How I designed Paneltim's NBD process

The situation

Paneltim, a manufacturer of polypropylene panels, launched its innovative Paneltim Base in 2025. Polypropylene has the property that no material adheres to it. Paneltim's engineers found a way around that, which means Paneltim Base can carry functional top layers. Water-resistant, flame-retardant or aesthetic: many new functionalities are conceivable, depending on which material you choose as the top layer. The question was in which markets Paneltim Base could add value.

The usual route is an internal brainstorm followed by market research. The risk of working that way is that you rarely step outside existing thinking. So I took a different route.

The process

I mapped out a search method that Paneltim can repeat on every next product.

The starting point is the technical datasheet. An in-house AI model generates hundreds of applications based on the functionalities and an extensive list of industries. The model searches broadly, Paneltim's technical and commercial people add to it and correct it. It came to more than 2,000 applications across 37 sectors.

Those two thousand applications then go through a filter. Every application gets the same four questions: is there a real need, is the market large enough, what are the current alternative solutions, and how accessible is the market. The combination of the engineering team, the AI model and a business development mindset brought consistency and breadth to the evaluation, so that all 2,000 applications were assessed in the same way.

The longlist was then assessed manually. The team and I looked for contacts in the markets concerned, to test the assumptions about the problem and about willingness to pay. That is where the decision fell: eleven promising markets remained, the rest were closed. In those eleven the business developers built up their contacts and explored the market further.

How the trajectory ran

I worked embedded in Paneltim's team, alongside two business developers. We went through the model's output together and I applied the filter to the first batches of applications, so they could see how the criteria weigh. After that they did it themselves and I reviewed their assessments.

The result

Nineteen working days from technical datasheet to shortlist, with eleven markets worth researching in depth. In the markets that made the selection there are now concrete leads.

Pool construction for architectural gardens is one of them. The panel gives shape and structure, the welded joints are structurally watertight and the ceramic top layer provides the finish. At Noa Outdoor Living, Paneltim Base sits in a plunge pool with a waterfall. Conversations are also under way in the ice rink industry, the houseboat market and with architectural practices.

What remains

A market study ages, a process does not. The two business developers now apply the method themselves. On Paneltim's next product, this exercise happens without me.

We knew Paneltim Base had broad potential, but this trajectory opened our eyes to how broad exactly. More than 2,000 applications across 37 sectors goes well beyond what an internal brainstorm gets you. But the most valuable part is that Kevin gave our team the tools and the method to carry this forward on their own. That knowledge stays in the house.

In numbers

More on the approach behind this case: Finding new markets for an existing product.