Co-creation

Co-creation for food and drink, bringing buyers, consumers and experts into the room

Structured collaborative ideation that brings external stakeholders into the work alongside the internal team. Three stakeholder modes: trade and retail buyers (for the trade reality view), consumers (for lived experience), and industry experts including chefs, food scientists and category specialists (for technical and category depth). Senior food and drink facilitation throughout. Designed to produce ideation output that internal team work alone cannot replicate.

What co-creation is actually for

Some briefs cannot be answered well by internal team ideation alone. The team is sophisticated and the work is structured, but the gap between what is being created in the room and what the external stakeholders will eventually receive (buyers listing products, consumers buying them, experts validating them) is too large to bridge in synthesis or testing afterwards. The work needs the external perspective in the room as part of the ideation itself, not just as input or validation in a separate phase.

The structural problem is that most external stakeholder engagement happens in sequence rather than in collaboration. Consumers are researched. Buyers are pitched. Experts are consulted. Each conversation happens at a different stage, in a different context, with a different methodology. The integration depends on the internal team to do, often imperfectly, in a synthesis phase that loses the lived perspective the stakeholders actually offered.

Co-creation is the structured collaborative methodology for briefs where the external perspective has to be part of the ideation itself. The work brings buyers, consumers or industry experts (or a combination) into structured sessions alongside the internal team, with the methodology designed to make cross-stakeholder collaboration productive rather than performative. Senior food and drink facilitators run the cross-stakeholder dynamics, the discussion design and the synthesis throughout. The output is ideation grounded in the perspectives internal-only work cannot replicate.

It is not the right tool for every brief. If the brief is internal team ideation, Creative Workshops or Hothouse are more efficient. If the brief is research with consumers (rather than collaborative ideation), structured research methods like Focus Groups, Consumer Closeness or Concept Screening deliver the input without the co-creation overhead. If the brief is expert advisory input rather than expert participation in creative work, Expert Panels is the right tool. Co-creation sits specifically when the brief is collaborative ideation with external stakeholders as active participants in the creative work.

What we do differently

  1. Three stakeholder modes, scoped against the brief

    The flexibility that makes Co-creation work for different briefs. Buyer co-creation when the brief depends on trade reality (retailer perspective, foodservice operator perspective, category manager input). Consumer co-creation when the brief depends on lived consumer perspective being part of the ideation itself. Expert co-creation when the brief depends on sector or technical expertise from chefs, food scientists, category specialists or innovation experts working alongside the team. We scope the right stakeholder mix at the start of each project against what the brief actually needs rather than pushing a default mode.

  2. Senior facilitation that handles cross-stakeholder dynamics

    The technical difficulty of co-creation is making cross-stakeholder collaboration productive rather than performative. Internal teams find it hard to challenge buyers. Consumers default to social desirability bias. Experts dominate the room. Senior food and drink facilitators are trained specifically to handle these dynamics: keeping the cross-stakeholder work productive, surfacing the perspectives that would otherwise stay quiet, preventing dominant voices from skewing the output. Generic facilitators can run consumer groups or expert panels; senior sector specialists can run cross-stakeholder collaboration without losing the value of either side.

  3. Output-led methodology, not just bringing people into a room

    The most common co-creation failure is sessions that feel productive in the room but produce nothing usable for the team. Our co-creation is designed backwards from the output, with the methodology built to produce specific deliverables (briefable concepts, validated propositions, trade-informed ranges, expert-grounded NPD direction) rather than to generate energy across stakeholders. The cross-stakeholder dynamics serve the output, not substitute for it.

  4. Access to buyer, consumer and expert networks specific to food and drink

    Co-creation depends on the quality of the stakeholders brought into the work. We have established relationships with trade buyers across grocery, foodservice and convenience, recruited consumer panels structured for food and drink work, and an expert network covering chefs, food scientists, category specialists and innovation consultants in the sector. The network is what makes co-creation work in food and drink specifically, and the reason we can scope cross-stakeholder briefs at depth rather than at agency arm's length to recruit.

