The challenge

Hortifrut, a global berry producer, wanted to unlock new growth opportunities for the category in Europe. To do this, they needed a deeper understanding of how consumers perceive, use and integrate berries into their everyday lives.
The ambition was not only to understand current behaviour, but to build a stronger foundation for future innovation and identify where the category could expand next.

The solution

We applied a two-phase approach combining deep consumer insight with structured idea validation.

• Insight generation: We conducted a qualitative study across the UK, Germany, Spain and France, combining 96 in-depth interviews with in-home ethnographic visits. This approach revealed how berries fit into daily routines, and occasions, uncovering rich inspiration for innovation.
• Idea screening: Building on these insights, Hortifrut developed 16 innovation ideas. We then tested these concepts in a semi-monadic idea screener across the same four markets to evaluate appeal, relevance and potential. This allowed us to distinguish strong opportunities from ideas with limited market traction, while also identifying cross-country patterns.

The impact

The strongest ideas have now entered Hortifrut’s innovation funnel, where they are being further refined and developed.

Beyond prioritisation, the study also acted as a catalyst for ideation, sparking new thinking across the team and expanding the innovation pipeline.

What started as an exploration of consumer behaviour has become a practical roadmap for future category growth, grounded in real consumer needs and everyday usage contexts.