Brown-Forman Puts Innovation in a Bottle
As little as 15 years ago, there were very few flavored spirits in the marketplace, whereas if you take a trip down the liquor aisle today, you’ll see hundreds of options. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper, Finlandia’s flavored vodkas… the liquor category has never looked or tasted so good thanks in part to one large global spirits company — Brown-Forman Corporation (www.brown-forman.com) — which has put innovation front and center in its long-term growth strategy.
“Innovation has become increasingly important to remain relevant and competitive with today’s consumer, this holds true across all consumer goods,” says Jimmy Bookstore, director of New Product Development & Innovation for Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide. “The best products are good of course, but they also have depth and complexity and continue to get better and create new experiences for the consumer.”
Here is the story of how Brown-Forman got the innovation formula just right, and is now supporting dozens of novel concepts with standardized product management systems and processes. The end result: Breakthrough new products delivered to market faster than ever before.
Hitting the Accelerator
Founded in 1870, Brown-Forman produces, manufactures and distributes legendary brands such as (but not limited to) Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Korbel California Champagnes, Southern Comfort, Chambord Liqueur and Finlandia Vodkas. It is one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies and is among the top 10 largest global spirits companies, selling its beloved brands in more than 135 countries.
While the company celebrates its rich history, Brown-Forman is an advocate for adopting new technology and streamlining processes to solve the modern-day problems of a global market.
For example, in 2008, when Bookstore first joined the company, Brown-Forman had just six new product development projects underway. Over the next three years, that number grew tenfold. Brown-Forman has since launched 59 new products globally with many more on the way — that’s more new products introduced than in the company’s more than 140-year history.
A Necessary Overhaul
With the speed of innovation within Brown-Forman accelerating at a staggering rate, the company soon encountered roadblocks using its existing product management processes. When the company was simply managing 10 formulations and 50 SKUs, its spreadsheet-based, non-integrated systems were sufficient. At that time, the company did not even use a standard format for formulas. But, as Brown-Forman began to manage significantly more projects, it became clear that it needed a solution to standardize processes and increase efficiency.
“A variety of systems was being used,” explains Bookstore. “Some developers were using spreadsheets and building in their calculations, others simply entered values. There was no uniform method. We were also not capturing our daily work in an effective manner.”
The need for a change was amplified even more by a relatively recent shift in consumer behavior, which added even more data feeds into the pot.
Bookstore explains: “Today’s consumers are more knowledgeable about food ingredients, access to companies is much easier through social media, and there is also a growing need to quantify and identify things such as food allergens and colors.”
Simply stated, Brown-Forman needed a product lifecycle management (PLM) software solution that could pull all of these pieces together and more efficiently manage its wealth of information.
The goals were complex, but the acquisition of the following key capabilities and benefits was expected to significantly improve Brown-Forman’s ability to innovate in a global market:
When looking for a PLM system, one major requirement stood out above the rest: The need for compatibility with existing systems, namely SAP and Oracle, which housed all of the company’s information, from formulations to allergen info to regulatory restrictions.
After narrowing the field down to four software companies, Brown-Forman requested to see its data at work in each system.
“We created generic formulas and background information that was provided weeks in advance. Checklists with scoring cards were used, but seeing our data at work on the various systems clearly identified Selerant DevEX (www.selerant.com) as the best option for our needs,” says Bookstore.
Two years later, Brown-Forman has been able to put a check mark next to every single capability on its initial wish list. When asked what the biggest benefit of implementing Selerant DevEX has been, Bookstore says:
“A broad answer perhaps but the biggest benefit is how DevEX integrates product information and allows me and my team to mine this data. Speed and accuracy in building formulas was greatly enhanced, but once a formula is finalized, the tools available to dig out needed details within that formula are simply tremendous.
“Uniformity seems like a simple thing, but standardization of formulas, reviews, answering questions and other common daily tasks results in less repeated work and noticeable gains in efficiency.”
Innovation in Action
Brown-Forman’s investments in enabling systems and processes are paying off as brand and marketing innovations continue to be preeminent drivers of sustainable growth in a very competitive global marketplace.
