01
Organisational context
One of the largest snack companies in the world, distributing across dozens of markets, was losing ground to smaller competitors who could take a product from idea to shelf faster. The organisation had strong brands, deep resources and a product development process that had grown slow, layered and hard to change.
02
Capability challenge
Speed to market was the strategic issue. Decision-making passed through too many gates, resources were allocated before assumptions had been tested and there was no habit of rapid prototyping. Leaders wanted teams to test ideas earlier and decide faster without compromising quality.
03
Roles involved
- Product development and marketing teams
- Innovation and portfolio leads
- Senior sponsors in the category leadership team
04
Pathway or intervention designed
The engagement began with a diagnostic of the product development process to locate the delays. A multi-stage programme followed: taught sessions in agile and lean methods, practical workshops in which teams applied them to their live projects, and coaching through implementation so that the new way of working held under pressure.
05
Live challenge addressed
Teams worked on real products in their pipeline. In a related two-day accelerator for a new condiment range, cross-functional teams ideated, prototyped and validated concepts with consumers in two days; one concept was fast-tracked and launched.
06
Evidence and work products
- Current-state process assessment identifying bottlenecks
- Prioritised concepts with explicit selection criteria
- Consumer-tested prototypes
- Validation results from focus groups and surveys
- Iterated product plans based on market feedback
07
Decisions and outcomes
The organisation reported a substantial reduction in speed to market, faster consumer feedback loops and more collaborative working across functions. One concept developed in the accelerator went on to a worldwide launch.
08
Capability retained internally
Teams continued to use the agile and lean routines introduced in the programme in their day-to-day product development, and the organisation adopted a culture of testing before committing.
09
Next stage
Developing internal facilitators to run accelerators independently and connecting product experiments to portfolio governance.