This week, I started my research by Googling “what percentage of new products fail”. The featured snippets in search showed 80%. In other words, if you launch a new product, it will most likely fail. Some flops are now part of pop culture (Crystal Pepsi), some were just too “avant garde” (McDonald’s Arch Deluxe), others were painfully annoying (Windows Vista), and others just plain out dangerous (Samsung’s Galaxy s7). As it turns out, lack of preparation, speedy research & development to launch early and even sabotage from a competitor are all factors that contributes to most products failures. Good market research has always been a way to help with the preparation of a successful product launch. Nowadays, social media can replace old school focus groups in most companies and reduce the number of missed product launch, turn around quickly to avoid a disaster – or become Internet famous for the wrong reason.

Nespresso has been an extraordinary coffee provider for people in Europe since 1986. Even though it took them 15 years to come to the US and then Canada, their ability to adapt to the different coffee drinker (creating the “american size”) has enabled them to become a staple high standard brand in the US and now Canada. The company has proven to understand and care about their sustainability, both by developing a robust self sustaining program for their growers in Sudan and more recently with the development of their “Red and Green bag” recycling system. The program gives Nespresso club members a prepaid red postage bag for their capsules. The bags can then be dropped off at any Canada Post. The capsules are received, emptied and the aluminium is recycled while the contents can be composted.

Social Media’s Impact on the Supply Chain industry is deeper than you might think.  Many organizations are using the information gathered from social media to predict trends, ensure timely delivery of goods and source where a product is made.

  Through its innovative My Starbucks Idea, the company known for fresh roasted beverages, wholesome food on the go, and the decadent Iced Caramel Macchiato, is looking your way for their next great product idea.  

  Faster than pulling a corto shot of premium espresso, illy is driving employee engagement, and training their North American sales force by leveraging a simple yet effective social approach – online games.