Early in my career, I worked for a Japanese manufacturing company that made home appliances. They were obsessed with problem-solving. Engineers outnumbered every other department, geeking out over heat exchangers and thermal efficiencies all day long.

Funny thing is, they rarely used the word “innovation.” But that’s exactly what they were doing - solving real problems and developing genuinely new ideas.

Then I stepped into the fast-moving consumer goods world. “Innovation” was everywhere.

Innovation departments. Innovation pipelines. Innovation workshops.

I quickly realised that in FMCG, “innovation” was just corporate speak for “new product development.” And most the time, that meant a lazy line extension - new flavour, new pack size, same old product.

Which leads me to today’s episode, I’m calling it…

What actually is innovation?

Before we jump into, 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 later.

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

Big corporates mostly suck at innovating

Big corporations love to talk about innovation. They hire teams of innovation consultants, travel the world looking for the next best thing and flood their websites with buzzwords. But when it comes to actually delivering, they often fall flat. Here’s why:

1. Fear of the unknown

Big business is terrified of rocking the boat. Shareholders want predictable returns, leadership chases quarterly targets, and no one wants to be the person who gambled on a wild idea and lost.

So what do they do? They stick to safe, incremental changes. No big moves. No bold bets. Just rinse and repeat.

2. Death by committee

Every idea goes through 27 layers of approvals, and by the time it’s out the other side, it’s been Frankensteined into something completely unrecognisable.

Innovation doesn’t thrive in environments drowning in bureaucracy. It needs speed, agility, and a willingness to try and fail fast. Three things that corporate giants are allergic to.

3. Measuring the wrong stuff

You can be drowning in data but still have no idea. The problem is we tend to measure what’s easy, not what matters. If you’re obsessing over scan data that tells you what your competitor sold loads of 3 months ago, you’re probably not going to come up with something interesting.

Getting it right: a framework for innovation that actually lands

If you can get past the corporate red tape, here’s a useful way to think about successfully bringing new ideas into the world.

It’s called Innovation Fluency, probably one of the most overlooked aspects of successful product development.

80% familiar, 20% new. That’s the formula.

John Kearon and Orlando Wood of System1 Group figured out that people don’t actually like radical change - they like things that feel like an upgrade, not an overhaul. Successful innovation makes new ideas feel recognisable and easy to understand, easing people into the future rather than shoving them into it.

Think about electric cars. The early models were too weird and too different. Then Tesla came along. Same shape, same driving experience, just electric instead of petrol. 80% familiar, 20% new. It worked because it didn’t scare people off or make it seem like it was something entirely different.

Why it matters

Consumers shop on autopilot. They make split-second decisions based on gut feel and recognition. If something looks unfamiliar, it’s sorted into the ‘too hard’ basket. If it’s entirely the same, they’ll ignore it. The best innovations respect this balance - enough familiarity to feel comfortable, enough novelty to excite.

3 successful innovations using this framework

Bippi

Where were we without Bippi? The Chilli Wave has gone from hot sauces to chilli oils, but Bippi stands alone as a spicy condiment for Italian foods.

The spicy condiment component gives it the 80% familiar, but the Italian spin adds the 20% novelty that’s enough for this brand to stand out. Pretty sure these guys are crushing it at the moment too.

Pistachio Papi

Might as well keep the Italian inspiration going. But this is another perfect example. You’ve heard of Nutella, right? Hazelnut spread? Well, this is like that, except with a different colour nut and way more personality.

The colour itself is novel and interesting, but the taste profile lands it right in that “eat it out the jar” territory. A novel idea in a very familiar concept. Incredibly well executed, they’re selling out on the reg.

Destination Italy

I promise I did not intend to only give examples of modern Italian inspired brands but we’re here now and it’s flowing so let’s roll with it. But this is truly another epic example of innovation.

How is that pack format?! Transparent plastic so you can SEE how delicious the ice cream is. They hit the main familiar favourite flavour combo’s but the real novelty comes from the see-thru tub. If they tried to do this brand in a paper pack, it would fall in line as another ‘me-too’. It’s flying off shelves.

I’m bullish on small-medium sized organisations

Notice how the best examples came from startup brands or mid-size co’s?

I hope we continue to see new ideas come to life from outside the likes of Unilever or P&G. I’m not anti big-corp but they are easy targets when it comes to the topic of innovation (soz).

What do you think?