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Turning data overload into bold, behaviorally grounded innovation for IFF within 48 hours
Mimi Sherlock, VP Consumer Intelligence, International Flavors & Fragrances
Client Stories
Turning data overload into bold, behaviorally grounded innovation for IFF within 48 hours
InsightsNow’s Claira™ helped IFF navigate GLP-1 behavioral disruption and redefine snacking innovation
Global leader in flavors, fragrances, food ingredients, health, and biosciences, International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), had more research on GLP-1 users’ eating behaviors than they knew what to do with, leaving mounds of untapped opportunity. Their teams were not starving for data, but for direction.
Challenge – Not a data issue, but an activation issue
IFF had invested heavily in understanding how GLP-1 was reshaping consumer behavior across taste perception, portioning, motivations, and sensory expectations, and was seeing big shifts in their data. Their customers were asking specific, urgent questions: “how is GLP-1 changing snacking occasions, formats, and formulations?”
However, the true challenge wasn’t about researching the consumer… It was moving from deep consumer understanding to behaviorally-grounded innovation that R&D, marketing, and packaging teams could all align around, at a pace IFF’s clients demanded.
Claira™ changed that.
How Claira™ did it – From behavioral map to market-ready concept in a single workflow
To close that gap, IFF brought in Claira™ – InsightsNow’s purpose-built LLM and agentic AI for behavioral innovation. Within one integrated workflow, she ingested 17 IFF proprietary research reports and more than 25,000 GLP-1-related social media posts, then mapped the associations between consumers’ contexts, internal needs, and external motivations to surface unmet opportunities within consumers’ behavior.
From this behavioral map, Claira™ identified over 20 distinct moments of opportunity. The InsightsNow team presented 10 to IFF, who chose a clear opportunity: GLP-1 users wanted to unwind at the end of the day but found that traditional snacks no longer delivered the comfort and joy they once had.
With the moment of opportunity identified, IFF co-created with Claira™ to come up with hundreds of product ideas grounded in this behavioral context and consumers’ motivators. The team identified a standout concept: “Liquid Comfort Pearls”, a snack that releases gentle flavors – designed to deliver the comfort of eating without the overwhelming sensory intensity GLP-1 users can no longer tolerate.
Once the concept was confirmed, Claira™ produced a playbook: a single, behaviorally grounded reference document giving every team involved a unified direction. From the playbook, Claira™ generates tailored briefs for each team involved, translating the concept into actionable directions specific to product development, packaging, and marketing. Every brief speaks the same behavioral language, eliminating the misalignment that typically slows or derails innovation.
Impact – Behavioral rigor, at a pace to act boldly and decisively, is the new revenue model
What typically takes months of cross-functional effort: research synthesis, behavioral mapping, opportunity identification, and cross-team alignment, was completed with behavioral rigor intact, in under 48 hours of elapsed time and just seven hours each from IFF and InsightsNow.
Concept development moved just as quickly. From the selected moment of opportunity, the IFF and InsightsNow teams evolved the “Liquid Comfort Pearls” concept across two focused sessions in a single day – a decision that would previously have required weeks of research consolidation.
No human analyst, who also must be a behavioral science expert, could synthesize 17 proprietary research reports and 25,000+ social media posts without sacrificing either speed or rigor, the foundations of bold innovations. Claira™ preserved both – and delivered results in a form the team could immediately act on. Across Claira™ engagements, this approach, behavioral expertise applied at machine pace, translates to a 75% lift in innovation throughput, by giving teams behavioral evidence early enough to act on it decisively.
This means that IFF can now spot behaviors before they become trends, arrive at their clients with behavioral intelligence already synthesized, specific opportunities identified, moments mapped, and ideas grounded in evidence. They move from reactive supplier to proactive innovation partner.
IFF, together with Claira™, creates the conditions for a long-term commercial relationship: responsiveness builds trust, trust drives product adoption, and every product on the shelf represents an ongoing ingredient relationship. Behavioral evidence, delivered in time to act on it effectively, is what turns responsiveness into revenue.
Boosting Consumer Engagement for 3M
Jen Higgins, Marketing Manager, Scotch Brands
Client Stories
Boosting Consumer Engagement for 3M
3M collaborated with us at InsightsNow to evaluate the impact of on-pack claims on consumer behavior for their new product, Scotch Cushion Lock Protective Wrap. Using implicit testing, the study identified the most effective claims by balancing functional and emotional elements. This approach enabled 3M to refine their messaging and choose the most engaging claims to promote sustainable practices.
A Behavioral Shift in Claims Testing
The study employed our Claims Testing methodology, which uses implicit testing to uncover unconscious biases. Participants, including regular purchasers of packing products and online marketplace sellers, engaged in a blind evaluation through a visual metaphor exercise. This provided deeper behavioral insights and ensured relevant feedback.
Deeper Insights for Greater Impact
The Implicit/Explicit test revealed nuanced differences between subtly nudging and overtly disrupting consumer behavior. While nudging subtly encourages desired behavior subconsciously, disrupting drives entirely new actions. For 3M, identifying claims that were both relevant and disruptive was crucial. The implicit testing uncovered the strongest combinations of claims that resonated emotionally and functionally with consumers.
