Innovate in a rapidly changing(ing) world?

However, how can you best align a new product with consumer needs in the post-COVID-19 world? What will be trends that you can tap into with new products? Because if one thing is certain in these uncertain times, it is that new trends will emerge and trends already in place will gain momentum or be slowed down completely.

Blauw spoke with Blauw-affiliated Trend Expert Evelien Dieleman. What are her expectations for the future?

In recent years, we have seen several trends emerge. For example, we are more into a "healthy and conscious lifestyle. We want to eat healthy, be fit, live more consciously, dwell more on everyday things and "unplug" from time to time.

We like to have complete control over our lives, and health seemed increasingly "engineerable. For example, we wear activity trackers en masse that track how much we exercise and how many calories we can then eat. We have been monitoring our heart rate for years, increasingly banning e-numbers and embracing superfoods.

That planning of our lives and our health recently went way down as a result of Corona. Empty shelves, closed gyms ... We are no longer in-control. We are dealing with a virus whose behavior cannot be predicted. For years we have wanted to let go, to 'unplug', but we have not really dared to do so. Now we MUST let go and be flexible in life. And we will most likely continue to do so... Which innovations will companies respond to this? For example, will activity trackers remain popular or not, or will there be a variant?

Another development that we have seen in recent years is the focus on loneliness, especially among the elderly. We want to pay more attention to each other. Yet that only happened on a small scale and superficially. We paid attention when it suited us, it perhaps imperceptibly did not always feel genuine and sincere. Now that everyone is compulsorily sitting at home, loneliness is fought in a very different way. We really pay attention to each other, send cards to our (grand)parents again, (video) call them more often than ever, and run errands for strangers because they can't do it themselves. These are activities and innovations that really fight loneliness. What products does this make consumers want?

Corona makes us act more from our primal feelings; we act out of fear and love. It makes us more sincere and creative. We see possibilities where we did not see them before and our horizon has shifted from thinking about the future to thinking about now and tomorrow. Corona creates a change in consumer behavior and the emergence of new needs. Needs that have their basis in our primal feelings and intuition, less plannable than before.

Corona caused a revival of activities such as home cooking with healthy(er) products, jigsaw puzzles, online get-togethers, individual sports and more time for family. So Corona certainly brings good things too. It's interesting to examine what of this is a temporary uptick and what thrives, and thus what you can capitalize on as a company. For example, will consumers continue to eat healthier? And then is that still every morning at an expanded breakfast table with the whole family?

What trends lead to innovations?

Blauw pays attention to trends in its concept and proposition research. We find it important not only to look at the wishes and needs of consumers at this moment, but also to look at the bigger picture, including trends. Which trends lead to innovations? And how can you, as a company, capitalize on this in time?

Especially in these times, when new trends are emerging and others are gaining momentum, involving trends in concept and proposition development is crucial.

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