Bottle Shifters

Case Study Prompt

Bottle Shifters design and distribute bottles. Its customers are small/medium sized companies (in the food/drinks sector e.g. startup /brewery). It is the biggest 3rd party manufacturer in the industry.

Our client – a Private Equity firm has acquired them as there is a huge market. 

They are looking to increase profitability. They have already optimized the cost structure.

What factors should they consider to increase their profitability outside of optimizing the cost structure?

Case Study Overview

Your client is a Private Equity firm who has made a recent acquisition and they need to increase profitability. In this Bain case, your job is to dive into the operations of Bottle Shifters, find ways to increase profitability and recommend next steps to your client.

Preparing for a second round Bain interview? You can use the Profitability Framework to solve this case study, but don’t stop there. The best candidates take the existing framework and blend it with their own experience to create something new.

There are two math exhibits in this case, so make sure your quant skills are sharp. The qualitative difficulty is 3 out of 4, making this an advanced case interview you would likely run into in a second round at Bain.

Bain Interview Tips

What does Bain look for in its candidates? Practicality.

As you build your structure, think about the work packages you would assign to a team of analysts you oversee to solve this case.

To get the most from this case:

• Come away with 1 key takeaway or area you can improve
• Time yourself as you prepare – 2min for structure, 5min for math, 2min for brainstorming, 2min for conclusion
• Smooth out your communication skills and overall polish

For out-loud practice with an expert, book an hour with an ex-MBB coach.