…What problem?

What if the problem is there are no more problems?

In a world where consumer needs are largely met, the old rules of innovation no longer apply. So why are businesses still playing by them?

For decades, innovation has been built on a simple premise: find a problem, solve it, and growth will follow.

It’s a model that shaped modern FMCG. And for a long time, it worked. But today, most categories are not underserved, they are saturated.

Consumers have more choice than ever before. Products are faster, healthier, more convenient, more tailored. The fundamentals have been optimised, refined and, in many cases, exhausted. Yet, despite unprecedented levels of activity, success remains elusive.

There are no more problems

This raises a more uncomfortable question:

What happens when there are no meaningful problems left to solve?

Because this is the reality many brands now face. Not a lack of ideas (pipelines are full) nor a lack of effort ( teams are working harder than ever) but a lack of impact.

What breaks through…

Some of the most successful recent FMCG stories didn’t start with a neatly defined “problem”

• OATLY didn’t win by solving lactose intolerance – it reframed plant based as a cultural movement.
• LIQUID DEATH didn’t fix hydration – it turned water into entertainment.
• PIP & NUT didn’t reinvent peanut butter – it built a brand and product system people actively chose over legacy options.

None followed the traditional playbook.

Too much of what passes for innovation today is, in truth, iteration. Incremental change packaged as progress. A new format. A new claim. A new variant; designed to fit within the system, rather than challenge it.

The issue is not creativity. It is the model itself.

The industry remains anchored to a “problem-first” approach in a world where the most interesting opportunities no longer begin with a clearly defined need.

Instead, they emerge from somewhere else entirely: A capability a competitor can’t replicate, a shift in culture or behaviour, a technical or operational breakthrough or a latent advantage within the business itself.

In other words, the future isn’t discovered by asking better questions of consumers. It is built by organisations that understand what they are uniquely positioned to do and have the conviction to act on it.

“At TVE, this requires a fundamental shift in how innovation is approached. From identifying gaps… to defining a right to win. From generating volume… to backing fewer, more distinctive ideas. From de-risking concepts…to making them real early so they can be tested, challenged and strengthened in context.”

The Cost of playing it safe

Safe ideas are easier to approve, but harder to notice and easiest to ignore, with the result being: High launch volume. Low commercial return.

The brands that will define the next era of FMCG won’t be those that solve the most problems. They will be those that create new spaces, build demand where none existed, and bring somethings genuinely distinctive into the world.

The question is no longer: “What problem are we solving?” But: “What future are we uniquely equipped to create, and we actually make it happen?”

Ideas aren’t the problem. Making the right ones happen is.