Consumer-First Innovation
The growth challenge:
PARSA Beauty had built its success on strong product expertise, a legacy of its heritage serving drugstores with private label beauty and fashion accessories. However, company leadership recognised a significant growth opportunity: enhancing the potential of new products by integrating consumer orientation into the concept development process. This shift from product-centric to consumer-centric thinking represented a fundamental change in approach for the organisation.
The company:
PARSA Beauty stands as a leading German family business in the hair and beauty accessories sector. Since its founding in 1986, the company has grown to become the European leader in its category. While the core business focuses on providing private label products to drugstores, approximately five years ago the company began developing its own PARSA Beauty brand.
The Approach
Step 1: Team Engagement & Capability Assessment
We began by carefully enrolling the team in the consumer-first initiative, clearly articulating the goals and project approach. To ensure the workshop would address specific needs and knowledge gaps, we conducted a targeted survey to assess the team's current understanding and individual learning priorities.
Step 2: Workshop
The workshop balanced theoretical frameworks with practical application. We started by establishing the strategic advantages of consumer-centric product development, then guided the team through a comprehensive methodology covering:
Business Opportunity Definition: Techniques for identifying and quantifying market opportunities
Competitive Landscape Analysis: Methods for analysing competition and consumer choice alternatives
Consumer Understanding: Approaches to developing consumer insights
Benefit Articulation: Frameworks for crafting compelling functional and emotional benefit statements
Reason-to-Believe Development: Strategies for building credible support points
Claim Construction: Techniques for creating impactful packaging and point-of-sale messagin
The Results
The workshop received a rating of 4.8 out of 5.0. Participants identified three fundamental shifts in their approach to product development:
Consumer-First Mindset: Recognition of the strategic advantage in starting from consumer pain-points or desires rather than product features
Strategic Coherence: Understanding the importance of maintaining a "red thread" that connects business opportunity to consumer insight to product concept
Collaborative Improvement: Appreciation for the value of cross-functional feedback in strengthening concept development
“Heike quickly understood our needs and designed a customised workshop. The management was professional from start to finish. Thanks to her openness, she created a very constructive and positive learning environment. We feel well-equipped to apply what we have learnt and progress on our consumer-first journey. I would recommend Heike without hesitation.”