What we use co-creation for

Trade-informed product development (buyer co-creation)

Your innovation work needs trade reality built in from the start rather than added during the pitch phase. Buyer co-creation brings retail or foodservice buyers into the ideation alongside the internal team, with the methodology designed to surface what gets listed, what works at shelf or on menu, and where the trade has appetite or resistance. The output is innovation scoped against trade reality rather than internal assumption about it.

Consumer-grounded innovation (consumer co-creation)

Your innovation work needs consumer perspective as a creative input rather than as validation afterwards. Consumer co-creation brings recruited consumers into the ideation alongside the internal team, with the methodology designed to make their lived experience part of the creative work rather than reducing them to research subjects. The output is innovation grounded in real consumer behaviour and language rather than internal team interpretation of consumer evidence.

Technical and category-deep NPD (expert co-creation)

Your NPD development needs sector or technical expertise that the internal team does not have. Expert co-creation brings chefs, food scientists, category specialists or innovation experts into the development work alongside the internal NPD team, with the methodology designed to make their expertise actively contribute rather than appear as consultancy input. The output is NPD direction grounded in technical and category depth rather than internal team approximation of it.

Cross-stakeholder ideation for major launches

Your major launch brief depends on perspectives across the value chain: trade, consumer, expert, internal. Cross-stakeholder co-creation brings the relevant external perspectives into the ideation alongside the internal team, with the cohort structure designed for the brief. The output is launch ideation scoped against multiple lenses rather than primarily against internal team thinking.

Range development with retailer perspective

You are developing or refreshing a product range and need retailer or category manager perspective built into the development work rather than introduced at the pitch stage. Buyer co-creation scopes the range against trade reality from the start: range coherence, listing logic, category fit, retailer-specific dynamics. The output is range development that goes to pitch with retailer perspective already integrated rather than overlaid afterwards.

Innovation programme with multi-stakeholder grounding

Your innovation programme is significant enough commercially to warrant grounding across multiple stakeholder lenses across the programme. Mixed-stakeholder co-creation (buyers in some sessions, consumers in others, experts in still others) provides the multi-lens grounding the programme needs without commissioning each stakeholder engagement separately. The output is innovation work that integrates the multiple lenses live in the programme rather than synthesising them afterwards.

  1. Scoping call.

    Twenty minutes on a call. You tell us the brief, the strategic context, the stakeholder mode the work needs (buyer, consumer, expert, or a combination), the output target, and the timeline. We tell you whether co-creation is the right tool, what stakeholder mix and session structure makes sense, what recruitment depth the brief requires and roughly what it will cost. Where the brief would be better served by internal ideation (Creative Workshops, Hothouse) or by research methods (Focus Groups, Concept Screening, Expert Panels), we will recommend the right alternative honestly.

  2. Stakeholder design and recruitment.

    The senior team designs the stakeholder cohort against the brief: which buyers (retail, foodservice, category-specific), which consumer profiles (demographic, behavioural, occasion-led), which experts (technical, creative, category, innovation). Recruitment runs through our established trade relationships, consumer panels and expert network. Profiles are signed off by the client before the sessions are confirmed, with quality checks throughout.

  3. Pre-co-creation preparation.

    Briefing materials for stakeholders (calibrated to the stakeholder type, since briefing a buyer is structurally different from briefing a consumer or an expert), session design and stimulus materials, and any pre-session activities that increase the productivity of the work itself. The preparation phase often makes the difference between a co-creation session that produces real cross-stakeholder output and one that becomes performative.

  4. The co-creation sessions.

    Senior food and drink facilitators run the sessions, structured around the brief and the stakeholder cohort. The methodology is adapted live to what the room is producing, with the cross-stakeholder dynamics handled actively (preventing dominant voices, surfacing quiet perspectives, keeping the work commercially productive). Senior interpretation happens throughout, with the output captured live rather than retrospectively.

