Milk isn’t just milk. Milk embodies product development, technology, brand building, logistics systems, and competition. Fierce competition. Tine’s ability to bolster its innovation power, navigate rapid changes, and distinguish itself from competitors is vital for its competitive strength moving forward.
Tine stands as one of Norway’s most formidable brands with a legacy spanning 135 years. For a long time, the company virtually monopolized its market. However, with rising national and international competition, the company had to pivot and innovate. To achieve this necessary transition, Tine embarked on its unique innovation journey.
For innovation to be targeted, meaning focused on areas crucial for Tine, the company’s employees needed a clear overview and understanding of the primary drivers of innovation.
The starting point was the recognition that innovation doesn't materialize in a vacuum. There's always some driving force behind innovation, whether it's someone's needs, changing prerequisites, serendipity, or other factors.
Speaking of employees; most innovations in Tine’s 135-year history have been attributed to the local farmer, the dairy worker, or the technologist in the corner office. Modern innovation revolves around collaboration, processes, and interactive learning, both among employees and between the company and the outside world.
Innovation competence is deemed a key ingredient to Tine's future success.
Tine’s innovation journey was split in two. The first part, involving cross-functional work within the company, aimed to broaden the understanding of what innovation inherently is and what innovation could mean for Tine. For instance, participants delved into novel ways of conceptualizing business models, customer experiences, and distribution/sales.
The second part comprised a mapping of innovation competence in each individual department. A notable gain from the entire process was that innovation became a communal asset, subsequently making the pathway from idea to trial (and occasionally to new solutions) much shorter. Every department was tasked with crystallizing their specific plan on how innovation would become an integral part of their daily operations.
Tine has numerous departments and employees. A pivotal component of the execution was leveraging internal resources to facilitate work sessions across the nation. An exhaustive guidebook was created, followed by training for the internal guiding corps.
The feedback from the innovation journey was overwhelmingly positive.
The threshold to propose innovations was lowered, largely because employees had their understanding of innovation broadened, realizing that innovation could span every facet of the value chain. The use of dialogue cloths as a method ignited enthusiasm and ownership for innovation as an essential tool for Tine’s sustained success. Consequently, Tine employed Specifique’s expertise in subsequent projects, including the anchoring and operationalization of the company’s values.
