How to de-risk your product launch at every stage of innovation

De-risking a product launch doesn’t mean playing it safe. It means making smarter bets, ones grounded in what consumers actually want and how they behave. 

But that requires more than just one round of concept testing. It calls for a continuous learning approach to insights, one that keeps consumers in the loop from idea to launch. This is called connected insights, which allows companies to embed consumer insights into their decision-making so they can make faster and better decisions.

So how do you apply this approach to each stage of your journey? 

Here’s a simple step-by-step framework for embedding consumer input throughout your process.

This is where your innovation process should start. Not with an idea, but with a question: “Where can we add value in people’s lives?”

You can use consumer insights to:

• Understand category dynamics and shifting behaviors

• Spot cultural or generational trends that could shape demand

• Identify pain points or routines ripe for disruption

• Evaluate how well (or poorly) existing products are meeting needs

Connected insights here help you zoom out and see the bigger picture, whether you’re tracking needs across markets or mining social data for behavioral shifts.

💡 De-risk with insights by: Prioritizing opportunities that are both desirable to consumers and ownable for your brand.

Once you’ve spotted a promising opportunity, the natural next step is brainstorming solutions. But before you fall in love with any one idea, bring consumers into the conversation.

Use consumer feedback to:

• Evaluate early concepts or need territories

• Compare multiple ideas to see what resonates

• Understand which benefits or features are driving appeal

This is where agility matters most. You want quick, directional feedback that helps you evolve your ideas, not slow, traditional research that kills momentum.

💡 De-risk with insights by: Understanding what makes an idea compelling (and why it might fall short) before you invest in packaging design, comms or production.

“Once you start peeling back the layers of the raw idea, you're able to get to a more developed idea that can lead to a concept. And once you start drilling a little bit more deeply, you’ll find it's not the number of votes that you get for or against an idea, but the qualitative feedback and the opinions of other stakeholders that can help you to actually execute.”

- Cedric Steele, Founder and Lead Consultant, Top-Box Consulting

Once you’ve landed on a strong direction, it’s time to make it bulletproof. This stage is all about optimizing: honing your product description, positioning and claims based on consumer response.

Use concept testing to:

• Validate appeal, differentiation and purchase intent

• Identify areas of confusion or low clarity

• Compare variations to see what’s most effective

If your insights are connected, you’re not starting from scratch — you’re building on everything you’ve already learned and moving fast with a solid foundation.

💡 De-risk with insights by: Making sure your final concept checks the boxes for both consumers and internal stakeholders before it hits production.

“We’ve used the learnings to shape our innovation pipelines. The many concepts that we have tested have helped validate the pipeline and be confident that we have the right line up.”

- Mariline Alsuar-Dean, Sexual Wellbeing Consumer Insights Lead at Reckitt

Even a great concept can underperform if the positioning, pricing or packaging design don’t land. Simulating the market environment lets you reduce blind spots and make confident go/no-go decisions.

Use in-context testing to:

• Predict in-market performance with greater accuracy

• Explore pricing thresholds or competitive switching

• Gauge how messaging, design and placement affect consumer choice

💡 De-risk with insights by: Stress-testing your final product in conditions that mimic the shelf, site or store before the real dollars go out the door.

Innovation isn’t a linear process. Which is why it’s worth noting that the most successful brands don’t just test once — they keep learning throughout the entire process. 

Whether it’s adjusting your formula, refining claims or refreshing your creative, every round of feedback is a chance to strengthen your final product. By embedding iteration into your workflow (and not treating it as an afterthought) you can create products that are more relevant, resilient and ready to win with consumers.

“Strategically, our teams are hungry for focus and if there is an idea that isn’t worth moving forward – they just want to know that sooner to avoid timelining, and making commitments with supply change. For us, it’s very appealing to know that we are focusing on the right ideas earlier in the process.”

- Amanda Harvey, Manager Front-End Innovation Innovation Consumer Insights McDonald’s

Overall, embedding real consumer insights into your innovation process is the greatest strategy for de-risking your latest launch. And if you bring consumers in at the start, you know you’re creating something that resonates with them through and through — and what better way to bring something new to the market?   

For more insight into how to de-risk your latest innovation, check out our guide where you’ll learn more about: 

• The importance of researching with consumers

• Why most product launches fail

• How leading brands use consumer insights to launch their next hit item

• What you need to know before launching a new product 

• Real-world scenarios and examples

• The de-risking innovation checklist