Wendy’s is establishing a new Innovation and Strategy group to lead innovation efforts for the Wendy’s brand. According to the company’s chief marketing officer, the new Innovation and Strategy group will be comprised of three primary functions: (1) R&D (2) Strategic Insights & Innovation (3) Operations Innovation. While the innovation group will be managed as part of the company’s marketing department, it looks like the fruits of the innovation initiative will be diffused throughout the organization. The company’s chief marketing officer explains:

“We know that innovation at all levels - from the menu to packaging to the customer experience in our restaurants - is critical to our success. Everything is now strategically linked and will work tightly together. Over the last year, we have completely retooled and reinvigorated our menu-development process, and our product pipeline is filled with a wide array of exciting options. Now, we’re broadening this effort by creating a single team responsible for driving and enhancing innovation at all levels.”

When it comes to innovation, Wendy’s is playing catch-up with Burger King and McDonald’s, both of which have experimented with innovation in various ways. Burger King, for example, is known for creating all sorts of innovative viral marketing campaigns (subservient chicken, anyone?) while McDonald’s is known for trying to introduce Wi-Fi Internet access in its restaurants. Let’s just hope that Wendy’s doesn’t resort to anything “innovative” like the “Spicy Paris” commercial to sell burgers…

Tags: Wendy’s innovation

[image: Wendy’s from BrownSugarBear on Flickr]

The next time you step into the local supermarket to pick up a sack of potatoes, think about how innovative those potatoes really are. What? According to Canada.com, the Canadian government is investing almost a million dollars in potato industry innovation:

“The federal government [in Canada] is contributing $590,000 to help launch a national network geared to finding new markets and innovative uses for potatoes. The goal of the Potato Innovation Network 2020 is to create alliances between university, government and industry to create new or improved potato-based food, bio-medical, and industrial products. The provinces of New Brunswick, Alberta, Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Quebec are also contributing to the project, putting its total value at over $830,000. The potato industry contributes approximately $6.4 billion to Canada’s economy.”

If you look up “pork barrel” in the dictionary, I think you’d find something like this. In Canada, I guess, the term “potato barrel” might be more relevant.

Tags: potato innovation Canada

[image: Potatoes]