The skills needed to make innovation possible

Innovation matters when you’re a manufacturer. Make UK found that 71% of UK manufacturers consider innovation crucial for maintaining competitiveness in global markets.

Consumer tastes and preferences are constantly evolving and with so many options available on the market, brands must innovate – and quickly – to stay competitive. The expansion and diversification of a brand’s portfolio also make it more resilient to the many changes which influence consumer preferences.

However, how do you make time to innovate whilst maintaining business as usual? In her role as Contract Pack Manager at Clearly Drinks, Gemma Taylor has worked closely with soft drinks manufacturers in the early stages of innovation, and the biggest driver for success is consistently having the right skills in the team.

Creative thinking and problem-solving

Firstly, manufacturers who want to innovate need creative thinkers, whether you subcontract this part of the puzzle, or have these skills in-house, creative thought is essential to developing anything new. To innovate you need someone who can think outside the box and generate novel ideas. If this isn’t a skillset you have in your team, find external partners who bring an objective viewpoint.

It’s also worth engaging with specialists who can advise on top trends driving consumer preferences to inform decision-making in the creative process. This year one of the big trends is health and wellness, according to the Global Wellness Institute the wellness industry has grown 12% annually since 2020. As a result, the creative team at Perfectly Clear, Clearly Drinks’ own soft drinks brand, recently developed Dino Water, a new range of sugar-free children’s drinks with multivitamins.

Every manufacturer working on innovation also needs problem solvers involved early in the new product development (NPD) journey. Clearly Drinks joins with partners at a variety of stages, sometimes as early as when it is developing a base recipe, or with other clients that are brought in to support the scale-up process and deliver factory trials and samples.

The development and concept stages require exploring, testing, evaluating, tweaking, testing again and re-evaluating. Problems always need to be solved along the way before a new product can finally be launched. Working with an external partner on a new product can de-risk this journey as it means manufacturers can explore bringing a new product to market without investing in the associated equipment and skills in-house.

There is no ‘I’ in team

Taking a new product idea from concept to reality requires a broad range of skilled professionals. Of course, the list will vary, but typically you need a combination of professionals with experience in the following areas and bring it all together:

• Research and development (R&D)
• Technical and engineering fields
• Advanced manufacturing technologies
• Quality control and assurance
• Supply chain and logistics management
• Lean manufacturing and process improvement
• Design and prototyping
• Data analysis and digital skills
• Sustainability and environmental management
• Regulatory and compliance knowledge
• Customer focus and market understanding
• Sales and business development
• Strong leadership and project management

With so many diverse skills needed it’s easy to see why investing in getting the right team is so important. Research has shown companies with more diverse management teams have 19% higher innovation revenues. PWC data shows UK companies, including manufacturers, are increasingly focusing on diversity and inclusion in their corporate strategies and those who make the most progress towards diversifying their workforce are highly likely to have a head start in innovation too.

Joining the dots

Gemma is the first point of contact for new specialist partners at Clearly Drinks, and works with clients from the initial meeting through to the product launch. A key part of her role is ‘joining the dots’ and liaising with everyone in the team – including internal and external stakeholders. “Communicating accurately, regularly and promptly so there are no crossed wires, and ensuring all milestones are hit at the right time are key elements of my job,” she commented. “Thanks to my early career experience working in product development, I have a holistic understanding of how different teams work.

“Having a project manager who can join the dots in this way is pivotal to successfully delivering innovative new products. Project managing innovations is a rewarding role to have. I enjoy seeing the innovation journey from start to finish and I am particularly proud of projects where we have supported specialist partners to deliver new products to market within an ambitious time frame. We recently turned around a new collaboration in three months following initial discussions. The day the new product was launched was an exciting moment for all of us.

“The role I play in coordinating everything also highlights another essential skill that’s needed for innovation – collaboration – without this nothing new would ever happen.”