The WilliamsWarn Story

A food friend of mine, Juliano Mendes, was one of the guys behind creating Eisenbahn, one of Brazil's most successful beer brands. Another friend is working on a business plan to expand a retail store specialized in beers from around the world. Beer is one of those categories that generates a lot of passion.

Below you'll find an interesting story of how a New Zeland brewmaster identified an unmet business opportunity and through ingenuity and hard work created a pretty revolutionary product concept. If you're into beer, captivated by the surge of microbreweries and believes in the power of customization, you'll like the story of WilliamsWarn.

Apples & Berries

What did you think about the recent announcement of the BlackBerry PlayBook?

It's never an easy task when you're late in the game especially when you're going head-to-head against a device that introduced an entirely new product experience, that got so much buzz, so many reviews. I also believe the game is less about hardward and more about applications and the disruptive business model of the incredibly intuitive App Store. If the PlayBook doesn't bring anything new to the table except supporting flash, it only reinforces that Apple is the true industry thought leader.

eQlibri - Brazil's new line of healthy snacks for women

eQlibri - our brand new line of healthy snacks for women - was launched a few weeks ago and is getting great reviews from trade customers around Brazil. eQlibri comes in two product formats:

eQlibri breadchips - a mini baguette-shaped breadchip that comes in two great-tasting flavors: mild cheese & herbs and parma ham, in a 40g stand-up pouch.

eQlibri crackers - a very light cracker in three flavors: mozzarella & basil, hint of lime and an original flavor. The crackers come in a 100g box, an ideal size for sharing and in a 100-calorie 23g single-serve package designed for on-the-go consumption.

World's first display made from reclyced chip bags

Last week, here at PepsiCo Brazil we started to roll-out an exciting new product display for our line of snacks. The news is that is the world's first display made 100% from recycled chip bags. In fact, 675 chip bags are used to make each display. By the end of the year, we will be producing 25,000 displays to be placed in stores all over Brazil.
























We're working with waste management coops in São Paulo which are collecting chip bags as part of a larger post-consumer packaging program that we're deploying in partnership with TerraCycle - the world's most innovative eco-friendly manufucturers.

This initiative means, that in the next six months, 16.8 million bags won't go to landfills.

Dip or squeeze... great packaging idea

An e-mail came in today from 4Sight - a NY-based packaging design firm I've worked with a few years ago - communicating a recent project they worked on called Heinz Ketchup Dip & Squeeze.  

This is an absolutely brilliant example of how many times the best packaging ideas are very simple.  

I love it!

Electric bike to the rescue.... to jump-start your car

Dealing with a dead car battery is not something people are happy about.  For those who have auto insurance with Porto Seguro - Brazil's most innovative insurance company - things are little different.  You call their 1-800 number, tell them where your car is located and you may end up being rescued by an electric bike (apparently service is restricted to certain metro areas).  What a fantastic way for the insurance company to reduce operating costs, get through chaotic traffic found in metro areas like São Paulo, jump-start the car using the bike's battery and help the environment.  Absolutely brilliant.

The interesting thing is that Porto Seguro is also marketing the electric bikes, which they co-developed in collaboration with engineer Felicio Sadalla (an engineer who designed Brazil's first electric bike a few decades ago) and Pro-X bike manufacturers.  This morning, I met Patricia Collese from Porto Seguro who showed me the bike and told me the story of how the project got started.

Click here for more info. 

I found this video on YouTube (in Portuguese) covering the story...

NatuChips - made from Brazilian roots

In a few days an exciting new snack concept we have been developing for the past year will hit the shelves all over Brazil: NatuChips.

There has been a growing interest among Brazilians consumers for products that celebrate local food staples. The growth of açai, coconut water or guaraná-enhanced energy drinks are examples of how Brazilian are re-discovering local tastes... from fruits to roots.

NatuChips is a great way for Brazilians to try something completely different in terms of snacking... different, but very close to their food culture. NatuChips comes in two great-tasting options: Inhame chips (known in English as taro) and Mandioquinha chips (known as arrancacha). We're very excited with this launch.

Try them out and drop me a line with your thoughts.

