In this episode of the Troubleshooting Innovation podcast, engineering expert Rich Berger suggests how brands can innovate, even if they’re not consumer-facing. Hosted by Joanie Spencer, Commercial Baking editor-in-chief.

Sponsored by Shick Esteve.

Joanie Spencer: I’m excited to talk about this particular topic, because I know you’re going to have a lot to offer. The first thing that I want to ask you is, in the past few years, how have consumers expectations for immediate gratification impacted speed to market for new product development?

Rich Berger: Yeah, increasing speed to market obviously leads to numerous financial and non-financial benefits. I think the more agile we are in manufacturing, the more potential we have to boost our company’s top and bottom lines. In fact, flexible and even mobile customers and consumers demand it. The financial benefits are often directly measurable in our space and, I think, exceed the upfront costs of introducing speed-to-market approaches in manufacturing.

[Here are] some examples of the benefits of speed in manufacturing. First, companies that are built for speed, especially in the innovation space, often realize first mover advantages, right? They’re able to react more quickly to competitors’ moves or market shifts or consumers’ needs with their own product innovations. You also have lower development costs. Because as you streamline processes and limit iterations, it all of a sudden just opens up or releases financial and operational resources that can be redirected to other value-added activities. And then, of course, a larger market share. I mean, a product that gets to market early is likely to face initial competition. A quick introduction also gives a product more time to build market share before — or even if — it declines into, say, a commodity kind of a situation. I also think greater accuracy in our forecasting can be a very positive outcome of speed to market, because the time between product design and product release is shorter. So we may be more willing to greenlight trendy products that would otherwise be denied in those situations.

Spencer: What are some of the manufacturing implications that come with that speed, especially when you’re thinking about engineering and efficiency?

Berger: Yes, supporting speed to market used to be something to consider in the work that we do as an operator. Now, it’s integrated into really everything that we do. Adapting our manufacturing environment to further adapt to consumers’ ever-changing needs can really bring, I think, a competitive advantage. I can share a few experiences I’ve had that have been successful in getting products to market faster.

Spencer: Okay, let’s hear it.

Berger: First, it’d be take a hard look at the shop floor and consider updates [that get you up to the] standards and initiatives we refer to as manufacturing 4.0. And in that environment, success is not just upgrading the machines with sensors, so to speak. It’s emerging technologies, such as autonomous and self-optimizing robots; it’s additive manufacturing, that brings a ton of flexibility into what we do; or the industrial internet of things, which is really changing the manufacturing industry in a positive way.

We now have countless options in front of us, tons of tools to build smarter factories with better performance that can really catapult a manufacturer to the top of the market. The only thing to note is that sometimes these kinds of upgrades can result in capital expenditures that could be beyond a current scope, or a current appetite for investment. But that can be offset with the return that you enjoy through supporting speed to market.

I think there’s a human factor to all of this as well. Maximizing employee productivity is crucial for putting your company on the fast track. Even if your factory is equipped with very advanced process automation, it’s about stepping back and just understanding what are the workflows that are in front of you and the tasks that are being done. And how can you reallocate the human resources to tasks that add more value monitoring and refining? Your engineering or development teams can really be just half the battle. A thorough review of management and productivity tools — or for that matter, lack thereof — will uncover a number of stumbling blocks, which really brings us to sort of a third approach. And that’s what I refer to as sort of a single manufacturing platform.

Spencer: And what’s that?

Berger: Well, it’s maintaining a collection of business processes, productivity tools or even isolated systems that aren’t necessarily integrated. And that can become probably one of the biggest speed bumps, or speed-to-market bumps, that we can experience in manufacturing. Our data is the lifeblood of the business. And if the data doesn’t flow freely, amongst all of these different processes and systems, then the business won’t receive any momentum, in my opinion. So a platform that connects the business end-to-end — with development and engineering, sales, production, R&D — this level of integration not only boosts productivity, but it can significantly improve our time to market in order to achieve long-term results. That well-integrated platform with a number of connectors can certainly help us bring new innovations to market faster.

