Shelli Baltman - Co-President and Founding Partner of The Idea Suite - discusses how to build a successful innovation pipeline, even when time and money are constrained.

We’ve all heard the statistics that 90% of innovations fail. At The Idea Suite, we believe this is often because organizations have skipped steps in the design-thinking process. But sometimes time and money are severely constrained – surely there must be a few shortcuts!

After 20-plus years running innovation programs, I can share a shortcut that can quickly fill your innovation pipeline with ideas proven in the marketplace. We’ve led this process with many multinational clients, and it has an extraordinarily high success rate.

Stop reading here if you’ve already done this – but we think Market Safaris from World-Leading Markets are underrated!

It’s not for every organization or challenge, but if there is a particular geography outside of your core market that is leading the world, there can be a lot to learn.

Recently, we’ve been running trend treks and market safaris to step-change inspiration and having amazing results for our clients. Looking for new flavours, new ingredients, new packaging, new benefits, and new formulations. There’s no shortage of inspiration – it takes time, diligence, and some dedicated resources, but it’s certainly an efficient way to broaden your view and add juice to your ideation phase.

The magic really happens when you import the inspiration to create a perfect fit for your market – pairing it with an unmet consumer need at home.

Should you be doing a Market Safari? Let’s look at a few examples that we think are worthwhile:

Cosmetics in South Korea
Confectionary in Japan
Quick Service Restaurant concepts in South-Western United States
Convenience meals in Europe

Learn from the world’s best through the filter of your unique challenge.