Research & Innovation Lab

Our top tool brings agile product development to the old economy. We have been involved with food markets and the interface with design for many years. Dynamic markets and short product life cycles force our customers to develop products faster than before.

Our Research & Innovation Lab is a mix of Design Sprint, Rapid Prototyping and Street Research via Food Truck. We bring food market research back to the street! In 3 days we achieve qualitative results at central locations with samples of 150-300 interviews depending on the complexity of the questionnaires. We gather valuable insights without the atmosphere of a market research institute. Food must be perceived and evaluated with all the senses, which is why online surveys reach their natural limits here.

Early testing enables agile design development in targeted steps. This user-centric approach is designed to improve project quality and provide our customers with time/cost advantages in their competitive and dynamic environment.

Some case studies are subject to confidentiality and will only be published by us after the respective products have been introduced and approved by our clients. Exciting projects in different areas of the food market await you.

Case study: Unilever

The video documents our mobile survey for Unilever (NL/UK). We used our agile approach to test recipes and present packaging designs. This process took three days and involved a total of 265 interviews, which were then analysed.

Agile brand strategy

Our service is intended for all those who are looking for an agile brand strategy. The shortening of product lifecycles is forcing us to make product development even more dynamic in the complex world in which we live. Our Innovation Lab is a shared platform for the creatives in our company and agency. It provides a freedom to look at new methods and to think up new ideas. We are in direct dialogue with our target audience here, which helps to show us what the open-minded consumers of today expect.

The target group for our Innovation Lab are manufacturers and marketers of all kinds. We want to become the dynamic precursor to empirical market research in the institute (corporate marketing). We give SMEs and startups access to simple, fast market research. Together we want to do real dialog marketing and get in touch with people. We will listen, learn and act accordingly. Packaging design tests via simple surveys are a matter of a few days and can be implemented based on concept/scribbles, layouts or prototypes.

This action on the street can also be upgraded to include a so-called Design Lab. Our award-winning Top Tool combines our core expertise in the field of product and packaging design with rapid street surveys to create a Research & Innovation Lab. This turns agile product development into a reality and brings design thinking to life. And, it is also worth mentioning the amazing social media content that you can acquire from a campaign with our food truck. Let’s have fun together and give great products the stage they deserve.

Case study: Importhaus Wilms (Sipahh)

The video documents our design sprint in combination with packaging prototyping and agile survey methodology for the client Importhaus Wilms. Due to the clearly formulated task and existing brand guidelines, the agile process could be compressed into a few days. The international team from Singapore (Unistraw/Sipahh) and Walluf (Wilms) was welcomed by us at Tatcraft for the packaging design sprint. The results were iteratively improved via our research process in 2 loops.

Case study: Fritz Kulturgüter (Anjola)

New anjola formulations with reduced sugar content were tested at various sites for Fritz Kult urgüter.

Case study: Share

The case study on Share shows the bars before launch in the final pre-testing for final assortment optimization. For this purpose, we met in Berlin Kreuzberg and supported the startup in its launch preparation.

Case study: Transgourmet

We were given the opportunity to fully rethink the product range around the “burger”. The result was 9 burger creations from Transgourmet – packaged in our design and tested on the street.

Bite Club Berlin

How often do you get the chance to let Marco Müller (Rutz) into your own food truck? We travelled to Berlin for the Bite Club.

Case study: La Cevi

Frankfurt-based restaurant “La Cevi” needed a prototype for its award-winning ceviche in packaging suitable for food retail. No sooner said than done.

Case study: Goldberger

A start-up selling chocolate with medicinal mushrooms. Sounds like a challenge. We took it on, staying true to our tried-and-tested methods.

Case study: Blue Whale

For the French apple giant “Blue Whale”, we used our methodology to obtain knowledge about the flavour, texture and appearance of a new apple variety. How was the new product received in the neighbouring country of Germany?

Background

As an agency, we supply food manufacturers and retail companies with design from product to POS. We count some of the biggest brands among our customers, as well as small manufactories or food startups. We actually design for our customers for the love of food. A wonderful market. And we love what we do. In 2017, we expanded our offering to include a mobile food test lab : The Food Truck is intended to be a stage for tomorrow’s culinary concepts and a playground for product developers.