Spencer: Okay, so I’m gonna ask you to take all of that knowledge that you just shared, and maybe step a little bit outside of your comfort zone with this next question. So sorry, but it’s sort of a chicken or egg question, which is more important, good branding, or innovative product development? And then which needs to happen first.

Berger: I’m glad you began that with “outside of my typical knowledge area,” but you know, I’ve had the benefit of being surrounded by really amazing brand managers in my career. So I’m in no ways a marketing expert, nor do I pretend to have deep knowledge in it.

Spencer: But, you know, that’s exactly why I asked the question is because of your experience. You’ve been part of these really big and powerful, good, strong brands, so I know you have some insight.

Berger: Well, the reason I’ve had the benefit of being surrounded by great brand managers is because many of the brand strategies really have to be supported by the supply chain. So I’m going to try and share a few of my own observations, for what it’s worth.

To your first question, I think branding and product innovation feed off of each other, to be honest with you. I think brand innovation that occurs before your competitors’ can allow for a larger sustainable competitive advantage and can be maintained over a much longer period of time by your brand. So I think innovating before your competitors. It rewards your brand loyal customers with the opportunity to be the first ones with the latest and greatest product on the market. And in turn, your loyalest customer becomes almost your own marketing outlet in a way.

Also being culturally relevant means that the brand is highly adaptable and flexible and “in the know.” So, creating branded products that relate to current trends is a great way to stay top of mind and create meaningful connections with the consumer. I’ve seen innovation, particularly in branding, expanding into new categories, and sort of refreshing those assets with updated contemporary styles, of course, which in turn re-engages customers and consumers. It also helps you stay relevant in a pretty fast-pace market. And then expanding those capabilities and offerings to attract a wider group of consumers really allows for incremental growth.

Lastly, I think that customer needs are pretty dynamic. And they’re ever-changing, probably more today than ever before. Being able to use key insights and translating those into our supply chain network, to better understand their needs, really allows us to see how we’re comparing to our competition, and helps us understand what the consumer wants, what the consumer values, where the value is, and helps the brand stay ahead of the curve.

Spencer: You know, I’m hearing a couple of themes throughout this season of the podcast. And one of them is that you have to have a lot of courage to be first out in the market. And you mentioned that with sustainability efforts, with talent development, and with product development and branding, too. So there’s such a level of courage there, because there’s a lot of risk in being first. But there’s also a lot of reward that can come with it if you do it correctly … and successfully.

Berger: Right. I think you summarized it well. And in fact, I think that approach really touched on a lot of things that we’ve talked about, even in the previous episodes through sustainability, community engagement and people. So yeah, that’s a really good point.

Spencer: And then the second thing I noticed is when you mentioned that need for understanding what the consumer wants, and being able to stay ahead of the competition. It just kind of reminds me what we’ve talked about with data. Having the data isn’t enough, you have to know what to do with it. So I can see that translating into the branding, and the product development as well, that it’s going to help manufacturers stay ahead of the curve.

Berger: And I would just add one more point to that, Joanie, and that is to take the time to understand what your competition is actually doing well. Right? In a way, it’s just recognizing a best practice that perhaps that you can attempt to adopt. But that goes beyond just the brand world. I mean, that even applies in the operations world. It’s understanding what are folks doing well in the manufacturing space. And how can you adopt some of those practices in what you do every day?

Spencer: Absolutely. Okay, so the next question is talking about from your experience, how can a brand be intrinsically intertwined with its operations?

Berger: To me, branding is about people. People build brands, people buy brands. The relationship, that sort of first glance, is a pretty simple one: Build a good brand and others will buy it. At the heart of that relationship is another group of people. And it’s that of the employees. It is the employees who enact the attributes of the brand and whose actions ultimately foster the customer experience. And again, that can be good. Or that can be bad. You know, that’s there’s a risk/reward there.

Spencer: Some say that your most important customer is your employee.

Berger: Right. The actions of your team should reinforce the promises a brand makes to its consumers. If wisely conducted, I think that this reinforcement breeds more success, awareness, sales, loyalty. Employees have, I think, the formidable task of demonstrating the brand by the actions that they take.