Optimizing Consumer Engagement
The research analyzed implicit behavioral scores to determine the optimal on-pack claim bundles. This analysis helped 3M select the most effective claims to nudge and disrupt consumer behavior, ultimately driving the desired engagement toward their sustainable packaging solutions. Implementing these insights globally ensured that Scotch Cushion Lock Protective Wrap stood out on the shelf and aligned with consumer values.
Indulgent and healthy, is it possible? Innovating Snacks for Ülker
Photo courtesy of Bazar Al Halal
Client Stories
Indulgent and healthy, is it possible? Innovating Snacks for Ülker
A collaborative effort highlighting the power of agile innovation in meeting consumer demands while maintaining brand identity and product appeal.
Healthier Products with Great Taste
Ülker, a leading Turkish confectionery company, sought to innovate their O’lala Souffle dessert line by introducing healthier options. The challenge was to maintain the indulgency while pivoting towards a clean label approach. To achieve this, Ülker partnered with us at InsightsNow, International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), and consulting firm CuliNex. The goal was to develop and evaluate new concepts with lower sugar, higher protein, and healthy fruit flavors.
Dynamic Innovation
To address this challenge, we employed agile innovation sprints, a dynamic design-thinking methodology encompassing all aspects of product and taste design.
Here are the key steps:
1. Analyze and Scope: We scoped out the project parameters and goals, setting a clear path forward.
2. Empathize and Clarify: Using our PlayFULL Insights™, participants engaged in immersive storytelling through 3-D modeling exercises, capturing authentic consumer insights and future aspirations.
3. Explore and Ideate: We brainstormed and prototyped healthier and indulgent concepts.
4. Develop and Test: Through behavioral tournament surveys and our Implicit/Explicit Test™ we gathered iterative consumer feedback, providing a calibrated classification of consumer reactions.
5. Prepare to Implement: We formulated actionable plans based on the insights gathered, guiding Ülker towards the most promising product concepts.
Throughout the process, the team focused on understanding consumer perceptions of clean label claims and the sensory drivers of indulgence. The implicit testing provided a quantifiable measure of consumer preferences, ensuring that people would love the chosen concepts.
Snacks that People Love
The agile approach delivered several high-performing concepts, with a blend of traditional indulgent and healthier options. Key insights revealed that while consumers showed interest in healthier ingredients, indulgence still had a strong appeal: the low sugar claim did not resonate well, while positioning the snacks as a source of protein did.
These findings enabled Ülker to refine their product communication and ingredient choices. The new snacks balanced indulgence with healthier attributes for market success, demonstrating the effectiveness of agile market research in product innovation.
Powering packaging decisions to win the moment for Tofurky
– SVP Growth and Innovation, Tofurky
Client Stories
Powering packaging decisions to win the moment for Tofurky
Needing to optimize their packaging and shelf placement decisions to motivate consumer purchases, Tofurky, one of the largest producers of vegan plant-based proteins in the U.S., sought our behavioral expertise for help.
Pivotal packaging decisions
Tofurky faced the challenge of making expensive packaging decisions for their innovative plant-based deli slices. Traditional survey research is often devoid of context to provide relevant insights. So, they required a solution that quickly provided behavioral insights to best understand the impact of packaging options in the context of meat products or competitive meat alternatives.
The process of uncovering behavioral insights
Our behavioral experts designed an accessible, winning solution. First, we established a baseline category choice for the original package design within shelf sets. Following, we used our patent-pending Implicit/Explicit Test™ to uncover subconscious perceptions and emotions for one of three alternative designs — and again measured category choices. Baseline comparisons measured LIFT with diagnostic insights to understand why.
The right packaging to motivate and win in the moment
Our moments-based approach uncovered the packaging design significantly improving category LIFT in the context of different shelf placements. Traditional liking and ranking offered little difference between packaging concepts. But our Implicit/Explicit Test™ uncovered significant whys of LIFT for a less expensive soft tray for both placements. The results provided the confidence the Tofurky team needed in deciding where to invest for marketplace success.
Accelerating market entry with Campbell’s using a moments-focus to co-design
– Menexia Tsoubeli, VP R&D Fresh Campbell’s Soup
Client Stories
Accelerating market entry with Campbell’s using a moments-focus to co-design
Seeking to solve one of the biggest challenges in product innovation and marketing — translating a brand’s promise to product requirements — Campbell’s, a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality foods and simple meals, came to us to power a solution.
Fast and effective product innovation
With an aggressive goal of launching a new soup line in less than six months, Campbell’s required a solution to rapidly and cost-effectively develop concepts that consumers recognize as meeting the brand promise. It’s a complex challenge to define and translate emotionally significant elements into products. Rooting decisions in metrics such as preference does not power the product and brand alignment that is needed to create concepts for long-term success.
A behavioral transformation of co-design
Our unique moments-based behavioral approach was just the right solution to define product concept requirements swiftly and successfully for Campbell’s. Their team embraced our moments-based approach that primed participants into their most relevant soup moments. This powered our rapid, iterative methodology to identify cues that can be designed into soups which signal vibrant, generous, delicious, hearty and homemade.
Familiar with a twist
Over three days, our experts led the Campbells team and target soup consumers on an inspirational journey to bring concepts to life. Ultimately, the new soup line was a win for Campbell’s — with first-year product performance exceeding expectations and leading to a line for national launch. Further, what the Campbell’s team learned from our approach will continue to advance their innovation process.