Situation

A recent start-up in the CPG space had great success with its initial product offering, focusing on designing around 2 sensory attributes to optimize the product experience.  Since that initial success, the company has been struggling to build an innovation strategy and understand where to innovate next.

Approach

As partners and collaborators, DCIL led the design and execution of a 3-stage consumer learning plan beginning with digital ethnography to better understand product usage and key usage occasions.  Stage two was a series of product labs where consumers trialed products and provided real-time sensory feedback.  Finally, we completed a large quantitative survey to identify the largest opportunities.

Impact

This work uncovered a deeper level of consumer learning that identified a total of 24 new sensory attributes to strengthen their ability to differentiate in their competitive market.  With this work we prioritized the attributes by various consumer targets which helped focus the organization on key development opportunities, as well as define the interconnectivity between sensory attributes – allowing for more flexible design.