Uncovering Insights and Their Application in Consumer Product Development at HIPP

Background

HiPP Organic UK, a prominent brand of baby food products, embarked on a mission to innovate and refine their baby food pouches and snacks. The company aimed to align its product offerings more closely with consumer needs and preferences.

This case study explores how insights about ‘freedom’ and ‘quality’ were discovered and subsequently applied to generate ideas and concepts for product development, leading to consumer testing.

HiPP Organic UK invited us to define the most motivating consumer proposition for two new categories, ensuring that the proposition was more motivating than at least the third placed competitors’ product.

Insightful Discoveries

Insight on Freedom

Exploring qualitatively the barriers for and triggers for these products with hundreds of consumers, Parents buy baby food for convenience, ease of use, and healthy ingredients, and are excited by travel, discovery, bonding “living for the smile”, without compromising on nutritional value. Their emotions for baby food are Simple, Modern, Comforting, Trustworthy, and Happy.

Through testing we discovered, that the functional and emotional benefits were united under Freedom – a freedom to make life easier, freedom from mess, freedom from cooking, freedom from boring food choiuces, Freedom to explore, and freedomWe united

Insight on Quality

Using our topic explorer tool, Elcano, we reviewed over 200 websites, blogs, and other online resources to review what parents were saying about how to define quality in baby food. This exploration, led us to test themes with consumers to ensure their validity.

Parental feedback and market analysis revealed a strong preference for high-quality, natural ingredients in baby food. There was a discernible trend towards products with fewer, more transparent ingredients, indicating a trust issue with complex or unclear product compositions.

Application of Insights

Idea Generation:

Armed with these insights, the HiPP team brainstormed product ideas. Concepts like pouches with only two ingredients or those made with the highest quality fruits were developed, catering to the need for quality and simplicity

Product Concept Development:

The ideas evolved into concrete product concepts. For instance, a baby food pouch with a simple composition that could be frozen for longer shelf life was developed to address both the freedom and quality aspects.

Marketing Strategy Adjustment:

Marketing narratives were adjusted to emphasize these themes. Product descriptions and advertising campaigns began to highlight the aspects of freedom and quality, resonating with the identified consumer needs.

Consumer Testing and Feedback

  1. Testing Methodology: The new product concepts were subjected to a series of consumer tests. These included focus groups with parents, taste tests, and usability assessments to evaluate the convenience of packaging and product application in real-life scenarios.
  2. Feedback Incorporation: The feedback from these tests was crucial. It led to refinements in product formulations, packaging design for easier handling, and adjustments in marketing messages to better communicate the benefits of the products.
  3. Outcome: The consumer testing led to a successful launch of the new product line. Parents particularly appreciated the simplicity and quality of ingredients, along with the convenience that the new pouches provided. Sales data post-launch showed a positive reception in the target market, affirming the value of the insights gathered and applied.

Conclusion

The case of HiPP demonstrates the importance of deep consumer understanding in product development. By focusing on core insights such as freedom and quality, and rigorously testing their applications, the company was able to create products that resonated well with their target market, fostering both brand loyalty and business growth. This approach highlights the significance of aligning product development with consumer insights for successful innovation in the competitive baby food market.

Work Examples

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