In your view, what is the main value of your participation in the Innovation Booster & Lifestyle workshop in creating radical innovation?
For us, the main value lies in being challenged to think beyond our own internal assumptions. As an established brand, it’s easy to rely on what has always worked. The workshop format pushes you to question that, and to bring in outside perspectives — academic, technical, and consumer-focused — that we wouldn’t naturally combine on our own. That combination is really where radical innovation starts.
What value have you gained today by further exploring your challenge through design thinking exercises?
The exercises helped us reframe our challenge. We came in focused on the idea of measuring durability, but the discussion pushed us to think more concretely about the consumer side: how people actually experience and value durability day to day, not just how we test it in the lab. That shift in framing was genuinely useful.
Which area did you discuss the most today: desirability, viability, or feasibility?
We spent the most time on desirability. Before we can talk about how to build or scale a solution, we needed to be confident that consumers actually want this kind of information and would engage with it. That felt like the right place to start.
How important is it to focus on desirability when identifying and clarifying market demand for the developed solution in the early stages?
It’s essential. Feasibility and viability are easier to course-correct later, but if you build something nobody wants, no amount of technical or business refinement will save it. Starting with desirability keeps the whole project grounded in real consumer need rather than internal assumptions.
How has the program helped you tap into academic or business knowledge and expertise in Switzerland?
Working with SUPSI has given us direct access to academic rigour — particularly around life cycle thinking and data-driven methodology — that complements our internal product and consumer expertise. The Innovation Booster network more broadly has also connected us with other industry players and perspectives we wouldn’t normally encounter in our day-to-day work.