  5. Cross-stakeholder synthesis and activation deliverable.

    Senior team synthesis across the stakeholder sessions, integrating the perspectives into structured output: briefable concepts, validated propositions, trade-informed ranges, expert-grounded NPD direction, depending on the brief. The synthesis layer is what turns multi-stakeholder input into commercially actionable output rather than into a record of multiple separate conversations. The deliverable lands within two weeks of the final co-creation session.

Three modes. Scoped to the perspective your brief needs.

Co-creation flexes against which external perspective your brief depends on. The three modes below are the typical configurations: buyer, consumer or expert co-creation. Some briefs use a single mode; others combine two or three across a programme. We recommend the right mode (or combination) at scoping rather than push a default.

Buyer co-creation

Retail buyers, foodservice operators and category managers brought into the ideation alongside the internal team. Used when the brief depends on trade reality, retailer perspective, category context or commercial appetite at the buyer level. The methodology surfaces what gets listed, what works at shelf or on menu, and where the trade is open or resistant. Typically delivers innovation scoped against trade reality, range development with retailer perspective built in, or commercial propositions grounded in buyer language.

Consumer co-creation

Recruited consumers brought into the ideation alongside the internal team, structured for the brief (specific audiences, occasions, behaviours or category contexts). Used when the brief depends on lived consumer experience as a creative input rather than as validation afterwards. The methodology makes consumer perspective part of the creative work rather than reducing consumers to research subjects. Typically delivers innovation grounded in real consumer behaviour and language, NPD direction calibrated to real eating moments, or propositions that resonate at the point of consumption.

Expert co-creation

Industry experts brought into the development work alongside the internal team: chefs, food scientists, category specialists, innovation consultants. Used when the brief depends on technical or category expertise that the internal team does not have. The methodology makes the expertise actively contribute to the development rather than appearing as consultancy input afterwards. Typically delivers NPD direction grounded in technical depth, category-deep innovation thinking, or creative direction shaped by sector practitioners. Distinct from Expert Panels (which delivers expert advisory input as research rather than collaborative ideation).

Food and drink is all we do

We are not a generalist co-creation agency that takes the occasional food brief. Food and drink is the only sector we work in. Our senior facilitators run the cross-stakeholder dynamics, our trade buyer relationships span the categories the buyers actually work in, our consumer panels are structured for food and drink work, and our expert network covers the chefs, food scientists and category specialists who matter in this sector. Generic co-creation providers can bring stakeholders into a room; sector specialists are what make the cross-stakeholder output commercially credible to food and drink leadership.

That focus is why we work with 11 of the UK’s top 40 food and drink brands.

Meet the Team

Other ways to create and refine ideas

Co-creation is one tool in the broader Create and Refine Ideas toolkit. Depending on the brief, one of these might be a better fit, or a stronger partner alongside the co-creation work.

Co-creation that produced commercially useful output

Three real co-creation projects across different stakeholder modes and different briefs.

FAQs

How is this different from Creative Workshops or Hothouse?

Stakeholder participation. Creative Workshops and Hothouse are internal-team ideation: the work happens with the client team and senior FIS facilitators in the room. Co-creation brings external stakeholders (buyers, consumers or industry experts) into the ideation alongside the internal team, with the methodology built to make cross-stakeholder collaboration productive. The two approaches solve different problems: internal work when the brief depends on internal expertise; co-creation when the brief depends on perspectives the internal team cannot replicate. Many programmes use both.

How is this different from Expert Panels?

The role of the expert. Expert Panels deliver expert advisory input as research: experts review work, share perspective, provide structured input that the internal team then synthesises. Expert co-creation brings experts into the creative work as active collaborators: they participate in the ideation alongside the internal team, with the methodology designed to make their expertise contribute live rather than appear afterwards. Different briefs need different expert engagements. Where the brief is about expert input on existing work, Expert Panels are the right tool. Where the brief is about expert participation in new creative work, expert co-creation is structurally different.

