Having an excellent product formula and a patent doesn’t guarantee success. What if, after years of development, the product finally launches—only to find the trend has already passed? When creating a new product, should the brand lead the market or quickly follow trends? Product innovation is inherently risky, and for functional products, the challenges and pain points are often even more complex and severe.
So, how can we bridge these gaps and turn good technology into a successful product?
With extensive cross-industry experience in both consumer goods and healthcare, cbh (Consumer & Big Health), a boutique of Illuminera, delves deep into functional product innovation, continuously identifies market opportunities, and helps products navigate the complexities of innovation.
01 What Is a Trend?
For functional products, keenly capturing trends is the foundation of innovation. But what exactly is a trend? Does grasping the development of new ingredients, disruptive production processes, and breakthroughs in product forms mean capturing future trends? While "trends" are often reflected in sales data, these are merely surface level. The true core lies in the shifts in consumer demographics and evolving needs behind the trends.
02 Do Consumers Really Understand "Technical Language"?
Functional products often come with complex technical logic. How can brands translate professional technical language into consumer-friendly communication? From extensive practice, the cbh team has found that when crafting communication strategies, brands must not only define their target audience and touchpoints but also identify differentiated benefits. By using clear, straightforward messags brands can make it easier for consumers to understand the "technical language".
03 Does Excellent Product Guarantee Sales?
Powerful product value is a key advantage for new products, but its recognition is relative—what matters is who acknowledges the product value. This is especially critical in the functional food sector. A common pitfall is overemphasizing efficacy while neglecting the essential needs that food products should fulfil.
Therefore, brands must clarify whether consumers are paying for "efficacy" or for "essential needs". By precisely understanding consumer demands, identifying pain points or gaps, and leveraging "scenarios + core ingredients" to evoke associations with efficacy, brands can communicate the value of new products, making their benefits self-evident.
04 How to Navigate the Cold Start Phase with a Limited Budget?
More brands are facing the pressure of launching products quickly despite tight budgets. The key to breakthrough is achieving "sell-ability upon shelf placement" with minimal marketing spend. But how? The cbh team believes that it all comes down to "consumer". After selecting a product category, brands must meticulously map out consumer usage scenarios and demand evolution paths, identify the product’s differentiated advantages, and refine it through precise R&D and efficient innovation. By combining channel strategy and precise marketing, brands can successfully launch their products in the market.
Functional products offer diverse innovation perspectives, whether through deep exploration of ingredient technology or detailed refinement of efficacy. The fundamental principle should be "starting with the end "—considering the feasibility of marketing budgets and channel strategies upfront, precisely targeting efficacy segments, and leveraging R&D capabilities to drive "confirmed innovation". Illuminera integrates big and small data to gain holistic insights into consumer mind-set and behavior. From trend analysis and marketing communication to product performance and budget allocation, we help brands plan efficient innovation paths, truly turning good technology into successful products.
For more relevant information, please send an email to
Karen.liu@illuminera.com or marketing@illuminera.com.
