Building innovation strategies that shape meaningful growth
Innovation only matters when it connects with people. At Haystack Consulting, we help brands uncover new opportunities, validate ideas, and design concepts that balance creativity with consumer reality.
Our approach blends behavioral science, sensory understanding, and co-creation to turn insight into innovation that sticks.
About the service
What is innovation strategy?
An innovation strategy defines how your brand creates, validates, and scales new ideas that drive future growth. It connects unmet needs, market dynamics, and brand purpose into a clear direction for innovation.
Inside-out innovation
We research your assets, data and brand DNA to surface your internal hidden benefits and strengths. We audit capabilities, products and distinctive brand codes, then define winning benefits and possible markets. We help you craft minimum viable ideas, align your teams, and shape a pragmatic roadmap that carries your signature across product, pack and experience.
Outside-in innovation
We scan culture, category and competitors to uncover consumer motivations. We read the market, spot shifts and size the prize, then translate those motivations into opportunity platforms. Outside-in innovation is about looking into attributes from different categories and bringing it into your own category. We map early signals and opportunities beyond your current boundaries, stress test with real consumers, and turn the learnings into a clear strategy you can act on.
Why innovation strategy matters
In a fast-changing world, innovation is not just about newness, it’s about relevance. A clear strategy helps you make the right choices, invest in what matters, and bring ideas to life that connect with people’s real desires and needs.
Discover new growth territories
Identify unmet needs and future opportunities by combining human insight with category foresight. Understand where your brand can play and win.
Co-create with consumers and experts
Use collaborative frameworks and immersive workshops to bring together teams, stakeholders, and real consumer perspectives. Build shared ownership of innovation.
Launch ideas that resonate
Translate insights into validated concepts that are both inspiring and feasible. Test, refine, and scale innovations that drive brand differentiation and market success.
Start working on your innovation strategy now
At Haystack Consulting, innovation is never just about novelty. It’s a sensory, strategic, and human process that helps brands grow by connecting with real needs and emotions.
Ideal partner
Why partner with Haystack Consulting for innovation strategy
At Haystack Consulting, we believe innovation only matters when it resonates.
Our approach merges behavioral science, sensory expertise, and creative facilitation to help teams uncover what people truly desire and transform that insight into meaningful concepts.
We don’t just brainstorm ideas, we build innovation systems that sustain growth.
From identifying unmet needs to co-creating MVPs and refining concepts with consumers, we guide you from early exploration to confident go-to-market activation.
Unique process
Built for real-world creativity
Innovation lives where curiosity meets structure. That’s why our process combines exploration, experimentation, and co-creation. Ensuring every idea is both inspiring and feasible.
Where science meets creativity
Our proprietary tools, such as Treasure Hunt, Finish First, and Clue Hunting, reveal hidden opportunities within and beyond your category.
We explore consumer values, map emotional benefits, and prototype early so you can learn faster and iterate smarter.
From insight to impact
We activate ideas, not just analyze them. In our collaborative workshops and immersive labs together with you, we translate data, trends, and intuition into clear innovation platforms, validated concepts, and actionable roadmaps that drive measurable business impact.
Brand aligned
A partner who sees innovation through every sense
We help you design innovations that are emotionally resonant, strategically relevant, and fully aligned with your brand’s sensory identity.
Multisensory thinking
We explore how all five senses influence product experience and emotional connection, ensuring your innovations feel distinct and desirable.
Behavioral grounding
We translate consumer motivations and decision-making science into concrete design and innovation directions.
Co-create and activate
We build the journey with your team and your consumers, from framing to rollout. We test, learn, and decide together, so the work sticks. You leave with validated concepts, clear playbooks, and energising workshops that align teams on the next moves.
Tailored approach
We adapt our tools and process to your category, ambition, and innovation maturity, ensuring every project fits your brand’s unique growth story.
How we shape your innovation strategy
Every innovation project is a journey from curiosity to clarity. Our proven 5-step process ensures creativity meets commercial reality.
Alignment
Define objectives, challenges, and ambition. Together, we set the foundation for what success means to your team.
Ideation
Co-create with cross-functional teams using gamified methods like Treasure Hunt or Finish First to generate fresh, relevant ideas.
Activation
Validate and prioritize innovations. Bring concepts to life with visuals, sensory mockups, and market-ready strategies.
Exploration
Gather insights through tools like Clue Hunting and Virtual Audiences, combining trends, expert input, and consumer understanding.
Concept development
Translate ideas into strong concepts with clear consumer benefits, emotional value, and business logic.
Alignment
Define objectives, challenges, and ambition. Together, we set the foundation for what success means to your team.
Exploration
Gather insights through tools like Clue Hunting and Virtual Audiences, combining trends, expert input, and consumer understanding.
Ideation
Co-create with cross-functional teams using gamified methods like Treasure Hunt or Finish First to generate fresh, relevant ideas.
Concept development
Translate ideas into strong concepts with clear consumer benefits, emotional value, and business logic.
Activation
Validate and prioritize innovations. Bring concepts to life with visuals, sensory mockups, and market-ready strategies.
Ne vous contentez pas de nous croire
"Great team to work with. Always innovating research agency for sensorial research!"
"Haystack brainstorms with us as a partner to create challenging, innovative, and custom-made projects."
"We have great professional experience with Haystack! They are reliable, dynamic, pleasant and highly flexible. They are specialised in sensory research among others."
"Haystack has a critical approach embedded in their company culture and methodologies. That is why we prefer to work with Haystack."
Ready to shape your innovation story?
Every great idea starts with human understanding.
If you’re ready to explore how insight, creativity, and co-creation can shape your next breakthrough, our team would love to connect.
Frequently asked questions
Curious about how we approach innovation, what tools we use, or what to expect from working with Haystack Consulting?
Here are some common questions from teams exploring how to make their innovation process more focused, creative, and human.
What makes Haystack Consulting’s approach to innovation unique?
We combine human science with sensory creativity. Our methods like Treasure Hunt and Finish First turn abstract ideas into tangible, testable prototypes. This blend of behavioral data, sensory insight, and co-creation ensures that every innovation is both emotionally engaging and commercially relevant.
How do you make sure new ideas are realistic and not just creative exercises?
Every idea is tested against feasibility, consumer fit, and brand congruence. We prototype early, validate with real or virtual audiences, and work iteratively so that creativity always meets commercial logic.
Can we use our own internal data or research as part of the process?
Absolutely. We often build our frameworks around your existing insights, whether from brand tracking, category studies, or sensory evaluations. This ensures we build forward from what you already know rather than starting from scratch.
Do you only work on product innovation, or also on services and experiences?
Innovation for us goes beyond products. We also explore packaging, communication, rituals, and experiences. Anything that shapes how people interact with your brand in meaningful ways.
How do you keep internal teams engaged throughout the process?
We engage both internal teams and external partners through collaborative insight-driven workshops, using gamified research formats and co-creation sessions with real or virtual consumers. This approach ensures that all stakeholders stay inspired, aligned, and deeply connected to the consumer perspective throughout the process.
What kind of output can we expect from an innovation strategy project?
You’ll leave with a clear, actionable roadmap: validated opportunity spaces, prioritized concepts, and guidelines for activation. Depending on your needs, we can also include concept visualizations, sensory frameworks, and innovation playbooks to guide your next steps.
Start shaping your innovation strategy today
Every great innovation starts with a spark of human understanding. Let’s explore where your next opportunity lies and build ideas that inspire, perform, and last.
