New product development offers brands a new way to capture value as the category evolves.

For Huggies Little Swimmers, the desire was to increase market share and penetration by complementing their disposable swim diapers with durable products that would ‘live in the swim bag for longer’.

How could HLS own the world of ‘carefree water play’ with a pipeline of new product developments and a first launch into this adjacent space?

Swimming with parents and their young children to observe their journey and co-create with them (once all were dry and the children fed!)

Pipeline of durable products spanning 4 innovation territories, with the initial launch of the Hygiene Mat that focussed on the messes and stresses of the journey (parents had the fun covered!)

• First product to ever be accepted out of range review

• Secured valuable shelf space with retailers during category consolidation and sale of the wider Huggies diaper range

Client: Kimberly-Clark via Webb de Vlam

• Framing of the brief against the brand ambitions and constraints

• Ethnographic research methodology, stimulus and organisation (partnering with agency to recruit and fine tune approach)

• Research and category audits around lead European markets

• Vision capture and pitch narrative for retailers

• Journey mapping: from home > change > swim > change

• Opportunity spaces

• Ideation and prioritisation using ‘Top Trumps’ trading game methodology

• Iterative design sprints using prototypes with real parents and kids

• Creative Direction of end-to-end product and packaging design and development cycle, including supplier liaison to engineer product within acceptable margins for a ‘disposable’ brand