Am I scaling or stalling?
Valerie:
We launched and it worked. Retail picked us up and customers love us.
…So why does it feel like we’re stuck?
Alexis:
What’s on your mind?
Valerie:
Everyone’s asking what’s next. New SKUs, new markets, new bets.
We’re moving fast but it’s starting to feel… scattered.
Alexis:
Scattered how?
Valerie:
Lots of exciting products and promising directions, but somehow no clear edge anymore.
…I don’t want to become just another brand on the shelf.
Alexis:
You’re worried about your customers trading your products for competition.
Valerie:
I’m worried they already are.
DO I HAVE A PRODUCT MIS-FIT PROBLEM?
Alexis:
What do you think competitors are doing better than you?
Valerie:
It is difficult to say.
Big players have a name already, we are still building it.
Smaller players… well I am not sure really, but they seem to be like ours overall.
Maybe none of us has figured out how to lead the category yet.
Alexis:
So how do you decide what to put out next?
Valerie:
A mix of things: what’s trending, what retailers and consumers are asking for, what the team believes in.
Alexis:
And it works?
Valerie:
Sometimes really well and we double down.
Alexis:
And when it doesn’t work?
Valerie:
We move on.
At the time, it all feels right, each decision, on its own.
But when I step back…I can’t quite explain why each product seems to be built in parts and I want them to fit together.
Alexis:
What would “fitting together” look like?
Valerie:
It’s hard to describe…But you feel it straight away.
There’s no friction, no second-guessing. You just… trust it.
Like when you use Apple. You don’t question it.
Everything just works, together.
And you keep going back… without even thinking why.
AM I PLAYING TO BECOME THE WINNER HERE?
Alexis:
If it worked like that… what would change?
Valerie
We wouldn’t be chasing the category anymore. We’d be setting it.
Alexis:
How would you know?
Valerie:
Customers wouldn’t compare us, they’d come looking for us.
Every product would feel… inevitable, like it had to come from us.
Alexis:
And the business?
Valerie:
Simpler, stronger, more focused and yes…a disruptive leader just like Apple.
You know what I mean…we wouldn’t just be another option on the shelf.
We’d be the one they choose without thinking twice.
WHAT IS THE CHANGE I SHOULD BE DOING?
Alexis:
What is the change you think should happen to make the customer choose you over and over again?
Valerie:
I would like to say that we should create better or more products to keep up but it does not feels right…It is not just about having more products, we’re already doing enough of that.
It feels like something earlier in the process is off.
Before anything reaches the customer.
Alexis:
Earlier how?
Valerie:
The way we decide, what we connect and what we don’t.
Each product is strong on its own, but it’s like they’re not shaped together.
So customers experience us… one product at a time.
Not as something they build a relationship with.
Alexis:
And what would need to change?
Valerie:
How we think about it from the start. Not product by product, function by function… but as one direction. All teams as one integrated system…yes, just like Apple.
One logic behind all the choices.
So that when they choose us once…it naturally leads to them choosing us again.
Make it all connect. Make it impossible to ignore. That’s how you lead the market.
Why It Works
Because
- The market rewards what stands out.
- Customers return to what changes in their lives.
- Adding without changing the game gets ignored.
- Leaders are those who redefine the category.
How It Works
By challenging
- Conventions with a disruptive strategy.
- What’s considered “normal” to lead innovation.
- How customers choose not just what they buy.
- Every product to create a whole system.
ARE YOU...VALERIE?
Valerie didn’t need more ideas. She needed everything to finally make sense.
To move from launching products to building something customers come back to again and again.
If that feels familiar, then it’s time for you to change how it all comes together.
I am Valentina, I am a Product and Innovation Strategy coach with 10+ years in engineering, manufacturing, NPD and project management.
My journey gave me first-hand experience into the challenges of developing new products and the hurdles that product leaders face when leading product strategy to leading diverse teams of professionals.
Today I bring my experience at the service of food innovators who want to become leaders in the market. And before you ask, no – I will not give you a magic system that solve all problems in the world. They do not exist.
Although tools have their place in strategy, we should never replace thinking with a dumbing set of instructions or frameworks that put together do not really help you making decision that move you towards your goals.
With me, brains take the stage in every conversation.
That’s how you win the market.
ARE WE THE RIGHT FIT?
Food innovation is not only about launching something new but rather creating products that nourish, delight and inspire people.
If you are a product leader who want to leave a positive impact to the society wellbeing and on a mission to become a market leader, I would be happy to chat with you.
Email me at info@engineeringsuccess.co.uk and book your Discovery Call today.
I also invite you to follow my Linkedin page, read my Blog and check out my portfolio case studies here.