Toddy Organico - our first organic product

Later on today, after a 12-month development process, we will be launching a fantastic new product our marketing team is very proud of: Toddy Organic - PepsiCo Brazil's very first organic product.
























The launch will take place at a press event organized by WalMart Brazil where nine sustainable innovations from nine different manufacturers will be revealed.

This initiative is part of our corporate strategy of developing products that contribute to a better tomorrow but still provide a great-tasting product experience. We are very proud of Toddy Organic in a number of ways. Following the global trend towards clean labels, Toddy Organic is made with only five ingredients: organic cocoa, organic sugar, malt extract, sugar and soy lecithin. The organic cocoa and organic sugar are both cultivated with absolutely no pesticides, only natural fertilizers. Labels are made with recycled material partially made from paper collected from our own offices. Certification of the entire process, from seed to shelf, is carried out by IBD-Instituto Biodinâmico.

The organic cocoa comes from farms in the beautiful region of Ilhéus, in the State of Bahia - by Barry Callebaut. This project is particularly special when you take into consideration that cocoa, like sugarcane and coffee, are an integral part of the history and culture of this country.

Toddy is one of our fastest growing brands and has been a part of the Brazilian breakfast for the past 76 years. We're hoping Toddy Organic will appeal to moms and a generation of young consumers who are concerned with the world they live in.... but can't live without their daily Toddy.

Those beautiful new gadgets we probably don't need

Don't we all just love these lists of the sexiest gadgets of the year?

Beautifully-designed gadgets we probably don't need but some way end up in our dream list. 

Check this one out from THECOOLIST*

Learning from the Seda Co-Creation Project

Last week we invited Erik Galardi - Unilever Brazil's Marketing Director Haircare - to talk to our internal team on how he is carrying out a major brand transformation for Seda.  The presentation was absolutely awesome, one of the best marketing stories I heard recently.  Seda is Brazil`s leading shampoo but has been losing relevance to smaller high-end brands which led to the Seda Co-Creation Project.  They partnered with seven hair specialists from around the world to develop a new generation of products.  Another great case of collaboration, packaging design, content generation and experiential marketing.  

Inflatable Seat Belts

It's fascinating to see how some new ideas are actually a combination of things that have been around for a while - in this case seat belts and airbag technology - and nobody had actually put them together. Ford's recent announcement of the first-ever back-seat inflatable seat belt is a great example of this.


This is a wonderful innovation that makes you wonder what other opportunties exist in our own categories of combining different ideas to create an entirely new consumer experience...

Turbocharging the home phone

The other day I was talking to Alessandro Germano, an innovation director at Telefonica Brazil, about how I thought the home phone needed some serious re-thinking incorporating a lot of the cool features found in the mobile world. That's when he told me about Orby.

Orby is a product that is being developed by Telefonica to become the ultimate home digital smartphone. The idea is to turbocharging the home phone with a hi-speed connection, the convenience of touch screen and cool design. The concept comes with unique features like the ability for the user to choose his phone number online. The phone screen can be used to access YouTube, online radios, use as a slideshow for family photos or to check your stock portfolio.

It seems like the type of innovation that has the potential of becoming the centerpiece of home automation (control lighting, turn on air conditioning, lock/unlock doors or activate security cameras). Telefonica is making Orby open source allowing anyone to develop aditional applications, similar to what happens today with IPhones or Android.

Launch is expected to happen later this month. Perfect time for me to update our old home phones.  Can't wait to try it out.

Folding bikes and the art of innovation

I love bikes and I would like to be able to take my two daughters biking beyond our Sao Paulo neighborhood.  Unfortunately, our three bikes don't fit in our family bike (let alone in my Mini Cooper).  

For the past week I've been doing some online research on folding bikes, from very simple concepts to high-end folding mountain bikes. Some really fascinating projects.  

