Koen Burghouts, from PepsiCo, shares his strategies for identifying new tensions and taking a broader approach to innovation to drive success.

nnovation is tough in any market but in the food and drink sectors the competition is harsh and there is a lot to be learnt for all innovators about how brands innovate in this crowded marketplace. Koen Burghouts, VP Global Foods, explains how PepsiCo has taken steps to do things differently when it comes to innovation. Finding ways to identify new tensions, focusing more on more strategic innovations and how taking a broader definition of innovation helps enable this.

Whether it’s giving people permission to indulge via low sodium and low fat products or launching new options that meet consumer demands for high protein snacks, Koen tells Kantar’s Dr.Nicki Morley how innovation is the freedom to solve against the tension through product, services, business model or activation. Recent examples include the Flaming Hot platform that runs across Lays, Doritos and Cheetos to help people spice up their daily meals.

Koen shares his top tips on how innovation has been the driving force behind PepsiCo’s ongoing successes in this crowded marketplace.