P&G to triple rate of innovation

Procter & Gamble is plotting to triple new product development over the next five years and is planning the launch of a raft of “breakthrough” products and brands that redefine categories

PG

Speaking at the company’s annual meeting for analysts, Jorge Mesquita, group president of new business creation, innovation and pet care, said that P&G aims to launch three times as many “change innovations” in the next five years as it has in the previous five years.

Mesquita defines a “change innovation” as a “breakthrough that resets the competitive bar in the category and leads to significant share increases, category growth and competitive advantage”.

Gillette Fusion ProGlide razor system and Fairy Platinum dishwasher tablets were cited as existing examples.

Mesquita says: “Our focus on fewer and bigger R&D projects allows us to develop and launch more innovations with fewer resources, get more for every dollar we invest and increase our speed to market.”

P&G has also been developing cross-disciplinary team called LEAP made up of some of its “best minds” from marketing, research and development, technologists, consumerists and industrial designers to develop a portfolio of brands and categories that drive new business.

The FMCG giant has reduced the number of small-scale initiatives P&G works on by 70 per cent and a 60 per cent increase in the size of initiatives undertaken.

P&G invest $2bn each year on R&D $350m of which is in consumer understanding to identify opportunities for innovation.

Two focuses for P&G’s innovations are products and brands that will obsolete existing segments and those that will cater for under-served consumer groups.

It has a raft of innovations due to launch in markets around the globe including its Olay, Vidal Sassoon, Crest and Gillette brands.

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