The challenge

Mars Snacking, the world’s leading manufacturer of chocolate, gum, mints and fruity confections, had already mapped eight global demand spaces through robust quantitative research. These demand spaces mark a shift from product-led thinking to a human-centric view of the portfolio. By mapping the needs and occasions that drive consumption, they help brands spot opportunities, guide innovation and avoid internal cannibalisation.

With brands like M&M’S^®, SNICKERS^® and KIND^® enjoyed in over 180 countries, the framework was a powerful strategic tool. Yet while the numbers revealed the “what”, they lacked the emotional depth to inspire creativity across global teams and agency partners. Ahead of a series of global innovation workshops, the challenge was to bring the spaces to life in a way that resonated across cultures and sparked empathy – ensuring they could truly guide innovation and marketing strategies.

The solution

Together, we launched a Demand Space Illumination: a qualitative research initiative designed to emotionally enrich the demand spaces and make them actionable for internal and external stakeholders.

We set up online insight communities in four key markets – the US, UK, China and Saudi Arabia – where 228 consumers shared authentic stories, emotions and cultural contexts around snacking. Using projective techniques like collages, metaphors and storytelling, we uncovered the why behind behaviours: from gift-giving traditions in China to humour-led moments in the UK.

To ensure cultural depth and relevance, we collaborated with our in-house cultural, creative and foresight team Space Doctors. They applied the Individual Socio-Cultural (ISC) Model, a framework that explores three interconnected forces:

• Individual cognition: rational and emotional drivers of choice
• Social influence: peer validation, social proof and collective norms
• Cultural forces: the invisible codes shaping beliefs and behaviours

This three-dimensional lens revealed not only what consumers wanted, but why they wanted it, within their unique cultural contexts. It allowed Mars Snacking to see both universal human needs and culturally specific nuances, creating a richer, more actionable framework.

In just eight weeks, we transformed robust data into emotionally resonant narratives that stakeholders could feel. By bridging quantitative rigour with human empathy, we equipped Mars Snacking’s teams with a strategic tool that was both globally consistent and locally authentic.

The impact

The illuminated demand spaces became the heartbeat of Mars Snacking’s global innovation workshops, immersing teams in consumers’ emotional worlds through playlists, visual storytelling and experiential activities. By stepping into these lived occasions, stakeholders could connect with consumer needs on a human level and spark creativity grounded in empathy.

Beyond the workshops, the project delivered a Keys-to-Win framework:  a set of clear, actionable guidelines showing how each demand space could translate into growth opportunities. These “keys” outlined the product attributes, pack designs, communications and experiences most likely to win in each space, helping teams move seamlessly from insight to action.

Packaged in a highly visual playbook, the framework made complex insights easy to access and apply across the organisation. Innovation teams used it to guide new concepts, shopper marketing applied it to retail strategies and brand teams drew on it for positioning and communications.

What began as pre-workshop preparation has since become a cornerstone of Mars Snacking’s five-year strategic planning. The approach has expanded to additional markets and brands, embedding empathy-driven demand spaces at the core of portfolio strategy and driving human-centric growth across the globe.