Mead Johnson Nutrition Case Study
Industry: Infant & Child Nutrition
Service: ITG ACCELERATE®
Translate emerging science into a 5-year pipeline of meaningful innovation.
Mead Johnson Nutrition needed to turn complex infant brain development science into new products and messaging for their core Enfa™ brand. In partnership with ITG, a diverse panel of global experts, healthcare professionals, and Creative Consumers® associates, they built an innovation pipeline stretching five years and beyond.
3,500
Insights, wishes, and new product possibilities generated.
40+
Concepts developed and refined.
4
High-potential, business-building innovation pathways.
The Challenge
Mead Johnson was committed to driving superior infant and children’s nutrition, focusing specifically on how formula can better support infant brain development. The challenge was translating quality science into new product ideas and communications that moms could easily understand, engage with, and find genuinely meaningful. The team needed a forward-looking strategy that leveraged consumer, societal, competitive, nutrition, and technology trends to secure their innovation pipeline for the next half-decade.
What Success Looked Like
Develop a robust, 5-year pipeline of new products and communications for the core Enfa™ brand that clearly support infant growth and brain development in a way that resonates emotionally with parents.
How We Got There
To tackle an innovation challenge of this scale, ITG designed a multi-stage process to gather diverse, expert perspectives. The project kicked off with an online Stim Panel featuring global thought leaders, including futurists, neurobehavioral development professors, and infant mental health experts. After presenting their insights and expertise, the panel joined the Mead Johnson team and four Creative Consumers® associate moms for a targeted Q&A to spark initial idea generation.
Next, ITG facilitated specialized ideation sessions to look at the challenge from two critical angles. First, the team collaborated with six healthcare professionals—including neonatologists, clinical nutritionists, and pediatricians—to ground the science in clinical reality. Then, they brought in an additional eight Creative Consumers® associates: moms with firsthand experience breastfeeding and using formula. By sharing their real-world pain points and wishes, the moms provided the essential empathy needed to shape the product opportunities.
The Results
By combining deep scientific expertise with the lived experiences of real moms, the multi-stage process yielded massive, highly qualified output. Nearly 3,500 initial insights and possibilities were distilled into 118 concept outlines created by the Mead Johnson team.
From there, the team developed and refined 40+ concepts, ultimately putting 19 original concepts into global testing. Most importantly, the project successfully delivered four high-potential innovation pathways, filling their product pipeline for five years and beyond.
This project used ITG ACCELERATE® — High-energy co-creation workshops that yield results.
Turn Complex Science Into Consumer-Ready Innovation
When your product relies on deep scientific benefits, your audience needs a concept they can connect with emotionally. ITG ACCELERATE® bridges the gap between R&D and real life, giving your team the insights to build a lasting, sustainable pipeline.