How is this different from research with consumers, buyers or experts?

The intent and the methodology. Research methods (Focus Groups, Consumer Closeness, Concept Screening for consumers; structured interviews for buyers; advisory engagements for experts) are designed to gather input from stakeholders for the team to interpret afterwards. Co-creation is designed to make the stakeholders active participants in creative work happening live. Research methods are more efficient when the brief is information-gathering; co-creation is the right tool when the perspective has to be in the room as part of the ideation rather than synthesised separately.

How do you recruit the stakeholders?

Through our established networks specific to food and drink. Trade buyers through our existing relationships across grocery, foodservice and convenience. Consumers through our recruited panels structured for food and drink work, with the profile criteria scoped against the brief (audience, occasion, behaviour, category usage). Industry experts through our network of chefs, food scientists, category specialists and innovation consultants. Quality checks throughout, with profiles signed off by the client before the sessions are confirmed.

Will the sessions be productive with multiple perspectives in the room?

Yes, when the cross-stakeholder dynamics are handled properly. The technical difficulty of co-creation is making cross-stakeholder collaboration productive rather than performative, and the senior facilitation is what manages this in real time: keeping the work commercially productive, surfacing quiet perspectives, preventing dominant voices from skewing the output. Generic facilitators struggle with cross-stakeholder dynamics; senior food and drink specialists handle them deliberately because they have seen the failure modes (internal teams deferring to buyers, consumers giving socially desirable answers, experts dominating the room) and design around them.

Can we run buyers, consumers and experts in the same session?

Sometimes, but not usually. Mixing stakeholder types in a single session is structurally difficult: each stakeholder type has a different relationship to the brief, a different language for the work, and a different productive dynamic with the internal team. Most co-creation programmes run different stakeholder modes in separate sessions and integrate the perspectives across the synthesis phase. Where a brief genuinely needs cross-stakeholder dynamics live in one session, we can design for it carefully, but we will be honest at scoping about whether the brief is actually better served by separate sessions with cross-session integration.

What is the actual deliverable?

Depends on the brief and the stakeholder mode. Typical outputs: briefable concepts grounded in stakeholder perspective, validated propositions, trade-informed ranges, expert-grounded NPD direction, integrated multi-stakeholder briefs for follow-on work. Plus the working materials from the sessions, the cross-stakeholder synthesis, and recommendations for the next phase of work. Format agreed at the start so the work lands in the meeting it needs to land in.

How long does co-creation take?

Six to twelve weeks from scoping call to final deliverable for single-stakeholder briefs. Multi-stakeholder programmes (combinations of buyer, consumer and expert co-creation across multiple sessions) typically run twelve to twenty weeks depending on the depth and the integration work required. Compressed timelines are possible where stakeholder recruitment is from our existing networks rather than new recruitment.

Can we run this internationally?

Yes, in markets where we have established stakeholder networks. Buyer co-creation across the UK and Europe runs through our existing trade relationships. Consumer co-creation runs across the UK, mainland Europe, the US and the UAE with local recruit. Expert co-creation in food and drink is mostly UK and European-based given the relevant expert networks, with selective US and UAE engagement for specific category specialisms. We will scope international capability honestly at the scoping call based on the specific brief.

How much does co-creation cost?

Project-based, scoped against the stakeholder mode, the number of sessions, the recruitment depth required, the senior facilitator commitment, and the post-session synthesis work. Single-mode single-session co-creation is the lowest entry point; multi-mode multi-session programmes are the highest. We give a clear, all-in quote at proposal stage with no hidden extras.

Got a brief where the external perspective has to be in the room?

Tell us the brief, the strategic context, the stakeholder mode the work needs (buyer, consumer, expert, or a combination), the output target and the timeline. We will tell you whether co-creation is the right tool, what stakeholder mix and session structure makes sense, what recruitment depth the brief requires and what it will cost. Where the brief would be better served by internal ideation or by research methods, we will recommend the right alternative honestly.