Jul 29, 2022
In today's conversation, I am
joined by Beatrix Daros, Global Consumer Intelligence Director for
Mars, and today we are talking mostly about a project we worked on
together for KIND snack bars around healthy snacking and
checkout/impulse buying in grocery stores. Beatrix also shares
about some technology they used during the pandemic and her advice
for others looking to incorporate similar work at their companies.
This conversation is a revisit of the session we did together at
IIEX Europe in Amsterdam a few weeks back, which was an awesome
event -- thank you to Greenbook for having us out for
that!
Beatrix is so awesome and I'm
delighted that she is joining me on the podcast. The event space in
Amsterdam didn't allow for the same easy replay on the podcast, so
she was kind
enough (pun intended) to do another
recording with me here -- so even those who watched the session
live in Amsterdam will get something a little different in the
episode. We talk about the questionstorming session we did in 2019,
the studies they implemented based on that work, her plans for
future research, and so much more.
Show Notes:
- [00:43] In today's
conversation, I am joined by Beatrix Daros, Global Consumer
Intelligence Director for Mars.
- [01:45] Melina) will be
speaking at another upcoming Greenbook event IIEX Behavior in
Chicago September 13th-14th.
- [03:35] The event space in
Amsterdam didn't allow for the same easy replay on the podcast, so
Beatrix was kind enough (pun intended) to do another recording
with me here.
- [06:02] Beatrix shares about
herself and the work she does.
- [07:07] KIND is a healthy snack
bar with very low sugar levels, high content of nuts, and very
little processing. It is called KIND because we need more kindness
in the world.
- [08:06] Beatrix shares her
history and background.
- [10:16] Research tip: the most
important thing is really to connect with people from the segments
you are working with. (In their case, it was
countries.)
- [12:02] In some countries
snacking is very established; it is considered part of the normal
routine and part of their culture.
- [13:18] How people make
decisions related to health is very different across countries.
They researched what is affecting these decisions.
- [15:11] They are doing research
in the US, including looking at new products. In the rest of the
world, they are looking to establish the brand like it is in the
US.
- [18:00] Impulse buys matter a
lot for the Mars legacy brands. Bars, whether they are indulgent or
healthy, are very often bought impulsively.
- [20:43] Their expectation is
that in the next five years other governments will likely follow
what the UK is doing with their health
regulations.
- [23:18] They started by really
trying to understand what goes on in the brain of the consumers and
what influences their decisions. They also looked at behavioral
science and how they could apply it.
- [25:05] Melina worked with
their team at a full-day workshop. They started off the day with
Melina sharing about behavioral economics, how the brain works, and
some specific concepts, and then they went to
questionstorming.
- [27:26] It is important for
everyone to be part of the process even if their idea doesn’t
ultimately get selected (this helps with the IKEA
effect).
- [29:45] Questionstorming was
much more inclusive and improved engagement because every question
found a space even if it wasn’t part of the first phase. It opened
up and really brought people together.
- [31:08] Technology was
wonderful for their project (especially with the pandemic) because
they could learn very fast and get super clear on the
outcomes.
- [33:19] They decided they would
not go back to the way they did research before (in-person) because
it was much more time-consuming. Technology can help you speed up
and get results in 1-2 weeks. They may then test in stores for 4-6
weeks for validation, but it is still often faster than the old way
of testing.
- [34:29] Beatrix tip: rely on
technology, it is very reliable and we should take advantage of
it.
- [36:25] The “deep human
connection” goes back to the roots of the KIND brand. They were
always in touch with the brand-consumer in a natural
way.
- [37:13] There are three layers
where they try to create deep human connections with their
consumers. The first layer is to be kind to the body. The second
layer is to be kind to the community, and the third layer is to be
kind to the planet.
- [39:27] They launched a
consumer closeness program. The first stream of the program was
technology.
- [41:19] The second stream of
the consumer closeness program is a consumer and associate connect.
Every team member is connecting directly with consumers and trying
to understand what matters to them.
- [44:26] Beatrix shares what she
is excited about coming up in the future.
- [45:52] There needs to be a
healthy balance between using technology and keeping human
connections.
- [46:51] Since the pandemic, a
lot of people became more conscious and we see the relationship
between food and eating really changed in a positive
way.
- [48:09] Melina shares her
closing thoughts.
- [49:58] Even when we have a
small part in creating the project, and believe we were truly
valued and part of the outcome, it can make a huge difference on
whether or not people want to be part of and embrace that change
initiative or recoil against it
- [50:59] The way change is
presented is within your control and can help keep this from ever
being a problem. This is the focus of my new book, What
Your Employees Need and Can't Tell You which is on presale now and hits shelves on
October 11, 2022.
- [51:38] Could your team benefit
from a questionstorming session? What projects do you have coming
up in the next 6-12 months that are too important to fail? I would
love to have a conversation with you and see if there is an
opportunity for us to work together.
Thanks for listening. Don’t
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show.
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