To remain relevant in a rapidly changing market, it is essential to anticipate the needs of emerging consumer segments. At Arla, the Global Innovation department faced the challenge of solving the problem of teenagers skipping breakfast by developing a nutritious and attractive breakfast offering for teenagers. In this client case, we share how our collaboration helped Arla gain deep insight into the breakfast moment of teenagers to develop innovative concepts that resonate with the target group. Discover how through research, co-creation and experiments we helped Arla fill their innovation pipeline and identify a winning concept.
Parents and caregivers see that teenagers are increasingly skipping breakfast, worsening related health and concentration problems. Arla was therefore looking for a commercial solution that addresses this problem by developing breakfast products that are nutritious and appeal to both teenagers and their parents.
In a joint innovation journey, we conducted co-creation research that started with research, followed by idea generation sessions, concept development and iterative consumer testing. Prototypes were tested in supermarkets and are now being further developed in European countries.
We developed a broad idea pipeline, fully worked out six concepts (including value proposition and business model), tested three of these with the market, identified one winning proposition for further product development, and introduced a new innovation mindset within the organization.
Arla Foods is a progressive international dairy cooperative, owned by European dairy farmers. This fourth largest dairy company in the world aims for a 30% CO₂ reduction per kilo of milk before 2030 and is the world's largest producer of organic dairy.
With brands like Lurpak and Castello, Arla has a strong international presence and strategic partnerships, including with Starbucks. In the Netherlands, Arla is also known for the Melkunie brand, including Breaker & Breaker, which has a strong position in the teenage market and is highly recognizable to Dutch consumers.
The Arlagården quality program ensures animal welfare without hormone use, according to European standards.
Arla faced a unique challenge. Among teenagers, breakfast is increasingly being skipped, which was a growing concern for parents. To find a commercial solution for this, Arla had to develop a product that would appeal to both the buyers (parents) and the users (teenagers). This was extra challenging because this new generation has different expectations, nutritional needs and consumption patterns than previous generations. The goal was to develop concepts that not only meet the nutritional needs of teenagers, but also take into account the purchasing behavior and concerns of parents.
We started with extensive consumer research, in which we immersed ourselves in the world of teenagers. What does their breakfast moment look like? What do they do during breakfast? What interaction do they seek and which trends influence them? These insights formed the basis for content that we used during the idea generation session with the Arla team. Through various innovation techniques, we facilitated the development of multiple (proposition) ideas, from which six full concepts were ultimately selected for further development.
The power of our approach lay in the iterative experimentation phase that followed. To validate the developed concepts, we set up a series of targeted test sprints, from online interviews to in-store testing with our partner SPAR. In each phase, we collected valuable insights that validated or refuted our hypotheses, allowing us to better determine which propositions aligned with the needs of both teenagers and parents. With each sprint, we refined our concepts or dropped less promising ideas.
Essential in our approach was the step-by-step exploration of realistic test situations. In the final sprint phase, we were actually in stores, where we tested prototypes with shopping parents and teenagers to directly observe which products they preferred. This hands-on approach gives Arla the customer insights to confidently and directionally develop the most promising concept from prototype to product.
At the end of the project, Arla had a clear path to market introduction, based on four concrete results:
In addition to the winning concept, we delivered an extensive pipeline of ideas and concepts that Arla can continue to explore for future innovation. We developed six new concepts on paper, each with value proposition and business model. Of these six, we tested the three most promising options in the market and thus set Arla up for success to develop the products and push them through to market validation.
Through extensive concept testing with teenagers and parents, we identified the concept with the highest chance of success. This validation sets Arla up for success to invest in the production phase of this winning concept.
Perhaps the most sustainable result was the introduction of a new mindset and way of working within Arla's innovation team. This shift towards more experimental, customer-focused innovation methods strengthens Arla's ability to continue innovating in the future.
With the identified winning concept and a rich collection of ideas, Arla is set up for success to improve teenagers' breakfast habits. The winning concept is being developed per country. The new innovation mindset introduced during this project enables Arla to continue innovating faster and more effectively, also for other target groups and product categories.
For Arla, we developed a winning breakfast concept that perfectly aligns with the world of teenagers. Do you also want to discover how customer-focused innovation can bring your organization to the next growth phase? We help you identify new market opportunities and develop future-proof product ideas. Contact us today to discuss how we can strengthen your innovation strategy.