One video I found on YouTube, part of the Open University series, is absolutely fantastic because it has UK Industrial Desginer Mark Sanders  explain step-by-step the entire process he went through in creating his revolutionary Strida folding bike.  The video shows how he started off with a very specific brief inspired by baby strollers.  It goes on to show his rigourous approach to developing hypotheses, creating as many designs as possible, validating, screening, prototyping and testing, testing, testing.  I particularly enjoyed how, after launching the first commercial version, he incorporated consumer feedback to evolve and refine each aspect of his project.  At the end, he mentions a few ideas he has to take his project to the next level, confirming how great design and product development should be a continuous process.  

For those who love design and the innovation process, this is a truly inspirational video.

Farewell to Le Paul (1915-2009)

This past week the world said farewell and paid tribute to Les Paul - the man who was the inventor of the solid body electric guitar and also pioneered a number of recording methods like the multitrack recording.  A true legend who influenced the world of rock in many ways.  In the 1950's, the legendary Gibson Les Paul was born, designed by Ted McCarty in collaboraton with Les Paul.  A guitar icon that is part of the fabric of modern rock.

Click here to see a photo gallery of Les Paul published by the Los Angeles Times.

Every Wednesday night, I have guitar lessons with Dante Castanho and the experience has been extremely rewarding.  Music has an amazing ability to take you away from your day-to-day and transport you to different places and times.  I'm having a great time.

Revolutionary water purification bottle

Watch on TED video with Michael Prichard demonstrating a truly revolutionary water purification bottle called Lifesaver.  Click here to watch.

More on this innovation, click here.

What's in the head of Brazilian Millenials? And how this inspired us to develop a new potato chip

We start the month of July airing our new Ruffles TV campaign to launch a limited edition called Ruffles Do Seu Jeito ('your way'). Two new flavors developed with the input from our online collaboration panel. There's a guy version: BBQ Ribs. And one for girls: cream cheese.

For those who don't know Portuguese, the first spot starts saying that we got into the head of girls to find out what they like in order to develop a new flavor for Ruffles. Well, they like guys, shoes, guys, shoes... and to kiss (which in Portuguese rimes with cheese). So, the joke is that that's what inspired us to launch a cream cheese-flavored potato chip for girls.

When it comes to the guys, it's pretty much single-minded: girls, girls, girls. In this case, the joke is that girls came from ribs, which inspired us to make a BBQ Rib-flavored potato chip.

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The campaign was created by AlmapBBDO.

Spicing up Doritos in Brazil

This weekend a fantastic spicy new Doritos flavor will be hitting stores all over Brazil:

Sweet Chili.

We're super excited with this new flavor for a number of reasons. First, because for many years we have been only selling the classic nacho cheese - our fastest-growing snack - and we took extra care to develop a second flavor that would deliver an awesome product experience to Doritos fans. We tested and re-tested dozens of flavors and sweet chili was the clear winner, a perfect combination of hot chili pepper with a gentle sweet secondary note.

Another reason for our excitement has to do with Doritos Sweet Chili's packaging. For this project we're working with one of Brazil's coolest creative shops, Cubo CC. We immediately fell in love with their graphic work using characters from the world of toy art, which are being called 'Doritos Lovers', over a pure silver background that will certainly stand out at the point of sale.

The great story is that these 'Doritos Lovers' come alive once consumers place the packaging in front of a web cam. The technology used is augmented reality. On the back of each package, there's a symbol on the upper right-hand corner that needs to be placed in front a web cam to release the Doritos Lovers. This is the first-time ever in Brazil that this technology is used on a the package of a consumer product.

Take a look at the video tutorial that shows how the release-your-doritos-lovers works....

The new online experience for both Doritos and the new flavor launch was also developed by Cubo CC and is, by far, the best online work in our portfolio. Click here to take a look.

Another interesting aspect of this initiative is that the entire process was co-developed and each step validated by a Millennial Online Collaboration Panel we have with 40 university students located in four different regions of the country. Through a social-network style application, we maintain a weekly interaction with these collaborators checking everything from brand activation concept ideas, choice of flavors, language that resonates with the target, to what is hot in the world of graphics. The result is a higher probability to make a strong emotional connection with Brazilian millennials (certainly the most difficult demographic to be relevant to).

