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Manufacturing & Packaging
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DS Smith
Manufacturing & Packaging
Prioritising plastic replacement innovation with market-backed insight
Pinpointing where customer demand for plastic replacement is strongest across 13 FMCG sectors, and turning it into four innovation priorities for DS Smith.
OVERVIEW
DS Smith, a leading provider of sustainable fibre-based packaging, saw the replacement of plastic packaging as a major innovation opportunity. Its ambition was to develop a deeper understanding of customer and prospect needs so it could prioritise innovation opportunities with confidence. DS Smith engaged Palladium to provide the market-backed evidence base.
THE CHALLENGE
Customer need for plastic replacement varies widely across FMCG categories, and innovation resource is finite. Without direct evidence of where demand was strongest, DS Smith risked spreading innovation effort across opportunities that customers would not adopt. The business needed a clear, customer-led view of which opportunity areas to develop first.
OUR APPROACH
Palladium held around 26 in-depth interviews with hard-to-reach customer targets across 13 FMCG sectors to identify the areas with the highest customer need for plastic replacement. The team presented a summarised view of customer needs, with detailed insight on the most promising opportunity areas, and facilitated an in-person workshop in which DS Smith collaboratively identified four priorities for further innovation development. Palladium and DS Smith also jointly produced the public report Transforming the Supermarket Aisle, which identified five categories of supermarket plastic packaging, such as fresh produce punnets and shrink wrap, that could be replaced with renewable materials – over 70 billion units and more than 1.5 million tonnes of plastic per year across Europe.
OUTCOMES
Customer need mapped across 13 sectors
Around 26 in-depth interviews with hard-to-reach customer targets identified where demand for plastic replacement is strongest.
Opportunity areas detailed
A summarised view of customer needs, with detailed insight on opportunity areas, gave DS Smith a shared evidence base for decision-making.
Four innovation priorities agreed
An in-person workshop, facilitated by Palladium, saw DS Smith collaboratively identify four priorities for further innovation development.
Public research published
The joint report Transforming the Supermarket Aisle identified five packaging categories where European supermarkets could replace more than 1.5 million tonnes of plastic a year.
Innovation directed by evidence
Innovation investment now targets the areas where customer need is proven, not assumed.
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26
In-depth interviews
with hard-to-reach customer targets across 13 FMCG sectors
4
Innovation priorities agreed
in a collaborative workshop facilitated by Palladium
1.5M
Tonnes of replaceable plastic identified per year
across five categories in European supermarkets (joint public report)
PROJECT DETAILS
SECTOR
Manufacturing & Packaging
CLIENT
DS Smith
BACKER
Corporate
SERVICES
Evidence & Assessment
CAPABILITIES DEPLOYED
Growth Strategy & Market Intelligence
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