Innovation
Suzanne Thompson, Vice President – Research & Development, Global Stewardship & Innovation
Greg Piche, Innovation Sourcing Lead
What should people know about product innovation at Clorox?
Suzanne: We've always been committed to delighting the consumer with great products. Now we're focusing on bigger ideas around specific consumer megatrends and the platforms of natural products and Stop the Spread of Infection. This will allow us to grow even faster.
How are you creating a pipeline of new ideas?
Greg: We're actively pursuing the notion that anyone can innovate — we'll take good ideas from anywhere to create compelling new businesses. One key resource is CloroxConnects, our online forum where hundreds of Clorox employees, consumers, suppliers and inventors share and discuss ideas, and collaborate on improvements that could help our business.
With all this input, how does Clorox focus on the truly great ideas?
Suzanne: Being able to integrate across the 3Ds is central to how we innovate. An idea has to have a great marketing concept grounded in strong consumer insights, which gets reinforced with the customer and at the store shelf, and then again with the product and how it performs. All three have to work together to maximize the value of an idea.
How is the Clorox culture changing with respect to innovation?
Greg: To drive the kind of growth we want, we're looking beyond our current roles and contributing ideas. Clorox people are beginning to share ideas more freely, regardless of level or function. We've only scratched the surface of where we'll ultimately go with this.