Inside-Out: Why Internal Analysis is the Final Step Before Strategy

Ahmed Samir Ragab, Food Marketer, Founder & MD of Food-Xperts

In our previous articles, we explored the critical pillars for any business considering a new venture or strategy: starting with a global market perspective, then validating supply chain feasibility before getting excited by demand, and finally, diving into competitive and consumer research. These steps build the external context and clarify the battlefield. But no matter how attractive the opportunity appears from the outside, the final and most crucial step is to ask: Are we, as a company, truly ready for this?

This is where internal analysis comes in—not as an afterthought, but as the final lens before drafting a strategy. It is the step that ensures your vision is not just desirable, but doable.

Too often, companies fall into the trap of drafting generic strategies that either overestimate their internal capabilities or severely underuse their strengths. A strategy that is too big will break the system. One that is too small will waste potential. That’s why internal analysis, built on solid frameworks like SWOT and TOWS, is essential at this stage.

SWOT helps leadership assess the company’s true internal strengths and weaknesses, while identifying the external opportunities and threats already uncovered. TOWS takes it a step further—matching internal capabilities to external realities. The result is a strategy that is not just a big idea, but one that fits your organization like a glove.

We’ve seen this play out across various projects at Food-Xperts.

A great example is Spuds, a project we handled from inception. The founders—led by the visionary leader Samy El Ansary—initially aimed to launch a B2C glass noodles brand as an extension of their strategic export and B2B industrial capabilities. But through structured analysis—international benchmarking, local research, and a deep internal audit—we realized their capabilities far exceeded the demands of that niche. Their infrastructure and team were built for scale. We redirected the strategy toward craft-cooked chips, an underserved premium segment in Egypt. Today, Spuds is a category leader—proof that when internal potential aligns with the right opportunity, brands can leap far beyond their original vision.

Sauce Tree, with its artisan sauces and foodservice expertise, had developed excellent recipes and a clear culinary vision. Initially, the plan was to launch a differentiated sauces line. But our internal assessment revealed that the team and distribution readiness for that specific product were not yet in place. Instead of forcing a misaligned path, we pivoted the concept toward a marinated range of chicken parts with ethnic and international flavor profiles—an idea that better matched the company’s core competencies in flavor development and fit naturally within the Temry brand’s operational muscles. The result? A highly successful range that found immediate traction in the market.

With Three Chefs Tuna, the company launched a tuna line believing that leveraging brand equity alone would guarantee success. While the production quality was strong enough to rival global brands, the sales and distribution infrastructure was built for a completely different category. The result was a strategic misalignment—and a costly failure.

Temry, a well-trusted chicken brand, had the scale and market reputation, but over the years had grown internally disconnected. Our workshops uncovered a fatigued team, fragmented brand identity, and siloed operations. Rather than pushing for more expansion, we prioritized internal revitalization—redefining vision, empowering teams, and modernizing the brand while preserving the legacy that made it beloved in the first place.

These cases all share one truth: strategy without internal analysis is guesswork. Only by understanding who you are—your people, your systems, your culture, your strengths and your limitations—can you write a strategy that truly fits. It becomes a strategy you can deliver, not just dream of.

In conclusion, internal analysis is not a standalone phase—it is the culmination of all previous work. It is the moment where the opportunity outside meets the reality inside. And only then does true strategy begin.