Manufacturing organizations tend to attract the attention of general managers, much in the same way airlines do. One only really notices them when they’re late, when ticket prices rise, or when there might be a catastrophe or an issue or a breakdown. When they’re operating smoothly, they’re almost invisible. Right? But lately, manufacturing is getting increasing attention from business managers who, only a few years ago, were preoccupied with marketing or financial matters. It’s kind of interesting how the manufacturing space has evolved in that way.

But back on employees, I just genuinely feel that engaged employees — and we’ve talked about engagement in, I think it was the last episode, Joanie — I think engaged employees build strong brands. So many companies focus on all their branding efforts; on marketing activities like advertising, campaigns, promotions, packaging; yet, one of the most powerful brand assets that a company has is your people. Regardless of what business you’re in, building a strong brand requires that all employees feel connected to that brand, that they understand their role in turning brand aspirations and company values into reality.

I mean, if you’re not inspiring your talent to be brand ambassadors, I think we’re missing out.

Spencer: That’s a really good point. What would you say are the biggest lessons that can be learned when a food manufacturer operationalizes its branding into the manufacturing space?

Berger: The one that comes top of mind would be safeguarding the brand, which is probably the majority of what we do in the manufacturing environment when it comes to brand awareness, and truly differentiating ourselves from the competition, protecting the brand. Really, if you think about it, it begins in the production environment. That’s where protecting the brand begins, really.

Spencer: How so?

Berger: For example, maintaining the highest level of quality possible, that happens in production, that happens in manufacturing, ensuring food safety and compliance. There’s not a lot that we could do in a R&D or innovation cycle, in terms of food safety and compliance, but in manufacturing and food production, we own a majority of that component.

Also, being a responsible operator, by integrating the planet and community in your performance pillars, that goes a long way at demonstrating your values and supporting the brand.

Spencer: I feel like everything that you’re saying … it’s like all of the episodes that we’ve done so far have sort of led up to supporting the brand, right?

Berger: For sure. It’s interesting, yeah. And just sort of a follow-on, I would say, creating a work environment that is safe. I always like to think about it as: Do everything that you can to return your employees home healthier than when they came to work.

And I’ll be the first to admit, I think about a safe work environment as: Let’s prevent a catastrophe. Right? Let’s protect our employees. But I think if we raise the bar even further, and we say, “No, let’s also think about it as how do we enhance the health of our employees,” there’s so many things that we can do right in food production and in manufacturing in that way. And just think that not only does it lead to a positive reputation, but you know, we’ve talked a little bit about the shortage of skills and knowledge, particularly around STEM skills and knowledge … that also leads to supporting an effort where people will want to come and work in that environment.

Lastly, I think brands can be an engine. They can be a conduit, so to speak, toward a more sustainable world. They should be ahead of the market and create products and services that are relevant while, at the same time, helping consumers live in a more sustainable manner. I think this creates a positive influence on both the environment and the communities in which we work, as well as generate dividends through growing demand. A sustainable brand also enhances a company’s reputation and secures future earnings through reduction of risk and maintaining the business over the long term. That’s sort of increasing the brand value.

Spencer: Yeah, and really giving it longevity and loyalty from consumers. I think that is a really good note to end on, Rich. I thought this was really interesting, because we don’t often talk about how the brand relates to the manufacturing process, so I really appreciate your insight. And this has been so fun to do this podcast with you.

Next week, we’re going to take on some listener questions. So we have gone through community involvement, sustainability, talent development, and how to innovate through and for a brand. So I am excited for next week when we take listener questions, which you can email to info@avantfoodmedia.com. Rich, thank you so much.

Berger: Thank you! And I’m excited about answering those questions as well. Joanie, as I think I mentioned on the first couple episodes, depending on how many questions come in, we may not be able to address all of them. But this conversation is really important to me. And if anyone has questions that perhaps we don’t address in the next episode, I will respond to all that we do receive, and I look forward to that.

Thank you. It’s been a great conversation with you and sharing this conversation with the industry. I’ve really enjoyed it, Joanie.