Product Innovations Incubation with Employee Engagement
Executive summary
Challenge
- Seeking innovative product solutions at a time of strong market position
- Need to strengthen the company's image as an innovator
- Wilingness to engage employees in the innovation process
Actions
- Organizing the NPD project management process using the Stage-Gate model
- Creation of interdisciplinary teams composed of employees, Innovatika representatives, and invited external experts
- In-depth interviews and observations with consumers
- Prototyping and iterative concept testing
Results
- 187 ideas collected from employees
- 86% employee engagement in the campaign
- 2 product concepts approved for implementation
Our Client
Bonduelle is an international leader in vegetable processing. With a strong market position, the company decided to seek innovative product solutions beyond its current offering.
Challenge
The best time to pursue innovation is during a period of strong market position. Bonduelle wanted to leverage this situation to find new business directions and product solutions. The goal was to maintain competitiveness and strengthen its image as an innovator in the food industry.
Objectives
Our task was to lead a process that would enable the company to develop product innovations ready for rapid implementation. We also wanted to engage employees and harness their creative potential.
Key Actions
We began by examining management’s expectations and defining the project’s objectives across three areas: business, internal communications, and market image.
We organized a crowdsourcing campaign that engaged 86% of employees and generated 187 ideas. From the most active participants, we selected project team members. We also invited external experts — food bloggers, specialists, and designers.
Under the guidance of researchers, the teams conducted in-depth consumer interviews and in-store observations. Based on the insights gathered, we created a consumer profile and moved on to idea generation. From hundreds of ideas, we selected six concepts, of which the management board chose two product innovations for further development.
For the selected concepts, we created prototypes and tested them with customers. Based on feedback, we refined the solutions and conducted another round of testing. After three months, both concepts were approved for implementation.
Results
The project yielded two innovative business concepts based on assumptions validated through iterative customer testing. The solutions were tailored to real consumer needs.
The crowdsourcing campaign engaged 86% of the company’s employees and generated 187 ideas. The management board approved both developed concepts for implementation.
Client Benefits
Bonduelle gained two innovative concepts ready for implementation. The crowdsourcing campaign engaged the majority of the company’s employees, fostering a culture of innovation. The developed solutions strengthened Bonduelle’s position as an innovator in the food industry.
Thanks to the involvement of practitioners from INNOVATIKA, the solutions that were developed aligned with Bonduelle’s strategic directions and were approved by the Management Board for implementation.
Summary
A strong market position is the best time to pursue innovation. Companies that wait until a crisis hits lose their competitive edge.
Effective incubation requires employee engagement — they know the market and customers best. A crowdsourcing campaign allows for collecting dozens of ideas and builds a culture of innovation within the organization.
Equally important is iterative concept testing with consumers. Product innovations tailored to their real needs have a greater chance of success than those based solely on assumptions.