1.Kraft Heinz – Pioneering Product Innovation through Interactive Consumer Experiences
Following a period of limited product innovation, Kraft Heinz invested in consumer research and built its own AI-powered data ecosystem to analyze preferences. In-house Kraft-o-Matic tools synthesize data from across the company, and machine learning uses real-time insights to inform new flavor concepts that align with evolving audience interests.
Consumer surveys revealed that the most frequent visitors to fast food restaurants (Gen Z and Millennials) have higher preferences for trying out new flavor combinations. Younger demographics’ rising demand for personalization and variety in food experiences translated to condiments, with 69% of consumers reporting the ability to customize sauces as very important.
Kraft Heinz responded to the research findings by developing the foodservice industry’s first customizable and IoT-enabled digital sauce dispenser. The Heinz Remix empowers consumers to bring variety to their own meals by creating unique flavor combinations. Choosing from over 2,000 custom sauce options is positioning condiments as a main attraction, rather than a secondary consideration, in the casual dining experience.
Cross-channel campaign analysis that combined owned, earned and paid media activations with in-store retail insights identified the need for more relevant product and brand messaging. Kraft Heinz began to personalize offers and interact with audiences across trending food conversations to increase engagement in new channels.
Kraft Heinz’s insights are also benefiting restaurant partners. Real-time data gathered from Heinz Remix interactions informs faster retail launches of the most popular flavors. The company works with retail partners to tailor product recommendations in response to macro and micro consumer trend analysis, with interactive consumer experiences increasing footfall and on-premise sales per shopper.
Kraft Heinz’s Global Head of Innovation Alan Kleinerman divulges “Our consumer-first approach to innovation means making bigger, more intentional bets to fuel our growth and create new experiences. Heinz Remix is more than a sauce dispenser; it’s an insights engine that will help Kraft Heinz understand and respond to consumer trends and flavor preferences in real-time.”
2. Nike – Strategic Shifts from Performance to Brand Investment
Despite overall category growth in its core market, Nike’s overinvestment in performance at the expense of brand saw preference and profit plummet in recent years. The company’s product innovation trailed behind competitors, losing global market share in the core areas of sneakers and apparel.
With a new leader at the helm, Nike has returned to its roots: powerful brand building through emotional storytelling, made possible by globally integrating consumer insights. Consumer data is combined from a variety of platforms and channels, including the Nike Run Club and SNKRS apps, direct audience polling and local member surveys. Usage, preference and behavior feedback from millions of users is analyzed and incorporated into new product designs.
Consumer insights are already directly influencing existing product development. After behavior tracking revealed that users of a specific shoe model were logging notably longer distances on their running apps, Nike responded by releasing an upgraded model with more cushioning and better foot support. Audience preferences and trends informed the new Astra Ultra shoe, developed in response to trends for both football training shoes and the motorcore aesthetic.
Research participants are prioritized in campaign targeting for the launches of products they helped bring to life, creating a full-circle insights-to-shopping experience for core audiences. App interactions incorporate behavioral insights to personalize recommendations, offers and exclusive access to new and popular products, increasing repeat engagement and purchase frequency in shoppers who feel personally understood and valued by the brand.
New partnerships with influencers and creators are regaining the interest of core demographics. The upcoming NikeSKIMS partnership will include training apparel, footwear and accessories for women, capitalizing on current trends for body-conscious silhouettes and consumer demand for inclusive sizing. In Q2 2025, Nike’s key running division returned to growth in the high-single digits, with the company and its investors predicting a consumer-driven return to market dominance for the beloved brand.
Nike’s President and CEO Elliott Hill shares the importance of insights in regaining the brand’s place in consumers’ hearts and minds: “We’re in a tough moment right now, but we’ve been there before. To win, we need to get back to a sharp focus on the consumer. I want us to put the athlete at the center of everything we do, and show them the magic that they can only get from Nike. We must understand where we need to improve, put teams in place against those opportunities, and hold each other accountable to deliver. When we do those things, we’ll get back to winning.”
3. Little Moons – From Fleeting Social Awareness to Sustainable Brand Growth through Accurate Targeting
Monitoring social media conversations and incorporating conversational insights into decision-making can increase consumer satisfaction by 24% and retention by 20%. However, buzz will only turn into buyers with the right targeting.
After viral TikTok fame drove an initial tenfold sales rise for Little Moons, sales and profits dropped significantly only a few months later. The company sought to understand the gap between brand awareness and purchase decisions, to better allocate their marketing budgets and achieve sustainable growth.
Little Moons harnessed quantitative surveys, focus groups and brand tracking tools to analyze demographics, psychographics and purchase drivers for more accurate targeting. Consumer research revealed a mismatch between viral audiences (teenagers and young adults) and core buyers (affluent 30-plus consumers).
Granular consumer profiling showed older demographics were moving away from traditional desserts in favor of smaller, lighter sweet treats. Little Moons realized the opportunity to disrupt traditional attitudes to the category, repositioning its products to satisfy the need for snacking rather than dessert occasions, and reframing the frozen food aisle as a place to look for snacking options in addition to main meals. Analysis revealing core buyers’ appetite for adventure and novelty informed the creation of limited-edition flavors and vegan options.
The company refocused campaign activity into the preferred spaces of their most profitable audiences, overhauling their marketing mix to reach their most valuable buyers across the right channels. Following overinvestment in social media, Little Moons pivoted their brand investment into PR, print newspapers and OOH advertising to reach higher spenders. Insights around key values and preferences for portion-controlled and low-calorie snacking guided tailored messaging and campaigns around sophisticated, guilt-free consumption.
Little Moons’ product innovation grew repeat purchases and brand loyalty from its most profitable buying group. Insight-led campaign targeting tripled aided awareness, enhanced purchase consideration by almost 50% and increased sales by 1000%.
4. Coca-Cola – Scaling Up Proven Success from Campaign Experimentation Insights
When analysis showed that 10 million teenagers had not consumed Coca-Cola in the preceding year, the drinks brand turned to hyper-personalized product development fueled by real-life connections.
Insights revealed that the digital native teenage consumer segment desired authenticity and ways to connect with their friends in real life. The “Share a Coke” initiative swapped out the iconic Coca-Cola logo with popular first names, enabling the target demographic to purchase products bearing their own personal branding, and a social media campaign provided a hashtag to share experiences. The campaign encouraged 1.25 million more teenagers to consume Coca-Cola products during the following summer, with US sales rising by 11%.
The 2025 campaign iteration scales up personalization with a mobile app and on-pack QR codes linked to the Share a Coke digital hub. A more inclusive approach allows audiences to customize packaging with additional names to share their creations with any friend of choice. The “Share a Coke Memory Maker,” offers an interactive digital experience where the younger tech-native generation can create personalized videos and memes to share with friends. Coca-Cola are partnering with influencers to reach Gen Z on social platforms and collaborating with McDonald’s to offer “Share a Meal” bundles at restaurants, to build on its existing success with consumer insights-driven innovation.
Coca-Cola’s continuous investment in consumer insights includes always-on brand and campaign tracking. The company unites data from over 100 sources to measure consumer conversations, behaviors and preferences across 40 global markets. Instant insights inform in-flight campaign optimization for more meaningful consumer experiences and higher spend ROI.
The Coca-Cola Company’s Global Insights and Marketing Performance Director Begoña Fafian comments, “With Delineate, we have the ability to shape and adjust campaigns on the fly. We are now able to increase the effectiveness of our campaigns by 25% at a minimum.”