For the first six months of the fiscal year, net sales increased 12 percent to $1.9 billion, a stellar performance aided by the introduction of Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper and a new Finlandia bottle design, among others.
But the shining star of Brown-Forman’s innovation portfolio has to be a product that transformed the whiskey category: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.
“We launched the first flavored full proof Whiskey for Jack Daniel’s this past year in Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey and have seen an overwhelmingly positive response from both Black Label drinkers, and consumers who may not have previously considered Jack Daniel’s,” reports Bookstore.
“Honey and whiskey are both very complex, deep, rich products, and we knew the flavors had a nice chemistry. Our goal was to first find the perfect blend of supporting flavors that gave synergy and depth, and then painstakingly raise and lower the level of each to get the perfect balance. The tremendous reception and reviews this product has received tells us we got the balance just right.”
Aside from being a hit with U.S. consumers, the product’s launch has also been credited with accelerating global growth for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, and the continued international expansion of Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, and Jack Daniel’s ready-to-drink brands.
While these new product launches continue to elevate Brown-Forman’s competitive edge, the search is on internally for even more novel product possibilities.
“Every day we are on the bench formulating, trying flavor combinations, tweaking levels of ingredients, and running expert taste panels,” says Bookstore. “In addition to Whiskey, we are also very excited about upcoming launches across our portfolio. Brown-Forman is focusing tremendous energy behind new products. It is an exciting time to be at Brown-Forman and in the alcohol business. “
New Choices in the Liquor Aisle
Finlandia’s New Package: Finlandia Vodka, known for its pristine vodka and innovative package design, introduced a new bottle, dubbed “melting ice”. The new bottle has already won a design innovation award from The Glass Packaging Institute.
“Innovation has become increasingly important to remain relevant and competitive with today’s consumer, this holds true across all consumer goods,” says Jimmy Bookstore, director of New Product Development & Innovation for Brown-Forman Beverages Worldwide. “The best products are good of course, but they also have depth and complexity and continue to get better and create new experiences for the consumer.”
Here is the story of how Brown-Forman got the innovation formula just right, and is now supporting dozens of novel concepts with standardized product management systems and processes. The end result: Breakthrough new products delivered to market faster than ever before.
Hitting the Accelerator
Founded in 1870, Brown-Forman produces, manufactures and distributes legendary brands such as (but not limited to) Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Korbel California Champagnes, Southern Comfort, Chambord Liqueur and Finlandia Vodkas. It is one of the largest American-owned spirits and wine companies and is among the top 10 largest global spirits companies, selling its beloved brands in more than 135 countries.
While the company celebrates its rich history, Brown-Forman is an advocate for adopting new technology and streamlining processes to solve the modern-day problems of a global market.
For example, in 2008, when Bookstore first joined the company, Brown-Forman had just six new product development projects underway. Over the next three years, that number grew tenfold. Brown-Forman has since launched 59 new products globally with many more on the way — that’s more new products introduced than in the company’s more than 140-year history.
A Necessary Overhaul
With the speed of innovation within Brown-Forman accelerating at a staggering rate, the company soon encountered roadblocks using its existing product management processes. When the company was simply managing 10 formulations and 50 SKUs, its spreadsheet-based, non-integrated systems were sufficient. At that time, the company did not even use a standard format for formulas. But, as Brown-Forman began to manage significantly more projects, it became clear that it needed a solution to standardize processes and increase efficiency.
“A variety of systems was being used,” explains Bookstore. “Some developers were using spreadsheets and building in their calculations, others simply entered values. There was no uniform method. We were also not capturing our daily work in an effective manner.”
The need for a change was amplified even more by a relatively recent shift in consumer behavior, which added even more data feeds into the pot.
Bookstore explains: “Today’s consumers are more knowledgeable about food ingredients, access to companies is much easier through social media, and there is also a growing need to quantify and identify things such as food allergens and colors.”
Simply stated, Brown-Forman needed a product lifecycle management (PLM) software solution that could pull all of these pieces together and more efficiently manage its wealth of information.
