Innovation as a Service: your innovation department, from the outside

What is Innovation as a Service?

Innovation as a Service is a model in which a company gets a full innovation capability without building an internal department. Instead of hiring a team, COSMO works alongside management, sales, marketing and production, and leads the process from spotting the opportunity to a product that sells. Innovation is measured in sales, not in presentations.

This is for you if

• You have no innovation department, or your existing team is busy with day-to-day work.
• Your category is maturing and you need new growth engines.
• You see a global trend and want to be the first to bring it to Israel.
• You have production capacity or know-how that can be used for a new category or segment.

What COSMO actually does

1. Opportunity scanning: global trends, emerging segments and unmet needs in the channels you operate in.
2. Filtering and prioritising: what fits your production capabilities, brand and sales channels, and what is worth testing first.
3. Product development: defining the concept, working with R&D and production, testing with customers and chefs.
4. Food-tech partnerships: finding startups and technologies you can integrate, and leading the pilot.
5. Market entry: pricing, commercial offer and channel choice, until the new product sells.
6. An innovation routine: a steady idea pipeline, decision cadence and metrics, so innovation does not stop when the project ends.

Every engagement is built from The Playbook: together we choose the relevant modules out of 15, tailored to your business.

The experience behind the service

Yotam Shabo led business development and sales at Strauss NEO, the innovation unit of the Strauss Group, where he promoted food-tech ventures in the market. Before that he built new sales channels inside a corporation, establishing the Away From Home division at the Central Bottling Company (Coca-Cola Israel). Since then he has supported food-tech companies and food manufacturers with strategy, positioning and business development.

What this means for you: innovation that is connected to sales. The person leading the process knows how an idea becomes a product that a category buyer, a chef or a procurement manager is willing to buy.

Frequently asked questions

How is this different from building an internal innovation department?

An internal department requires hiring, ramp-up time and a fixed cost. Innovation as a Service brings experience and market relationships from day one, at a scope that fits the company’s stage, and can be expanded or reduced as needed.

Is it suitable for small and mid-sized companies?

Yes. For companies without an innovation team this is exactly the right model, because it provides the capability of a full department without its fixed cost.

How do food-tech partnerships fit in?

Part of the work is finding technologies and products from food-tech companies that can fit into your product range or production, and building a joint pilot that can be measured.

How do we get started?

With a 30-minute strategy call with Yotam Shabo, no commitment. Call +972-54-443-4448 or email yotam@cosmobyshabo.com.

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