Business / Consumer Goods
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Innovation Reignited: C-Suite Insights into the State of Innovation
Summary
The webinar discusses the current state of innovation, emphasizing the necessity of consumer insights to drive true innovation rather than mere renovation. Industry leaders highlight the importance of tracking innovation as a growth engine and the dual role of AI in this process.
Innovation is identified as the top priority for growth among C-suite leaders in sectors like CPG, retail, and healthcare. However, many leaders express concerns about their effectiveness in generating and executing innovation, with expectations of modest revenue contributions from these efforts.
Companies must define innovation based on its consumer impact rather than solely on technological advancements. High performing companies generate around 20% of their revenue annually from innovations launched in the previous 12 months.
Leaders are encouraged to take smarter risks rather than bigger risks, balancing renovation with breakthrough innovation. The definition of innovation should prioritize consumer impact over mere technological advancements.
Perspectives
short
Pro-Innovation
- Emphasizes the necessity of consumer insights for true innovation
- Identifies innovation as the top priority for growth among leaders
- Advocates for a balanced approach between renovation and breakthrough innovation
- Highlights the importance of tracking innovation as a growth engine
- Encourages organizations to invest in internal marketing for insights
Skeptical of Current Practices
- Expresses concerns about the effectiveness of leaders in executing innovation
- Notes that many innovations are merely renovations rather than true innovations
- Points out the lack of consumer insights in driving innovation
- Questions the reliance on competitive innovation for new ideas
- Raises concerns about the potential over-reliance on AI in the innovation process
Neutral / Shared
- Acknowledges the dual role of AI in innovation processes
- Recognizes the need for a clear definition of innovation based on consumer impact
Metrics
innovation
4,000 plus new product innovations units
new product innovations generated by Richard Davies
This showcases the scale of innovation efforts that can drive brand growth.
helped generate 4,000 plus new product innovations across iconic brands
effectiveness
majority of leaders said that they are not effective at generating and executing innovation
perception of effectiveness in innovation execution
Highlights a significant gap in capability that could hinder growth.
a majority of our leaders said that they are not effective at generating and executing innovation.
revenue_expectation
two-thirds of leaders expect them in the next three years for their innovation to account for less than 20% of their rev
expected contribution of innovation to revenue
Suggests modest expectations for innovation's financial impact.
two-thirds of leaders expect them in the next three years for their innovation to account for less than 20% of their revenue.
innovation_type
26%
percentage of innovations that are true new product launches
This highlights the predominance of renovations over true innovations in the market.
about 26% being true launches.
innovation_renovations
75%
percentage of innovations that are renovations
This suggests that most companies are focusing on minor improvements rather than groundbreaking innovations.
three quarters of the innovations are actually renovations.
differentiation
more than a third %
CPG leaders struggling with differentiation
High differentiation challenges can hinder market competitiveness.
more than a third of leaders said they had difficulty differentiating from their competitors
competitive_innovation
about 48%
source of innovation ideas
Heavy reliance on competitive innovation may limit originality.
about 48% said that they, both of their ideas are coming from competitive innovation
uniqueness
the most critical element
in concept testing
Uniqueness is essential for ideas to enter the innovation funnel.
the one that we set the highest hurdles for is for uniqueness
Key entities
Timeline highlights
00:00–05:00
The webinar discusses the current state of innovation, highlighting the need for consumer insights to drive true innovation rather than mere renovation. Industry leaders emphasize the importance of tracking innovation as a growth engine and the dual role of AI in this process.
