Adapting your offer to customer expectations: winning strategies

Understanding the challenges of adapting supply

This Forum, proposed at SIVAL 2025 by VEGEPOLYS VALLEY and the CCI de Maine-et-Loire, highlighted the importance of refocusing the offering of companies in the plant sector on consumer expectations. Changing preferences in terms of animal welfare, environmental impact and nutrition are forcing companies to adapt their products and services. At the same time, regulatory constraints and the need for differentiation add a new level of complexity.

One of the major findings is the failure of certain companies to anticipate these needs, as illustrated by the example of standardized tomatoes in supermarkets. Despite their resistance to logistics, these products have been abandoned by consumers due to a lack of flavor, forcing retailers to review their offer. The study of Crudettes packaging also shows the importance of taking customer expectations into account: an attempt to do away with plastic in favor of all-paper packaging failed, as consumers wanted to see the freshness of the products.

User-centric approaches

Companies that have applied participatory approaches with consumers have succeeded in innovating effectively. The example of Bioplants, which markets home-grown microgreens, illustrates the value of constant dialogue with users. The company has taken on board customers' expectations in terms of product information, particularly concerning cutting and preservation methods.

On a different note, the Sans Pépin company has detected a change in young consumers' behavior towards wine. By integrating user feedback on individual formats and lightness of flavor, it has designed 25 cl bottles adapted to modern consumption situations. These innovations demonstrate the effectiveness of an approach based on analysis of customer expectations.

The design thinking method applied to plants

To guide companies through the process, design thinking is divided into several phases. The first stage involves mapping customer profiles and observing their behavior. Tools such as profile types and usage paths help us to better understand expectations and identify the stages to be optimized.

Once the needs have been clarified, the ideation phase enables different solutions to be explored before moving on to rapid prototyping and testing. The Romanesco tool developed by a VEGEPOLYS VALLEY member is a good illustration of this methodology: based on a need expressed by a market gardener to reduce the drudgery of work, the company first designed a small-scale prototype before validating its interest with other growers and industrializing production.

The ephemeral boutique: a tool for validating innovations

For companies wishing to test their products before launching them, VEGEPOLYS VALLEY offers a unique initiative: the "boutique éphémère du végétal". This platform, open to members of the cluster as well as to other organizations, enables concrete user feedback to be collected on food, cosmetics and plant-related products.

Each edition of the boutique focuses on a specific theme, and in 2025 the emphasis will be on sustainable and environmental approaches. At the same time, tailor-made support is offered to help companies structure their innovation process, from initial scoping to market testing, and including the organization of co-creation workshops.

Speakers

MARTIN DELHUMEAU - Product and Service Design Advisor - CCI de Maine et Loire

JEANNE LIQUIER - Foresight Manager - VEGEPOLYS VALLEY