Manufacturers must open up to innovation
Food manufacturers are still not making the most of open innovation, despite the concept being around for a few years, according to Jeff Bellairs, director of the worldwide innovation network at General Mills.
“We recognise that all the best people do not work in our organisation,” he said at the Seventh World Food Technology and Innovation 2008 conference. “That’s why we introduced our Worldwide Innovation Network (G-WIN), to actively seek partners who can help us deliver new levels of taste, health, and convenience in our products.”
Bellairs said that since the introduction of G-WIN, General Mills has seen a 300% increase in the number of innovation concepts submitted to the company. Food Manufacture reported on open innovation and G-WIN a year ago, but despite its publicity, food companies are still missing out on opportunities to innovate.
Most manufacturers “work with a wall around them”, oblivious to the gains to be had from strategic collaboration, added Bellairs. There is typically 40,000 different stock keeping units in a supermarket: “So if you want to get your product noticed, it really must stand out. This is where levering expertise inside and outside of your business, as well as making strategic partnerships can really pay off.”
For example, a group of 19 people from different brands within General Mills was formed, and they developed a “light” soup under the Betty Crockers’ Progresso brand. The strategic sourcing team created an external partnership with Weight Watchers to get the ‘0 points’ value label added to its packaging. The soup achieved over $100M in retail sales in its first year, claimed Bellairs.
Oakland, a specialist research consultancy, helps General Mills maximise on open innovation by creating a systematic mapping process to identify and evaluate potential partners.
“Any form of collaboration will only work if the partners complement each other,” said Michael Zeitlyn, md Oakland Innovation UK. “It can be argued that choosing the right partner is the most essential step in the open innovation process.”