The goals were complex, but the acquisition of the following key capabilities and benefits was expected to significantly improve Brown-Forman’s ability to innovate in a global market:
- Capitalize on existing databases and systems (including the ability to customize searches of formulas)
- Build formulas from verified information, preventing duplication of effort and opportunity for errors
- Streamline and standardize issuing of formulas and the review process
- Reduce SKUs and significantly improve data management with configurable fields and the ability to have vendors enter data (subject to team member approval)
- Ensure regulatory compliance with alerts, unique views, analysis, document generation and configurable guidelines.
- Greater control on labeling, kosher, allergens, GMO, vegan through product specifications
- Accelerate time-to-market with automated process, escalated approvals, elevated visibility and traceability, parallel processes and unique toolsets
When looking for a PLM system, one major requirement stood out above the rest: The need for compatibility with existing systems, namely SAP and Oracle, which housed all of the company’s information, from formulations to allergen info to regulatory restrictions.
After narrowing the field down to four software companies, Brown-Forman requested to see its data at work in each system.
“We created generic formulas and background information that was provided weeks in advance. Checklists with scoring cards were used, but seeing our data at work on the various systems clearly identified Selerant DevEX (www.selerant.com) as the best option for our needs,” says Bookstore.
Two years later, Brown-Forman has been able to put a check mark next to every single capability on its initial wish list. When asked what the biggest benefit of implementing Selerant DevEX has been, Bookstore says:
“A broad answer perhaps but the biggest benefit is how DevEX integrates product information and allows me and my team to mine this data. Speed and accuracy in building formulas was greatly enhanced, but once a formula is finalized, the tools available to dig out needed details within that formula are simply tremendous.
“Uniformity seems like a simple thing, but standardization of formulas, reviews, answering questions and other common daily tasks results in less repeated work and noticeable gains in efficiency.”
Innovation in Action
Brown-Forman’s investments in enabling systems and processes are paying off as brand and marketing innovations continue to be preeminent drivers of sustainable growth in a very competitive global marketplace.
For the first six months of the fiscal year, net sales increased 12 percent to $1.9 billion, a stellar performance aided by the introduction of Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper and a new Finlandia bottle design, among others.
But the shining star of Brown-Forman’s innovation portfolio has to be a product that transformed the whiskey category: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey.
“We launched the first flavored full proof Whiskey for Jack Daniel’s this past year in Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey and have seen an overwhelmingly positive response from both Black Label drinkers, and consumers who may not have previously considered Jack Daniel’s,” reports Bookstore.
“Honey and whiskey are both very complex, deep, rich products, and we knew the flavors had a nice chemistry. Our goal was to first find the perfect blend of supporting flavors that gave synergy and depth, and then painstakingly raise and lower the level of each to get the perfect balance. The tremendous reception and reviews this product has received tells us we got the balance just right.”
Aside from being a hit with U.S. consumers, the product’s launch has also been credited with accelerating global growth for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, and the continued international expansion of Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel, and Jack Daniel’s ready-to-drink brands.
While these new product launches continue to elevate Brown-Forman’s competitive edge, the search is on internally for even more novel product possibilities.
“Every day we are on the bench formulating, trying flavor combinations, tweaking levels of ingredients, and running expert taste panels,” says Bookstore. “In addition to Whiskey, we are also very excited about upcoming launches across our portfolio. Brown-Forman is focusing tremendous energy behind new products. It is an exciting time to be at Brown-Forman and in the alcohol business. “
New Choices in the Liquor Aisle
JACK DANIEL’S TENNESSEE HONEY: Brown-Forman blended Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey with a unique honey liqueur for a taste that’s one-of-a-kind and unmistakably Jack.
Southern Comfort Fiery Pepper: The new spicy concoction delivers a mixture of genuine whiskey, and the flavors of Southern Comfort, infused with original Tabasco brand pepper sauce.Finlandia’s New Package: Finlandia Vodka, known for its pristine vodka and innovative package design, introduced a new bottle, dubbed “melting ice”. The new bottle has already won a design innovation award from The Glass Packaging Institute.