Lavazza Pilots AI Personas to Optimize Marketing
Coffee company Lavazza Group is optimizing its marketing efforts, tapping into agentic technologies to test its innovation ideas against AI-created shoppers.
The company is participating in an early pilot with Stravito's AI Personas tool, which allows it to create interactive, diverse consumer profiles with simulated conversations so it can test ideas in real time before moving on to human focus groups.
The technology uses segmentation research and the brand's proprietary data to create the consumer profiles, cutting down on time and costs associated with manual efforts such as parsing through static PDF reports or disconnected tools.
Lavazza employees can chat with AI personas about end-to-end marketing initiatives, including messaging, creative or product ideas, and can also upload images, packaging or PDFs into the discussion. They are also able to filter feedback by region or market for a hyperlocal approach.
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The feedback can then be exported with text and visuals to be used within presentations for easier cross-functional adoption with marketing, brand and innovation teams, according to Stravito.
The virtual setting allows for a simulated comparison that applies different perspectives.
“We are committed to creating the best possible blend of consumer and market data, connecting insights from around the world to drive growth,” Simone Ballarini, head of business intelligence and consumer insights at Lavazza Group, said in a statement.
Ballarini said the solution stood out for its ability to provide reliable feedback that was grounded on the company's own research. Within onboarding, Lavazza was able to decide which research the persona was built on, supported by governance controls for a secure rollout.
"The tool de-risks early ideation, turning weeks of validation into hours of fast, iterative exploration with a small, targeted squad," she said. "This boosts team efficiency, strengthens the innovation process, and helps integrate and humanize our entire knowledge base.”
