In less than 3 years since launch, Chad Janis sold his nutritional gummy company Grüns to Unilever for well over a billion dollars.

I’ve listened to a bunch of podcasts and interviews with Chad, and there’s one thing he consistently preaches:

innovation in form factor.

Grüns didn’t invent ‘greens’. They just saw that it was a pain in the arse to scoop, mix and drink a green smoothie everyday.

So they went after the behaviour with a new angle: eat a handful of gummies instead.

This article explores 3 new launches I’ve spotted in the past week - perhaps 3 kinds of innovation you likely haven’t seen.

Let’s go.

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What actually is innovation?

Before we jump into it, let’s make sure we’re speaking the same language.

Real innovation isn’t just slapping a new flavour on an old product or tweaking the packaging and calling it a day. It’s about solving real problems in new ways. Creating value and delivering something that people want.

Stamping your footprint on the world to make it better.

At its core, innovation should:

1. Solve a meaningful problem. No one cares about your “cool new idea” unless it fixes something.

2. Deliver real value. If it doesn’t make life easier, better, or more interesting, it’s a waste of time.

3. Feel new, but not too new. More on this next.

But here’s the thing - most companies, big or small, completely miss the mark. They fail for entirely different reasons, but the end result is the same: wasted time, wasted money, and wasted opportunity.

The 80/20 innovation rule

80% familiar, 20% new.

People don’t really like change. So often, founders and entrepreneurs focus on coming up with the brilliant “idea”, rather than focusing on where the demand sits.

Chad was successful with Grüns because the category was already established, and there was real demand to chip away at.

The 80/20 rule is about making tweaks to existing categories that reduce friction, improve the experience or make adherence easier. The idea is that you’re more likely to strike success with incremental improvements than trying to invent the next new category from thin air.

And form factor might be one of the best ways to do it.

3 new formats to pay attention to.

1. Creatine sherbet by Bodiez

I wrote about the current state-of-play around creatine earlier in the year here. It’s a category that’s certainly over-hyped but still has plenty of room for growth.

Aussie brand Bodiez has launched a range of functional sherbets. The range includes three SKUs: creatine, electrolytes and a ‘focus’ style supplement. The product comes in a single-serve sachet that looks like an electrolyte stick, but is designed for completely waterless consumption.

Just whack it straight on your tongue and fizz away.

I think the creatine line is particularly interesting because taking traditional creatine powder sucks a lot. It’s grainy, doesn’t ever mix well and tastes bad. If they’ve found a way to make consuming creatine enjoyable, novel and easy, they are on to a winner.

The other note is that creatine gummies have a shadow of doubt around them now. Many brands claiming to offer creatine gummies turned out to actually have no creatine in them. The problem is that creatine as a supplement is unstable in many formats - so a powdered sherbet feels like it avoids these issues given it’s similar to the source format.

2. Juice in a pouch

It took me slightly longer than I’d like to admit to figure out what this was. This pouch format is typically reserved for yoghurt, right?

But within 3 seconds, it landed. The top strip of claims helped to contextualise the product offer, along with it’s clear placement in the juice fridge.

I assume the intended target audience here is kids. And that’s why I think this idea works - they have made the format more lunch-box friendly which opens up a new consumption occasion for the end-user.

You would probably never buy a bottle of juice that’s 140ml in size. It would look ridiculous and low-value. But a pouch feels fit for purpose - straight into the kids’ lunch boxes for an extra serve of fruit throughout the day.

3. Caffeine in a pouch

Just a different kind of pouch. Nicotine pouches like ZYN are an established market around the world and a thriving black market here in Australia.

But these are not that.

Neutonic focus pouches mix caffeine and nootropics to help you lock in.

What’s interesting about these “focus” pouches is that they are going after the energy drink segment - with subtley and discretion as the hook.

Let’s be real, how many adults want to be seen necking a sugar-free Red Bull at 11am? Whether you like it or not, a can in the hand signals something to those around you. And if you want to avoid looking like you are going to a rave, slipping a pouch in your top lip might be the answer.

I think these will be a hit for the “shit it’s 2PM and I need to get stuff done but the cafe is closed” moments.

I’d dismiss this idea as kinda-niche-and-likely-to-only-work-on-eCom BUT I just got word about a VERY similar product to the Neutonic above that is launching nationally into a major supermarket retailer in Australia. So watch this space I guess.

The common thread

Take something people already understand and change the way they consume it.

Forget about trying to invent a new behaviour in someone’s day.

Just make what they are already doing, easier.

What do you think?

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