- Todays webinar focuses on new insights on innovation from industry leaders, emphasizing the importance of consumer insights in driving true innovation
- Innovation is viewed as essential but is not being prioritized adequately, with much of the current innovation being merely renovation
- Tracking innovation like a growth engine is critical for success, as highlighted by the upcoming data presentation
- AI is discussed as both a catalyst for innovation and a potential pitfall, stressing the need to navigate its use carefully
- The webinar is part of the Innovation Reignited series, created to address the decline in true innovation and provide practical tools for attendees
- The session features accomplished speakers, including Richard Davies, who has extensive experience in innovation and brand strategy, and Olaf Lensman, who focuses on insights and product execution
05:00–10:00
Innovation is identified as the top priority for growth among C-suite leaders in sectors like CPG, retail, and healthcare. However, many leaders express concerns about their effectiveness in generating and executing innovation, with expectations of modest revenue contributions from these efforts.
- Innovation is the number one priority for growth among C-suite leaders, particularly in CPG, retail, and healthcare sectors
- % of leaders expect innovation to become more important to their growth strategy over the next three years
- A majority of leaders feel they are not effective at generating and executing innovation
- Two-thirds of leaders anticipate that innovation will account for less than 20% of their revenue in the next three years, indicating modest expectations
- There is a disconnect between companies claims of successful innovation and the actual results they achieve
- Many organizations do not measure innovation effectively or set targets for its contribution to revenue
10:00–15:00
Companies must define innovation based on its consumer impact rather than solely on technological advancements. High performing companies generate around 20% of their revenue annually from innovations launched in the previous 12 months.
- Every company must define innovation for itself, considering its impact on consumers rather than just technological advancements
- High performing companies generate around 20% of their revenue annually from innovations launched in the previous 12 months
- Companies often lack clear innovation targets and fail to integrate innovation into their strategic planning
- Three quarters of innovations are renovations, with only 26% being true new product launches
- A Mintel report from 2024 indicated that only 29% of new product launches were true innovations, the lowest since 1996
- Renovation can effectively protect existing brands, but may not drive significant growth
15:00–20:00
Leaders are encouraged to take smarter risks rather than bigger risks, balancing renovation with breakthrough innovation. The definition of innovation should prioritize consumer impact over mere technological advancements.
- Leaders should focus on taking smarter risks rather than bigger risks to avoid sacrificing long-term differentiation for short-term gains
- Renovation can be beneficial if the resources invested are proportional to the returns generated
- A balanced innovation funnel should include both renovation and breakthrough innovation to prevent resource allocation solely to short-term activities
- While renovation is often easier and can be prompted by retailer requests, it is crucial to simultaneously work on larger innovations that may take longer to develop
- Innovation should be evaluated not only on technological advancements but also from the consumers perspective, emphasizing the importance of consumer-centric definitions of innovation
- It is acceptable for innovations to fail in the funnel, as long as there is awareness of their low success potential before market launch
20:00–25:00
Innovation is hindered by a lack of consumer insights, with less than half of leaders reporting their innovations stem from such insights. Successful organizations invest in internal marketing to enhance awareness and accessibility of insights.
- The best time to start innovation is now, even if it takes time to develop
- A significant barrier to meaningful innovation is the lack of consumer understanding and insights
- Less than half of leaders report that their innovations stem from consumer insights, indicating a disconnect
- Insights often become siloed within organizations, making them difficult to utilize effectively
- Practitioners struggle to apply insights due to their dispersion across multiple systems
- Technology, including AI, can help make insights more accessible and contextually relevant for users
25:00–30:00
Companies face challenges in making aggregated data actionable during their innovation processes. Over a third of CPG leaders struggle with differentiation, often relying on competitive innovation for new ideas.
- Companies struggle to make rich aggregated data actionable in their innovation journeys
- Technology can serve as a partner in innovation, helping to analyze consumer insights and iterate on ideas
- Differentiation is a significant challenge for over a third of CPG leaders, with many relying on competitive innovation for new ideas
- The irony exists where companies seek uniqueness but often look to competitors for inspiration, risking a me too approach
- Uniqueness is the most critical metric in concept testing, determining whether an idea can enter the innovation funnel
- Being first in innovation is generally advantageous, and companies should focus on compelling claims to avoid being undermined