When did Flying Fish Lab launch and how many employees do you have?
We incorporated over a year ago, in April 2016, and we have a core team of five across Singapore and Australia, a network of experts in the hundreds and access to online communities totalling over 650,000 creative thinkers.
What problem was Flying Fish Lab aiming to solve when it launched?
From a consumer standpoint, there is little-perceived differentiation between competing and offering, be it product, claims or communication. It is literally a sea of sameness. As a result, many industries are being disrupted by start-ups providing true innovation.
We wanted to give established brands a fighting chance to disrupt themselves, rather than being sitting ducks. That is, to grow or reinvent their business through breakthrough innovation.
How are emerging consumer demands evolving the personal care industry?
There are two opposite generational trends that are shaping the market. Everyone is obsessed with targeting millennials.
This demographic is less brand loyal than other generations, and companies need to constantly offer something new and enticing to engage them.
At the same time, an ageing population presents new opportunities for the industry, yet seniors may feel rather neglected when it comes to brands’ innovation focus.
What is Flying Fish Lab’s USP?
Our methodology: Controlled disruption. It is a unique combination of different approaches and tools, helping our clients to adopt an intelligently naïve perspective to escape that sea of sameness, reframe their challenges, and change the rules of the game to their advantage.
How is Flying Fish Lab helping to provide insights to transform the industry?
Too many companies confuse insights and observations. They stay at a superficial level and fail to drill down or identify genuine consumer tensions, that could be turned into unique business propositions. We hope to raise the bar.
At the same time, insights are only a starting point. While they help identify business opportunities, the question of what to do to exploit these is the most challenging. This is where our “Controlled Disruption” approach helps create breakthrough products and communication, that are designed to answer genuine consumer needs.
What has been the company’s standout moment to date?
We led a global brand refresh for a 70-year- old, billion-dollar soap and shower gel brand by articulating new benefit platforms, hailed as a breakthrough by all stakeholders involved.
The second part of our interview with Mário Braz de Matos and Joël Céré of Flying Fish Lab will be published on Tuesday 10th October 2017.