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Innovation Leadership
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FONA International may not be the biggest player in the international flavor industry, but it just may be the most imaginative in developing the kinds of relationships that can make size irrelevant in its competitive market. Not content with simply ensuring its own staff is well trained, the company has embarked on an effort to train its customers on the art and science of flavoring food and beverages. And it has developed new alliances with other similarly sized flavor companies to minimize the competitive advantages larger companies can enjoy.
Lifting flavoring's veil of secrecy
The operations of the flavor industry long have been considered highly proprietary, and companies rarely shared information with each other or their customers. FONA's management team saw this embedded secrecy as an opportunity for market and business model innovation. They turned a series of commonly asked technical and regulatory questions into an innovative educational offering for potential customers.
The company launched Flavor University, a comprehensive introduction to creating and using flavor, a decade ago. While other such training ventures exist, FONA's effort is free and non-commercial. Students aren't given any sales pitches, but their exposure to the company's start-of-the-art facilities, highly skilled workers and culture of innovation still has resulted in dramatically shorter sales cycles.
Since Flavor University first opened its doors, more than 5,000 potential and existing customers have attended Flavor University. Two years ago, FONA added two new classes to further increase their technical credibility and brand presence in newly targeted markets. This benefit to customers ultimately translates into name recognition, enhanced technical reputation and brand equity in the very competitive flavor industry.
Concierge-like service
While Flavor University and a similar presentation-roadshow program called "Consumer Insights," aim to broaden FONA's market presence, its recently introduced "Account Specialist" program seeks to deepen relationships with new and existing customers. Account specialists are responsible for, at most, two FONA customers, learning everything about that company's operations – including tracking its inventory, knowing past order history and identifying future order needs.
The account specialist program means real benefits for FONA's customers. They now have a single touchpoint for everything from raw-material analysis to ordering ingredients, resulting in shortened cycle times between order placement and receipt.
Creating new industry allies
FONA isn't content limiting its outreach efforts to its customers – its new One Globe Alliance program also seeks to develop new relationships with similarly sized competitors. The Alliance has opened the door to intellectual-property sharing, new markets, new technologies and increased purchasing leverage. FONA managers admit it can be a challenge to find a partner who is a good cultural fit, but, they say, the partnerships that have developed, both formal and informal, have proven to be mutually beneficial.