Innovating Salty Snacking

A snack company approached The Sound to develop a 3-5 year pipeline with the “staying power” to fuel growth and leapfrog the competition. We knew we weren’t starting from scratch. Our job was to take the smart work our client had already done, and use it as building blocks as we leverage a deeply-rooted human lens and make it immediately actionable. Which is why we proposed a bespoke approach using deep empathy, strategic insight and fiercely creative ideation to unlock growth opportunities for their brands.

We started off conducting a high level scan of cultural discourse, trend reports, professional publications, and competitor activity in the news, to provide groundwork for the research. We then spoke to 3 futurists/experts in the food and snacking space to uncover what’s new and next in the category. Lastly, we conducted dyad interviews with salty snacking Superfans to illuminate key JTBD and clearly identify the brand’s right to win. 

These insights directly informed our dig sites for innovation, which we leveraged during an in-person innovation sprint, honing in on the most fruitful ideas. Before wrapping this super savory project, we crafted 50 idea statements, then plotted and mapped current and future product ideas onto a 3-5 year pipeline cadence map.

In the end, the brand had a clear understanding of what the near future of food and snacking looked liked, including: how people see and define the space, where their power brands fit within it, and recommendations to evolve the brand’s offerings in a way that allowed it to grow and stretch well into the future.