Consumer Obsessed is a series that uncovers what “consumer obsession” means to us and how it’s reflected in every part of our organization to help drive our business forward. 

From cultivating insights to getting products into the hands of our consumers, this series explores our relentless pursuit to anticipate what consumers want today, tomorrow, and well into the future. Join us as we strive to elevate human connections and fulfill our mission to build brands that people love.

Our Innovation Ecosystem

Consumer obsession is our established commitment to meeting evolving preferences by understanding where consumers are today and where they’re heading in the future. Our pursuit of consumer growth opportunities is built against an ecosystem of growth levers:

  • Building through organic innovation when the opportunity to create distinctive consumer-driven ideas is clear, like Corona Sunbrew Citrus Cerveza.
  • Investing through our Corporate Ventures arm to enter new and adjacent categories in line with trends and where consumers are going, like HOPWTR.
  • Buying smaller, differentiated, high-momentum brands to tuck into our portfolio at the high end, like Sea Smoke.

This multifaceted approach to innovation has driven approximately 30 percent of our growth over the last five years, delivering almost $3.4 billion in Circana sales1. Investing nearly $550 million in people, research and development, and technical capabilities in that time sets Constellation apart as one of the few companies in our industry driving sustained, consistent growth across both our core and innovation portfolios.  

Our People & Process

Constellation’s innovation efforts go through a focused and disciplined process designed to standardize the way innovation projects are managed across the organization. This process involves several key stages to ensure that projects are highly desired by consumers, can be scaled up efficiently and profitably, and are aligned with the company's strategic goals.

“At the beginning of our ideation and concept development, our Innovation team utilizes broader consumer, societal, and economic trends to uncover and build out prospective opportunities using a methodical yet creative approach,” explained Badri Narayanan, Director of Innovation, New Product Development.

This work then informs a long-term roadmap with input from key stakeholders across the organization like Consumer Insights, Brand Insights, and Marketing. By evaluating ideas through opportunity, feasibility, and market impact, the team selects concepts that will resonate with consumers to bring through to the next stage. 

Our Research & Development centers are the creativity hubs where we develop those approved concepts for our Beer and Wine & Spirits divisions to drive both organic innovation within existing brands and create new-to-world, or emerging brands. These centers feature state-of-the-art setups designed for fast prototyping, enabling our New Product Development teams to move quickly from concept to consumer testing while maintaining high-quality standards.

Badri Narayanan, Director of Innovation, New Product Development at one of our Research & Development Centers

"Our approach not only provides a rigorous framework for evaluating projects at each stage of development but also fosters cross-functional collaboration. This collaboration is crucial as it brings together diverse perspectives and expertise, ensuring that we develop products that truly resonate with our consumers and can efficiently scale. By working as an extended team, we are able to bring to life products that consumers will love that also have the potential to impact our business long term," shared Andrew Zrike, SVP of Consumer Insights and Innovation.

From Lab to Shelf

Our investments in innovation and our disciplined approach have led to exciting products like Modelo Spiked Aguas Frescas, Modelo Cheladas, Kim Crawford Illuminate, a lower-alcohol wine, as well as new-to-world brands such as The Drop, a line of ready-to-drink Lemon Drop-inspired cocktails that is being tested in select markets.  

“By staying in tune with emerging trends and shifts in consumer behavior, our Innovation team crafts products that resonate across various demographics,” said Badri.  

This mindset supported the creation of Corona Sunbrew Citrus Cerveza which is expanding nationally this year after a successful limited pilot. Sunbrew is brewed with real orange and lime juices to combine the classic refreshing taste of Corona with vibrant citrus flavor. This beverage was inspired by the viral “drink hacking” trend among Gen Z consumers on social media, which showcases people creating unique and inventive beverages at home by adding non-alcoholic ingredients to their favorite drinks. The Innovation team recognized the growing demand for personalized, flavor-driven beverages and tapped into the trend – creating a refreshing and ready-to-drink beverage that delivers the same experience in a convenient, flavorful product.

“Our consumer obsession is the North Star to product design,” said Fernando Aguirre, Senior Vice President, Master Brewer, who leads R&D for our Mexican import extensions like Sunbrew from our lab in Mexico. “Our product design approach is holistic. We design for the consumers, customers, quality, environment, social responsibility and more. Our dream is to design for consumers and all the stakeholders that are touched by our brands, products, breweries and supply chain.”

Beer Innovation in action at one of our Research & Development Centers

Cook’s Mango Mimosa is another example that delivers a juicy twist on the classic mimosa, catering to a growing consumer preference for fruit-forward experiences. Meiomi Bright, another lower-alcohol wine, uses Spinning Cone technology to target the removal of alcohol without sacrificing aroma or flavor, tapping into moderation conversations to offer consumers a differentiated choice that aligns with their lifestyle.  

Shyft is a first-of-its-kind, patented, flavor-shifting canned cocktail that contains two contrasting flavors like citrus-cherry, raspberry-watermelon, peach-ginger, and blackberry-lime in each can, that are designed to be perceived at different times, shifting the flavor in every sip. This cutting-edge technology was developed in our lab, with the goal of delivering a dynamic flavor experience not found anywhere else. Shyft is available in select test markets.  

Looking Ahead  

As we unlock future opportunities, we remain consumer focused. Our Innovation team continues to foster camaraderie and a drive to overcome challenges to continuously deliver a pipeline of new products. From flavor labs to marketing teams, collaboration is essential to bringing these innovative ideas to life.

“Every day is a fun, unique challenge and an opportunity to build consumer empathy and leverage science to connect with our consumers,” reflected Badri.

By upholding our guiding principle of consumer obsession, we’re proud to create successful products and brands that are Worth Reaching For.

Source:

1 Circana Total U.S. MULO+C, L52 Weeks 7-22-18 through 7-16-23