Innovation alone doesn't guarantee success, especially when it asks consumers to change deeply rooted habits. Reflecting on one of the biggest lessons of his career, Versuni India Managing Director & CEO Gulbahar Taurani shared why the Philips Soup Maker, introduced in India in 2015, never became a mainstream success despite strong expectations.
The appliance was launched following the success of the Philips Airfryer, with the belief that growing demand for healthy eating and convenient kitchen solutions would drive adoption. However, the product struggled to gain traction, leading the company to rethink its approach to category creation.
According to Taurani, the key challenge wasn't the product itself—it was consumer behavior. While soup is considered a complete meal in many countries, Indian dining traditions revolve around a thali, where dishes like dal, sambhar, rasam, and kadhi already fulfill a similar role. As a result, the Soup Maker asked consumers to adopt an entirely new eating habit instead of making an existing one easier.
The experience reshaped Versuni's innovation strategy. Taurani now evaluates every new category by asking three critical questions: Does the behavior already exist? How much lifestyle change is required? And is the consumer benefit compelling enough to justify that change?
The story serves as a reminder that successful innovation isn't just about creating new products it's about understanding consumer habits and designing solutions that fit naturally into everyday life. In markets like India, products that enhance existing routines often have a greater chance of long-term success than those that attempt to redefine them from scratch.
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