If you spend enough time in the functional CPG niche communities across the internet, you’ll likely hear members saying, “there’s no innovation anymore in the space.” I disagree. I think there’s actually an oversupply of innovation. Consumers don’t know how to fit all of it into their lives. Whose fault is that though? It’s surely not the consumers. The problem is that brands are using an outdated product development process. Supply Side Innovation, paired with the lower barriers of entry across all business modalities have created an overabundance of innovation in every product category. So, what’s the solution? Demand Side Innovation. Instead of starting at the product, brand or competition level, functional CPG brand owners should be starting at the customer or consumer perspective. If you do not understand the deep, detailed, and real reasons why the customer chose to “hire” your product, you’re operating blindly. Start having deep discussions with a set of your customers. You are looking to get into the small details and look for patterns to emerge that show pain points. With that perspective, you can find ways to rapidly improve your existing products. Additionally, if you listen well, you may find a solution your customer wants but didn’t even ask for. This is ideal result and where those special product development projects emerge from. In my final thoughts, I share a case study on the Target private label brand Good & Gather, which I believe shows a great real world example of demand side innovation success.