While you pop your daily medication, you rarely consider the polymer film coating that makes it possible to swallow. Colorcon manufactures that invisible layer—controlling drug release, masking taste, and ensuring stability—operating as the silent backbone of the pharmaceutical industry.

"Colorcon doesn't sell drugs—it sells the technology that makes drugs work better. That's a far more defensible business model."

What makes Colorcon unique is their vertical integration: they provide film coating systems AND core excipients. This isn't just a coating company—it's a formulation partner. When a pharma company develops a new tablet, Colorcon controls both the functional coating and the binding agents underneath. This creates switching costs that are nearly impossible to break. You don't just change your coating supplier when you've optimized your entire formulation around their ecosystem.

• Revenue per employee: ~$200k (specialty chemical industry benchmark)
• Traffic split: 46% organic vs 35% direct—brand-driven discovery
• Global footprint: Localized search patterns across 5+ markets
• Tech stack: Modern (Tailwind, Contentful) for a traditional industry
• Leadership: Dual-CEO structure suggests strategic complexity