Chapter 32. Innovation beyond the comfort zone?
CASE STUDY 11: UNILEVER[122]
Can we spread this far?
"Spreads such as margarines are a major contributor to our turnover and profit but the market is shrinking by about 2% per year. We need something to get off that slippery slope."
"I really believe we should push on with this, I am sure that there is a market." This was the view of a small but determined group within Unilever's 'yellow fat' business. Unilever had been working on developing a spread with serious cholesterol-reducing properties for some time but so far they had not been able to get the price point to a level that would convince senior management to commit the necessary resources. There had been development activities around a 'heart health' platform, and Unilever's existing product did already have some positive effect on cholesterol levels, but the desire was to develop a product that would have a significant impact on cholesterol – at the existing price point.
The fact that market research on whether or not ...
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