Data empowered Lipton to not just identify a potential trend, data helped the trend transform into a movement.

To start, Lipton blended search, social and sales data, from May 2013 until September 2015. They identified more than 3 million data points where Matcha stood out as the biggest opportunity. Trendsetters in New York and California had already started the Matcha revolution and it was time to jump on that train. Lipton verified Matcha as a blossoming trend by dipping into their internal statistical modelling tool, Trendwatch, which uses large social data sets as a reliable barometer of consumer interest across geographies. All data sources together clearly identified Matcha as having the potential to be a future bestseller for Lipton in the US market.

Secondly; now that risk was minimized through data deduction, the Global Lipton team empowered a dedicated, local team so long decision journeys could be avoided within the product development phase.

As a last step, they returned to the social data to guide the product development journey, identifying Matcha's benefits and most popular flavour variations. Lipton was able to launch Matcha in a shockingly short 7-months period.

The Matcha category was poised for democratisation and disruption at once.

The entire creative output was designed with behavioural, demographic, and attitudinal insights Lipton researched from social media and co-creation workshops with consumers.

When looking at Comms, they took into consideration that key purchase drivers of Matcha were its health benefits and organic origin rather than price. The product positioning, “A Moment of Focus” was born, which inspired on-pack copy that celebrated the health-giving properties of Matcha.

The fascination with Matcha in its powder form was featured in packaging design. Lipton Matcha was visually presented as the already cool, premium drink in the eyes of consumers. Frequently used online language was played back to consumers to foster loyalty for content creation.

Furthermore, data revealed that mint and ginger were the most discussed Matcha flavours, which led to the production of Matcha Ginger and Matcha Mint in addition to Matcha (original) Lipton Tea.

Finally, Lipton tapped into the already established social media sharing behaviours around Matcha - encouraging engagement online through a PR accelerator outreach program. Lipton collaborated with highly visible influencers, such as Shin Spear, to help spread Matcha (Lipton Tea) love.

Lipton was the first brand to bring the niche tea Matcha to the masses. Sir Thomas Lipton, would have been delighted.

Lipton outsmarted the competition by launching the new product after only 7 months of product development. The launch happened in the right place (the future Matcha heartland), at the right time (just before the trend’s tipping point), and with the right people (women who advocated healthy living).

The new approach to NPD exceeded expectations. Within three months Matcha Lipton Tea became the number 1 Matcha product in the U.S. with sales rising from $220k in November to $500k in December 2016. Lipton doubled the size of the entire Matcha category in the U.S. by January 2017. Unsurprisingly, social sentiment around the product was overwhelmingly positive and most importantly, enduring.

“Launching Lipton Matcha Tea revolutionized our approach to product development. Trendwatch helped us minimize risk and empowered our teams, to get ahead of the trend and democratize Matcha so everyone could enjoy it.” Mick Van Ettinger, EVP Beverage, Unilever

Thanks to data, Lipton was able to function more like a start-up, disrupting the market with nimble smart choices all along the way.

What if we could identify potential bestseller products before everybody else?

If we could know where demand would be highest? How appetite could spread across markets? And what if we could be quicker than others in launching this next big thing?

In times where consumer trends evolve and vanish quicker than ever, being agile is your only chance to survive. Unilever’s global brand Lipton, managed to outsmart competition through a groundbreaking way of using data within new product development (NPD). Founded on the heritage of democratising tea for the world in 1893, Lipton spotted a chance to do it again.

Lipton analysed large data-sets from Google, Social Media, news feeds and forums and found a relationship between the increase in search data and social mentions. Matcha popped up on their radar. To clearly separate correlation and causation, Lipton used their bespoke internal tool to identify changes in the number of instances key terms were used in social conversation to reveal trends.

Matcha was chosen based on a quantitative view of consistent growth in search and social mentions over a longer period of time. They also based their recommendation on a qualitative judgment: Matcha was by far the most positively discussed flavour.

The data showed us people could only buy Matcha in the US at Japanese grocery or health stores. Los Angeles - one of the largest Japanese populations outside Japan - had the earliest mentions. The conversation showed Matcha moved quickly from specialty stores to fashion after-parties, catching fire on both U.S. coasts. So, who would like to buy it next? Social data suggested females with middle to higher income and an interest in well-being.

Lipton’s targeting strategy was set and the Matcha tea bubble ready to burst.

Lipton was facing a major challenge in the US: The brand was suffering a decrease in sales within the green tea category, which resulted in losing momentum and its leadership position.

Consumers as well as distributors perceived it as a brand that was losing relevance. Meanwhile, more agile, local competitors were responding to consumer needs quicker than Lipton.

Lipton even started to lose out in the battle of shelf-space within the big grocery stores.

The business urgently needed a turnaround.

Lipton decided to turn the threat into an opportunity through the smart use of data. The brand needed to considerably shorten the product to market life-cycle to be a step ahead of the fast-moving consumer lifestyle.