Sizing the market for water treatment chemicals in industry

What is shaping chemical

Chemical and specialty materials companies sell to formulators, manufacturers and procurement teams who need technical support, consistency and safe handling as much as price.

• Technical service is a key reason buyers stay
• Procurement teams compare total cost, not just price
• Safety and regulatory compliance shape supplier choice

A water treatment chemicals company expanding in the Gulf, working in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar & Egypt. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A water treatment chemicals company expanding in the Gulf

Sector

Chemical

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Research consultancy, Business panel, Financial modelling

The company wanted to prioritise industries for growth but lacked reliable estimates of demand by sector.

• Deliver on the brief: sizing the market for water treatment chemicals in industry.
• Uncover the motivations and barriers people do not state in a survey.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.

Scope: 35 expert interviews across six industries.

Audiences we typically reach in chemical

Formulators and R&D teamsProcurement managersPlant and production headsDistributorsSafety officers

Coverage: Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar & Egypt. Markets: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Egypt.

• Saudi Arabia
• United Arab Emirates
• Qatar
• Egypt

A qualitative design, built to uncover motivations, decision processes and the language people actually use.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Desk research
3. 3Expert interviews
4. 4Bottom-up model
5. 5Insight

We combined industry data with interviews with plant engineers and treatment specialists to estimate consumption by industry, then built a transparent model with key assumptions.

Research consultancyBusiness panelFinancial modelling

• Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
• Online respondents were drawn from verified panel members who matched the screening criteria, with quotas on key profile attributes.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

expert interviews

35

• The online survey was mobile-friendly and offered in respondents' languages.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
• Secondary sources and client data were compiled and cross-checked before modelling.

• Digital fingerprinting and duplicate checks
• Attention, speed and straight-lining checks
• Review of open-ended answers
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping
• Market model built from secondary data and primary evidence

• Desalination, food processing and district cooling showed the strongest growth potential relative to competition.

Transparent assumptions made the model useful for planning, not just reporting.

• Build on the core insight: transparent assumptions made the model useful for planning, not just reporting.
• Focus effort where the evidence was strongest: desalination, food processing and district cooling showed the strongest growth potential relative to competition.
• Re-measure after the changes to confirm the effect.

• The company focused its sales expansion on those sectors.

What changed in the business as a result of the work. Impact is described qualitatively.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how is supplier safety perceived?