FTSE 100 Company: Botanical Innovation
How might we...Understand the meaning and potential of botanicals around the world to unlock category differentiation and leadership?
ChallengeOur client, a global brand and innovation team, discovered botanical ingredients had the potential to differentiate their brand's product portfolio. But, they didn't know whether consumers would be interested. And if so, could their brand stretch to expand into botanicals?
...where do we go from here?
Approach
To answer these questions globally, we needed to uncover consumer understanding, needs and usage contexts to find the best way to leverage ancient cultures and modern interpretations to drive meaningful innovation. So we went into the wild to gather diverse cultural perspectives on the meaning of botanical ingredients, from fringe to mainstream, through a series of Cultural Innovation Safaris in Tokyo, Seoul, Moscow, Milan, and Portland, Oregon.
We translated the rich insights and 100+ emerging signals of botanical innovation gathered on Safari into five potential botanical platforms for innovation. These platforms served as the foundations for facilitated cross-functional sprints to envision future products.
We then turned the sprint outputs into consumer-ready research concepts, which we put through an iterative, multi-method research program. From the winning platform that generated unprecedented interest, resonance, and appeal within the category, we developed an innovation roadmap and briefs for R&D.
Insight
It pays to explore both the fringes and the mainstream to uncover deep, valuable consumer understanding. This approach lets you build a winning global platform from rich and diverse local insights and perspectives.
Outcomes
- Re-articulated brand proposition, innovation roadmap & product development briefs for R&D
- A new destination for botanical-inspired products designed to maximise the brand's growth potential and achieve market leadership ahead of the competition