To make all this happen we have, what I call, our Doritos marketing dream team: Roberto Angelino, Carla Araujo (who will now lead the kids snacking team), Alexandre Chiavegati and Carol Gormezano (who love everything digital). To add more spice to the team, we're bringing in Marta Oliveira, who has done a fantastic job with our other millennial brand Toddy. In R&D, we have Sergio Julio, who brings the product concepts to life. A true dream team.

Here in Brazil.... we're in love with Doritos!

Giving new reasons for health-conscious Brazilian consumers to add more oats to their day-to-day lives

When asked what brand comes to mind when consumers think oats, Brazilians all over the country will immediately say Quaker.  Over the years, through the commissioning of Brazil's first clinical study on the heart-health benefits of oats and the consistent work of professional marketing, we have been teaching consumers and opinion leaders about how oats can help fight heart clogging cholesterol contributing to a balanced lifestyle.

Last year, we started working with agency StrawberryFrog which created a new campaign that is helping to accelerate growth with a message that combines both the functional benefits of oats with a more emotional tone.  The campaign is called 

Quaker - The Grain of Goodness.  

More and more people recognize the power of this little super grain but one of the barriers of consumption is that people don't always find oats very convenient.  Little time in the morning to prepare an oatmeal porridge or forgetting to sprinkle oats over fruits or yogurts are a few of the reasons why people don't consume more.  To provide oats in a more convenient format, a few years ago a line of oat bars were launched - our fastest-growing SKUs.  Proof that there is an opportunity to provide more convenient ways for people to eat oats.  

We're very excited that this week, we started test-marketing in Campinas (an hour drive from Sao Paulo) an entire line of convenient on-the-go oat-based products that will certainly create new reasons and occasions for health-conscious Brazilian consumers to add more oats to their day-to-day lives.   We're calling this line Quaker De Bolso  (which translates as Quaker In-Your-Pocket).

The line is made up of three nutritious products: 

Quaker Oatmeal cookies in three flavors:  Apple & Cinnamon, Granola, Raisins

Quaker Granola Express, a fun on-the-go drinkable format which allows people to have granola while they are driving, biking or working out.  These new granolas come in two flavors:  raisins, banana & honey

Quaker Minis - a completely new concept - bite size oat-based multi-grain mini cookies. One, is a mix of oats and cocoa and the other, a unique mix of 4 super grains: oats, quinoa, flax seed and wheat germ with a delicious touch of honey.  We designed this product to offer the convenience of portion control which we believe will become a hit especially among busy women who want a nutritious break but don't always have the time. I particularly love this concept.  

Well, here's our entire Quaker De Bolso line.  

Now consumers can have the goodness of oats anytime, anywhere.  

This launch was developed under the leadership of Adriana Ribeiro, Erika Salgado and Rodrigo Viselli, three marketing stars, as well as, Jose Oliveira and Maria Eugenia Cavenaghi on the Innovation team, who put their hearts and souls in the project.  We also counted on the inspiring support from Jesus Velasquez from the Mexican team who brought a wonderful perspective from a successful Quaker operation. On the technical side, Sergio Julio and his team added the R&D magic to bring the concepts to life. A fantastic team!  

Mobile phones to speed up boarding process

Yesterday, I took a flight from São Paulo to Brasília and I was envious to see a few passengers using a relatively new service that allows them to use their mobile phones which are scanned at the gate for a boarding pass.  Great concept.

Fun way to motivate kids to brush

I've noticed that my two daughters are taking more time brushing their teeth ever since my wife bought them the Firefly® Toothbrush. If you haven't seen one, this is a toothbrush with a light that flashes during 60 seconds helping children develop proper brushing habits. My girls like to dim the bathroom light and see the flashing effect on the mirror.

What a great product concept and what a smart name. It's one of those simple ideas that I wish I had early in my career when I worked in the oral care category.

Another cool idea in the toothbrush world is the Volight® Toothbrush Sanitzer - a system that eliminates bacteria that thrive in the warm, moist environment of bathrooms. The sanitizer, beautifully dsigned by Philippe Stark, uses technology common in hospitals: a germicidal UV bulb to kill germs. A blue glow lets you know the sanitizer is working.

Interesting to see how both innovations use light in a smart way.