15,000+
Consumers engaged across six years of research.
Our Work
Building a disruptive haircare brand for the UK market
A global beauty brand partnered with 2CV to identify genuine whitespace in UK haircare and create a proposition capable of standing out in a saturated market.
Across the full innovation journey, from segmentation through to launch optimisation, we helped shape a distinctive, scalable platform for growth.
Sector:
Beauty & Personal Care
Market:
UK
Expertise:
Innovation Strategy, Consumer Insight, Proposition Development
The challenge
The client wanted to grow its role in UK haircare, but incremental innovation would not be enough to win in a crowded category.
The challenge was to identify unmet consumer needs and build a proposition that felt credible, distinctive and locally relevant.
Our approach
We partnered with insight and marketing teams across the full NPD journey – combining strategic thinking with iterative optimisation.
Our work included:
- Segmentation and whitespace identification
- Concept, naming and pack development
- In-store fixture research
- Post-launch evaluation and expansion planning
Across 18 projects over six years, we spoke to more than 15,000 women to guide both strategy and execution.
The Results
Sustained growth
Strong franchise performance years post-launch.
Expanded innovation
Successful growth across haircare and adjacent categories.
The bold decision
Our research showed that existing category cues around “naturality” would not deliver meaningful differentiation in the UK market.
Instead, we helped define a more locally relevant proposition while simplifying the wider portfolio to reduce overlap and strengthen in-market impact.
From Incremental Innovation to Category Leadership
A major beauty brand needed to find real whitespace in a crowded UK haircare market, and build a proposition that would genuinely resonate.
Through end-to-end NPD support, we combined deep consumer insight with iterative development to shape a distinctive, credible offer. We reframed the role of “naturality” and simplified the portfolio to strengthen in-market impact.
The result: market leadership, sustained franchise growth, and a platform for long-term innovation.
Making Rail Travel Feel Possible for Everyone
A transport client needed to evaluate whether new “Welcome Points” improved confidence and access; particularly for disabled and less confident travellers.
We combined in-station qualitative research with large-scale face-to-face surveys across 37 stations, bringing the experience to life through real passenger stories that made barriers, and solutions, impossible to ignore.
The result: a successful trial and national rollout, shaping accessibility strategy, improving station design, and enabling more confident journeys for all.
Rethinking Print Growth for a New Buying Reality
A global IT leader needed to understand how the office print journey had evolved as decision-making became more complex and less brand-led.
We rebuilt the journey using global quantitative and qualitative insight, identifying key triggers and moments of influence. We challenged the idea of a single journey – redefining the market into four distinct paths.
The result: This shifted the business to a journey-led strategy, unlocking sharper targeting, stronger partner roles and higher-value growth.
Reinventing Print for a Subscription World
A global print leader needed to understand how a new all-in-one subscription model could drive growth and compete with traditional purchasing.
Through global research, we uncovered how customers valued the offer, what drove adoption, and how to position it for maximum impact.
We translated this into go-to-market strategy, messaging and commercial planning.
The result: 11 million+ subscribers in year one, establishing a scalable, high-growth proposition.
Turning In-Store Moments into Measurable Growth
An energy brand needed to understand how in-store interventions influence shopper behaviour across markets and where to invest to drive sales.
We surveyed 8,000+ consumers across EMEA using a virtual store environment, recreating the shopping journey to isolate what truly drives attention and choice.
The result: a clear, evidence-based toolkit for retailers – optimising placement, signage and formats to unlock measurable sales growth.
Turning Brand Tracking into a Strategic Advantage
A global fashion brand needed continuous insight to understand evolving customer expectations as it moved upmarket in an increasingly competitive market.
We ran a six-year global tracking programme, combining consistent measurement with agile reporting to inform decisions at pace. We evolved the tracker to maintain comparability while increasing relevance.
The result: insights embedded across the business; shaping strategy and supporting the brand’s position as the world’s most considered premium player.