How it started

Hortifrut, a global producer of berries, sought to unlock and leverage the growth potential of the category in Europe. Their goal was clear: to gain a comprehensive understanding of how European consumers perceive and use berries in their everyday life. Armed with these insights, the Hortifrut team aimed to pave the way for an entirely new innovation track. They reached out to us to help them with this challenge.

How we inspired change

We employed a two-phased approach – combining insight generation and idea screening – to provide Hortifrut a glimpse into the hearts and homes of European consumers.

• Insight generation: We conducted a comprehensive qualitative study in four key European countries: the UK, Germany, Spain, and France. In each of these markets we combined in-depth interviews with in-home ethnography, totalling 96 interviews. This approach unveiled invaluable consumer insights on berry consumption, inspiring the Hortifrut team to craft an extensive list of fresh and innovative ideas.
• Idea Screener: We tested these new ideas (16 in total) in a semi-monadic idea screener across the same four European countries. The aim was to distinguish the winning ideas from those with potential and those that were non-potential. This phase resulted in a wealth of cross-country learnings, shedding light on what works effectively and what doesn’t.

How it lives on

The winning ideas will be taken forward by the Hortifrut team in the innovation funnel. The learnings from this study will help the team to refine and enhance the concepts along the way.

But the impact doesn’t end there. The study served as a source of inspiration, sparking many more new and exciting ideas. This infusion of fresh creativity has left the team energised, inspired, and fuelled by unwavering enthusiasm.