# How a bioprocess equipment maker can compete with the big brands A mid-sized bioprocess equipment maker can compete with the global suppliers by picking two or three buying situations where it is the best choice and backing them with proof. Think of scaling a process from lab to production with the same control logic, or adapting ports, sensors and software to a specific process. Echoing the catalogue messaging of the big brands on a smaller budget only makes you easier to overlook. [Web version](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/bioprocess-equipment-brand-positioning/) By David Monje, crida studio · Published 2026-05-19 · Updated 2026-05-19 ## Why echoing the big brands makes you invisible The global life science suppliers sell breadth. They have a catalogue for the whole process, offices in many countries and a name the buyer already knows. When a mid-sized maker uses the same lines, such as end-to-end bioprocess solutions, the customer has no reason to remember it or to ask it for a quote. Research by the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, published by LinkedIn's B2B Institute, points the same way. It finds that the bigger problem for a B2B brand is that buyers do not know it, far more than buyers rejecting it. It also notes that most potential customers are not in the market at any given time. So you need to be remembered when the need comes up. ## Where a mid-sized bioprocess equipment maker can win A niche comes from specific buying situations. Ask your sales team which deals you tend to win and which ones you lose, and look for what they have in common. More often than not, the pattern is linked to one of these situations. Pick two or three. A long list starts to look like a catalogue again, and then the buyer compares everything on price. The ones you choose have to be true today, because the customer will test them at the first technical meeting and on the factory visit. - Scaling a process from lab to pilot plant and production with equipment that shares the same control logic. - Offering both single-use and stainless steel and helping the customer choose without pushing either. - Adapting ports, sensors, software or sizes to a process that catalogue equipment does not cover. - Responding fast with service engineers nearby, in the customer's time zone and language. - Knowing one application inside out, such as precision fermentation, cell culture or vaccine production. ### Should a small company invest in brand or just in lead generation? Both, with different weight depending on the moment. Lead generation answers people who are looking for equipment today. Brand makes sure you are considered when the need arrives, which in bioprocessing can be months or years later. If buyers already know you in a specific niche, your campaigns reach people who know who you are. ## How to prove you are the best option in that niche Bioprocess buyers do not believe adjectives. They want data, documents and people who know what they are talking about. Every situation you choose needs at least one piece of proof you can show on the website, in a sales deck or on a trade show stand. Good proof includes performance curves across scales, explained by an engineer. A sample of the qualification documents you deliver also helps, such as the FAT protocol or the IQ and OQ package, as does a 3D animation showing what changes as the equipment scales up. If confidentiality stops you naming a customer, describe the problem and the solution without saying who it was. ### Do we need to compete on price with the global suppliers? Competing on price alone pushes the buyer to compare everything on the final figure, and that is where a mid-sized maker has less room. It works better to defend what the customer gains with you, such as flexibility, speed or technical closeness, and to explain the total project cost, including service, spare parts and validation. ## What David Monje did at TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions David Monje, founder of crida studio, led marketing at TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions for four and a half years, first as marketing manager and then as strategic marketing director. TECNIC is based in Riudarenes, near Girona, makes bioreactors, TFF systems and single-use supplies, and organises its equipment on its website by scale, from lab to production. There he built the marketing function from scratch and repositioned the brand to compete with large corporations. He took technical content into 3D, animation and interactive tools, and acted as the bridge between engineering, product and sales to open markets such as Germany, Scandinavia and Asia. Every company has its own niche, and what worked there has to be rethought for each case. [Scaling Single-Use Bioreactors from Lab to Production - TECNIC](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5_lATN8yR8) — TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions, YouTube, 2025-11-17 TECNIC video on scaling single-use bioreactors from lab to production, from the time when David Monje led the company's marketing. ### If we make both stainless steel and single-use equipment, should we pick one? Not necessarily. Offering both technologies can be your niche, as long as you help the customer decide. What matters is explaining when each one fits depending on batch size, product changeovers and cleaning, instead of presenting them as two separate catalogues with no guidance. ## One niche, explained to everyone involved in the decision Several people take part in buying bioprocess equipment, and each of them looks for different proof. The niche stays the same while the argument changes. If the website and the sales team only speak to one profile, the deal stalls when the project moves on to the next person. - Process development wants to know whether the equipment reproduces lab results when it scales up. - Engineering wants dimensions, connections, plant integration and control system details. - Quality and validation want to see the qualification documents and how data and records are kept. - Procurement compares lead times, service, spare parts and total cost, beyond the equipment price. - Management wants to know what risk it takes on by choosing a smaller supplier. ### Does our website need to be in English? If you sell outside Spain, yes. International buyers, technical publications and the sector's trade shows use English as their common language. Spanish and Catalan help with nearby customers and the local ecosystem, and German can make sense if Germany is one of your priority markets. ## Where to start with your brand positioning Start by writing one sentence that says where you win and for whom. Then check whether your homepage, your LinkedIn page and your sales deck say exactly that. Quite often each channel describes a different company, and that is the first thing to fix. - Write the positioning sentence and test it with three customers you trust. - Pick two or three buying situations and prepare one piece of proof for each. - Rework the homepage and product pages so they say it in the same words. - Give sales and your distributors the same arguments and materials. - Track whether you get more enquiries for the type of project you chose. ## References - [LinkedIn B2B Institute, How B2B Brands Grow](https://business.linkedin.com/advertise/resources/b2b-institute/how-b2b-brands-grow) - [TECNIC Bioprocess Solutions, company website](https://www.tecnic.eu/) ## The crida perspective We are a marketing, brand and technology studio based in Girona. We bring identity, content and development together so a digital experience makes sense from beginning to end. crida studio, Caldes de Malavella (Girona, Spain). David Monje, founder and director. ## Want to find where your bioprocess brand wins? Tell us what you make, who you sell to and who you compete against. We will look at your website and sales messaging and tell you where we would start. [Tell us your case](https://www.crida.studio/en/#contact) ## More on web design - [Marketing for biotech, bioprocess and pharma companies](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/biotech-bioprocess-pharma-marketing/) - [What a bioprocess equipment manufacturer website needs to show](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/bioprocess-equipment-manufacturer-website/) - [How to show GMP, Annex 1 and Part 11 readiness without overclaiming](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/gmp-annex-1-part-11-claims-equipment/) - [B2B marketing that reaches the people making the decision.](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/b2b-marketing/) - [Branding and visual identity](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/branding-visual-identity/) - [What to review before redesigning a brand](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/guides/before-redesigning-brand/) - [Digital strategy and consultancy](https://www.crida.studio/en/insights/services/digital-strategy-consultancy/)