CPG Growth Series: The power of connection in driving CPG innovation growth

In a world obsessed with noise, winners are the ones who hear what others miss. The magic begins when we stop skimming the surface of consumer insights and dive deep. That’s when products don’t just succeed — they stick, providing growth for the long term.

If you listen closely, there’s one thing people need that surfaces repeatedly: Connection.

Connection is everything. Innovation thrives when that connection runs deep. Amid the chaos of daily life, people see their own reality first — the jobs they need their products to do for them — and decide whether you belong. Built by listening and observing across every touchpoint, every day, every interaction, the best ideas connect with consumers’ unmet needs. According to Ipsos’ analysis of our database of over 200,000 innovations, ideas that tap unmet needs are 2.5 times more likely to be successfulwhereas 75% of innovations lack the relevance needed to convince consumers to switch from what they already use.

Nearly two-thirds of consumers say they buy from brands that reflect their personal values — and that they feel overwhelmed by too many choices. Your mission: make it about them, make it for them, make it the obvious choice.

Listening fuels the innovations that connect.

So how do you listen and connect with your consumer to turn the unsaid into the unfair advantage?

Shhh… here are a few secrets: 

Connect to understand who your competition really is. Consumers’ alternative to your innovation in any context is not always what you would guess. It's another category or product. A lifestyle hack. Doing nothing. A private label brand instead of a name brand competitor. You need to innovate for the consumer’s reality — not how you may have traditionally defined the category.

Connect to ensure that your innovation makes consumers want to change. If adopting your innovation feels like a loss, you’ve already lost. Status quo bias and loss aversion keep them locked into what they are currently using unless it’s clear what they stand to gain. Behavioral science tells us that losses sting twice as hard as gains satisfy. You need to understand why they stay where they are and what would give them a reason to move to you.

Connect to make sure your innovation will truly add to your business. You need to know who’s really buying in. Are you retaining consumers? Acquiring new ones? Cannibalizing your own products instead of gaining at the expense of competitors? If you don't know where growth comes from, you might be eating your own lunch. Innovate for incremental volume, not just total volume. And think about whether your innovation is growing the category overall — the single biggest driver of new distribution with retail and e-commerce customers.

When you understand the full competitive context, what is required to overcome status quo bias and loss aversion, and whether your innovation will truly drive incremental volume for you and your customers, you are on a path to sustainable long-term growth.

Ready to dig deeper? Let Ipsos help you make those connections.