NorthStar Partners is a U.S.-based consulting firm specializing in global marketing strategy, new product innovation, business model design, and marketplace launch leadership. The firm specializes in consumer products and services, though its work also encompasses B2B goods & services. NorthStar's principal work tends to concentrate in four key areas: ( 1 ) ACCELERATION OF A NEW PRODUCT PIPELINE, including both concept innovation and technology completion. ( 2 ) DEFINITION OF HIGH-POTENTIAL "COMPETITIVE PLATFORMS" for new products and for established products that are struggling in the marketplace ( 3 ) "PATH TO MARKET" and "COMPETIVE RULES OF THE GAME" to guide a brand's entry into a new trade channel and supply chain. ( 4 ) "SHOPPER MARKETING" INNOVATION to support a business's profitable integration of "new trade marketing" and emergent "social mobile local" purchase decision technologies. ( 5 ) PREDICTIVE COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE utilizing social media monitoring, intellectual property mapping, virtual community crowdsourcing, and traditional investigative methods