A Specialty Chemical Distributor’s Marketing-Led Path to Acquisition

How Four Columns built Viachem’s position as an industry voice — and helped position it for acquisition by a $2.7B international life science company.

Chemical Distribution

The Work

Four Columns identified earned media as the right vehicle for Viachem’s positioning goals. The team approached Food Beverage Insider, a trade publication serving Viachem’s target audience, and negotiated an ongoing editorial partnership — committing to a scheduled cadence of 1,000+ word, research-driven articles written under Viachem’s name. The goal was threefold: establish Viachem as a credible industry voice, generate leads by putting their expertise in front of the right audience, and give industry professionals content worth reading.

Once the partnership was in place, Four Columns handled the full content process: developing article topics aligned to each edition’s focus, conducting original research, writing and designing each piece, and managing a rigorous internal review before submission. Each article published strengthened Viachem’s reputation as a subject matter expert.

From there, the relationship expanded into a full marketing buildout: product pages, SEO, outbound email campaigns, digital and traditional advertising, and event marketing. The cumulative effect was significant: Viachem began using its marketing as a competitive advantage in supplier conversations, communicating to prospective partners that its market presence set it apart from other distributors. Suppliers took notice.

More than a marketing partner, Four Columns helped build the brand authority that made Viachem stand out on a global stage. Chemical manufacturers were more apt to partner exclusively with Viachem because of how it positioned itself in the market and communicated differentiated value.

The editorial partnership, alongside the broader marketing efforts provided by Four Columns, drove measurable results for the company. Within 3 years of measuring performance, organic website sessions increased 300%, growing from 500 to 2000+ sessions a month. Social media presence grew in parallel; Four Columns helped Viachem double their followers and achieve 5X+ engagement on social channels within that same time frame. As a result, Viachem saw stronger lead generation and a sustained rise in visibility across their target market. 

Those outcomes made Viachem an attractive acquisition target. In 2022, Barentz, one of the largest life science and specialty chemical distributors in the world, acquired Viachem. Specifically, Barentz cited Viachem’s marketing as what made them stand out in the first place.