| Title | FOOD INNOVATORS |
| Brand | S-RYHMÄ |
| Product/Service | S-RYHMÄ |
| Category |
D01. Use of Brand or Product Integration into a Programme or Platform |
|
Entrant
|
S-GROUP Helsinki, FINLAND
|
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Idea Creation
|
TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
|
Idea Creation 2
|
S-GROUP Helsinki, FINLAND
|
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Idea Creation 3
|
AITO MEDIA OY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Idea Creation 4
|
FOODWEST OY Seinäjoki, FINLAND
|
|
Media Placement
|
CARAT Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Media Placement 2
|
AITO MEDIA OY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Production
|
AITO MEDIA OY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Post Production
|
AITO MEDIA OY Helsinki, FINLAND
|
|
Additional Company
|
SKAL HELSINKI, FINLAND
|
Credits
| Lauri Toivonen |
S Group |
Idea lead |
| Teija Järvinen |
S Group |
Project lead |
| Kaisa Kinnunen |
S Group |
Project Manager |
| Ilkka Alarotu |
S Group |
Project sponsor |
| Susanna Gustavson |
S Group |
Marketing strategist |
| Martta Kallio |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Creative, marketing |
| Joni Furstenborg |
TBWA Helsinki |
Creative, marketing |
| Juha Halmesvaara |
Carat Finland Oy |
Media lead |
| Sami Kelahaara |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Art direction |
| Tuomas Perälä |
TBWA\Helsinki |
creative |
| Jyrki Poutanen |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Creative lead |
| Carolina Bermudez Parra |
Aito Media Oy |
Producer |
| Suvi Luoma |
Foodwest Oy |
Research director |
| Tuukka Laitinen |
Skål Helsinki |
Case video editor |
| Taneli Mattelmäki |
TBWA Helsinki |
Client lead |
| Ville Rutanen |
TBWA Helsinki |
art direction |
| Hanna Karlsson |
TBWA Helsinki |
Designer |
| Anette Michelsson |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Account Manager |
| Anni Tammenaho |
TBWA Helsinki |
Project manager |
| Suvi-Päivikki Jänkälä |
S Group |
Social media expert |
| Johanna Koskela |
S Group |
Marketing Automation and Growth Marketing Lead |
| Eero Hietala |
Aito Media Oy |
Concept development |
| Ilkka Hynninen |
Aito Media Oy |
Concept development |
| Sako Brockmann |
Aito Media Oy |
Creative |
| Anssi Soini |
Carat Finland Oy |
Strategist |
| Mari Leväjärvi |
Carat Finland Oy |
Client director |
| Janne Honkanen |
Carat Finland Oy |
Media specialist |
| Viivi Päivölä |
Carat Finland Oy |
Media Specialist |
| Salla Markkula |
Carat Finland Oy |
Media Specialist |
| Nina Pentti |
Carat Finland Oy |
Media Specialist |
| Mikko Pietilä |
TBWA\Helsinki |
Executive Creative Director |
Why is this work relevant for Media?
S-group used a traditional media format to enable small food producers to bring their products to the market as well as to speed up the time-to-market for new innovations. The Food Innovators gameshow sparked new food innovations to market in record time.
The show was watched by ¼ of Finnish population on commercial TV.
Background
All grocery stores in Finland have a more or less identical assortment.
Bringing new exclusive products to market is expensive, risky and ends up in all of the stores, which gives very little competitive edge for stores to compete with selection.
When new food innovations come out, they are sold in all of the stores.
Especially smaller food producers, it's almost impossible to bring new products out, unless they have sales deals with all the big retail players ready.
The Food Innovators game show aimed to shorten the time-to-market for small producers, and to bring exclusive products to S-group stores.
Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)
The Food Innovators is a gameshow created for seeking new differentiating food innovations. The winning products will be put exclusively on shelves of the largest Finnish grocery chain S-group.
The show was built to create a credible backstory for the unknown producers and demand for their new products over the course of the ten episodes.
Describe the strategy (20% of vote)
All grocery stores in Finland have identical solutions and bringing new products to market is expensive, risky and ends up in all of the stores, which gives very little competitive edge for stores to compete with selection.
Food Innovators game show series is an incubator for small food providers. It gives them the opportunity to grow their business with less risk and gain national TV coverage throughout the show.
When season ends after 10 episodes the show has built a credible customer backstory on the producers and the demand for the winning products has been created before even launching them. Which takes the risk out of adding new products to store selection nationwide.
Describe the execution (20% of vote)
The Food Innovators is a gameshow for small food producers. The competitors are chosen via applications and tasting the products. The most potential producers are chosen for the TV show which puts the providers through a boot camp and intense coaching from leading chefs, but also on package design, legal and branding to see which of the products will evolve from original idea to national hit product during the show. All under a keen audience's eyes.
The mechanism of the show is similar to all other game shows. During the season competitors are dropped out if they are not keeping up with the pace.
After the finale the winning product and runner-up's will be launched the next day to all S-group stores nationwide.
List the results (30% of vote)
The Food Innovators exceeded all commercial expectations. The show and the products were featured in all major Finnish news media for weeks.
Products featured in the show had awareness of 42% among Finns, and the winning product had 80% awareness the day it launched, something that most FMCG brands spend millions to achieve.
The stores ran out of the products, even though S-group had prepared for high demand. The demand exceeded the sales estimations by 400%. The winner, Rostis, was the most sold new product in 2020. Even the competing grocery store owners bought the Food Innovator products from S-groups retail stores and resold the products with markup.
By helping small producers S-group was able to build a competitive edge, grow small food producers into multi-million businesses and provide new more ecologic local food for Finns. That’s a win-win for everyone.