Cheez-it Grooves Innovation

Kellogg tapped us to help them find growth opportunities for their Cheez-it brand via new product innovations. The most important step in our work was providing an innovation strategy based on review of salted snack category consumption, resulting in a focus on the question of “how can Cheez-it brand gain a share of mouth in the potato chip category?”

Using our observational research methodology, we identified a key attribute of salted snack chip consumption which the current Cheez-it products did not deliver on. That attribute was the desire for a more intense and multi-textural eating experience that potato chip eaters enjoy, especially when dipping chips into various sauces and dips.

With this insight in hand, we led the Kellogg team in an immersive, experiential ideation process that identified a number of potential avenues for Cheez-it to deliver on the desired eating experience. We articulated and visualized the initial concept of a thin, crispy Cheez-it with waves that could hold more intense flavorings. This idea scored very high purchase interest among target consumers, leading to the ultimate launch of Cheez-it Grooves. Again, we helped our client invent a new sub-category that avoided head-to-head competition and that resulted in incremental volume for the brand. The brand continues to be a major component of the Cheez-it brand’s total offering.