Creating Consumer-centric innovations: Olga Lahuerta’s approach

August 2, 2021

How do you create a successful innovation? @Olga Lahuerta, a Research Fellow at the P&G Singapore Innovation center, has had multi-category experience on this. As a products researcher she led the development of Dawn Powerwash Dish Spray, a disruptive new way of washing dishes that has become a runaway success in the US.  

In the popular imagination, innovations are born in a lab, a scientist toiling away into the wee hours, until an eureka moment strikes. But for Olga, it starts with listening. 

Before she even develops a product concept, Olga spends multiple weeks listening to consumers from across the globe. She mines these consumer research sessions for anthropological, behavioural and psychographic insights, striving to understand “what she does, who she is, how this product fits into the broader context of her life.”  

If this seems like overkill, Olga points out that “Often the consumer doesn’t articulate what she’s really looking for. She might even disregard some relevant prototypes because she is just reacting to an early, far from perfect execution. That’s why you really have to start by understanding what she truly needs & keep persevering until you’ve made it a reality.” 

Fundamentally, Olga sees herself as a translator: Translating a human need into a brand experience and a technical description of a product that doesn’t exist yet. 

Today Olga is Global Pantene Research Fellow. Her role is to define and drive the strategic innovation spaces that will fuel Pantene’s future growth. It can be an all-consuming job, so she relaxes with family and friends over a nice meal and combines long-distance running, yoga, and painting to maintain her perspective and creativity. 

It’s all worthwhile when she sees a consumer fall in love with her products.

#WomenInSTEM #TheFutureMakers