Walk into any big consumer goods company, and you’ll hear the familiar mantra: “We put the consumer at the center of everything we do.” It’s a compelling message for investors, internal teams, and brand loyalists alike. But when you look at what actually makes it to the shelves, the reality is often quite different.
Despite their best intentions, brands frequently prioritise what’s easy to execute, what fits within existing capabilities, or what aligns with internal objectives, rather than what genuinely solves a consumer problem. The result? A flood of limited-edition flavours, trendy line extensions, and minor product tweaks—but very few innovations that truly make a lasting impact on consumers’ lives.
Take Coca-Cola and Mondelez, for instance. Coca-Cola regularly launches limited-edition flavors like Coca-Cola Starlight—exciting for a moment but gone before they can make a lasting impact. Mondelez, on the other hand, experiments with countless Oreo flavors, from watermelon to wasabi. While these products might spark curiosity, they often feel like creative detours rather than genuine attempts to solve unmet consumer needs.
It’s not that these efforts are bad—they show an appetite for creativity. But if we’re talking true consumer-centric innovation, shouldn’t we aim for something that has a more lasting and meaningful impact?
Why Most Innovations Don’t Stick
Innovation is tough—even for the biggest brands—as demonstrated by the high failure rate, with Nielsen research showing that 80% of new consumer products fail within their first year. A similar report from FoodNavigator-USA highlights that 85% of new consumer packaged goods fail within two years, emphasising the widespread challenge of sustaining innovation. This widespread failure is likely driven by a focus on short-term wins over long-term impact
Many of these failures stem from organisations overlooking or misinterpreting consumer insights, which results in products that fail to meet real pain points or connect with the target audience. However, the problem isn’t always the lack of relevant insights. In many cases, even strong concepts are compromised due to cost constraints, manufacturing challenges, or feasibility issues, leading to diluted versions that lose their core purpose. Moreover, poor market execution—such as insufficient marketing support, weak distribution, or poor customer engagement—can cause even the most promising innovations to fail.
Rather than focusing on long-term, meaningful solutions that truly resonate with consumers, brands often churn out trendy products that lack staying power. This leads to a cycle of shallow launches that quickly lose relevance, squandering potential and missing opportunities to address real consumer needs. True innovation isn’t about jumping on the latest bandwagon—it’s about creating solutions that make a meaningful, lasting impact on consumers’ lives.
Capability-Centric, Not Consumer-Centric
Many so-called “consumer-centric” innovations are anything but. Instead, they’re often “capability-centric” or “technology-driven”—products and features that align more with what a company can produce or experiment with, than what consumers genuinely need.
Take Coca-Cola, for instance… again (sorry, Coke, nothing personal!). The company introduced Coca-Cola Energy to tap into the growing energy drink market. However, the product failed to gain traction because Coca-Cola didn’t fully understand the unique needs and preferences of energy drink consumers. While brands like Monster and Red Bull have cultivated strong connections with their audiences through bold, authentic messaging and a focus on performance, Coca-Cola’s entry felt more like a product extension rather than an innovation rooted in the energy drink category’s core values.
On the other hand, despite its long-standing dominance in the energy drink market, Red Bull has also faltered in terms of evolving its innovation approach. While Red Bull has mastered creating short-term buzz with limited-edition flavours, it has largely ignored the deeper, untapped needs of consumers in the energy drink category.
What True Consumer-Centric Innovation Looks Like
Consumer-centric innovation isn’t about chasing trends or inventing something entirely new. It’s about identifying real pain points, unmet needs, or untapped emotions—and solving them in a way that reshapes behaviour and builds long-term value. Take the following examples:
· Amazon Prime: Removing Friction to Drive Seamless Convenience Consumers hesitated to shop online due to shipping costs and delays. Prime removed these barriers with fast, reliable shipping (now as fast as same-day in many areas), making online purchases seamless. Over time, added perks like streaming and grocery delivery deepened loyalty and increased spending.
· Mars & Snickers Protein: Using Brand Strength to Jump on a Growing Trend Consumers were looking for high-protein snacks, but most options lacked taste and credibility. Mars & Snickers jumped on this growing trend by leveraging their brand equities—great flavour and strong consumer trust—to create a more appealing protein bar. Their existing distribution network ensured fast, widespread availability, helping them quickly establish a foothold in the category.
· Heineken 0.0: Making Non-Alcoholic Beer Aspirational Non-alcoholic beer felt like a compromise. Heineken reframed it as a lifestyle choice, preserving real beer taste and making moderation cool, not restrictive, through strong branding and wide availability.
· Liquid Death: Turning water into a rebellious lifestyle statement Bottled water lacked identity. Liquid Death disrupted the crowded market by establishing itself as a counterculture brand and packaging water in cans with bold, edgy branding reminiscent of energy drinks. Recognising that people often want to make a statement with the products they choose.
These brands didn’t just launch products—they reshaped behaviour, solved real problems, and built long-term relevance.
The Consumer-Centric Myth: The Need for Real Disruption
Here’s the hard truth: most big brands use the term “consumer-centric innovation” as little more than a buzzword to mask the reality of their strategy—business as usual. It’s not just that they’re out of touch; they’re stuck—constrained by their own systems, scale, and an overwhelming fear of taking risks.
So, the next time a major brand rolls out a “consumer-centric” innovation, challenge yourself with these questions:
• Does this truly solve a meaningful problem, or is it simply a new version of something we’ve already seen?
• Is this an authentic leap forward in innovation, or just a repackaging of existing ideas?
• Does it reflect bold, consumer-first thinking, or is it merely marketing hype dressed up as innovation?
The real opportunity lies in embracing the messiness of true innovation—the kind that pushes boundaries, disrupts markets, and, most importantly, puts consumers at the heart of the process. It’s time for brands to stop talking about innovation and start living it, taking the risks that will truly redefine their categories. After all, true consumer-centric innovation isn’t about playing it safe; it’s about having the vision and courage to shape what comes next.
Muy buen artículo!