factory existed. Darshan went directly to the source. He spoke with cocoa traders to understand minimum order quantities, lead times, cost structures, and hedging practices for raw material price fixing. He engaged German machinery suppliers to understand what equipment was required at each stage of the value chain, from cocoa butter and powder processing through to finished chocolate, and what scale thresholds applied.
Building the Supply Chain and Financial Model
With those real-world constraints in hand, he built the supply chain model first: trade routes, port arrival timelines, Saudi import regulations, and the working capital schedule that flowed from procurement lead times. The factory model followed, covering labor requirements, shift structures, production capacity, and machinery configurations.
He then layered in the demand picture, accounting for Saudi Arabia's festive season demand cycles and the market opportunity across consumer and industrial segments. His independent call was to diversify the revenue model beyond consumer chocolate into B2B industrial applications for cocoa butter and powder, including cosmetics and pharmaceutical inputs. His reasoning: B2B margins are more stable and revenue is more predictable than consumer demand, which is subject to shifting tastes and seasonal concentration.
Delivering the Output
The full financial model covered a five-to-ten year forecast horizon, including funding requirements, projected financial statements, and valuation. The client made an informed investment decision based on the output and was satisfied with the work delivered.