17. Why innovation is critical for long term business success?

Why Innovation Matters

If you want to compete globally, you can’t stand still. Innovation is not a buzzword—it is survival. Without a steady pipeline of new, credible products, it is nearly impossible to attract distributors, convince retailers, or keep consumers engaged. Distributors in particular, always ask the same question: what’s next? If you cannot show them a strong product pipeline, they look elsewhere.

Defining an Innovation Strategy

An effective innovation strategy has to answer a few simple but tough questions. What unique value will you bring to your market? What kinds of innovations will let you capture that value and build an edge competitors can’t match? Will customers pay more because your product performs better, lasts longer, or makes life easier? These questions helped shape how you approach every innovation initiative.

Our core concept in Manuka Health summed it up: “Given by Nature, Proven by Science.” We were determined to manufacture and market natural healthcare products that combined New Zealand’s unique bioactives with rigorous scientific validation. That tagline wasn’t just a line for packaging—it was a compass for decision-making across the company.

Alignment Across the Business

Innovation is hard enough on its own. Without alignment across the boardroom, the executive team, and the research and development staff, it’s nearly impossible. It is ensuring everyone—from directors to scientists—to be committed to the innovation pathway. It keeps the process focused, especially when projects can become long, expensive, and uncertain. Building and maintaining a innovation capability is a key challenge when building a global business from New Zealand.

Types of Innovation

Innovation is a three-tiered process:

• Routine innovation built on what you already have. It means creating variations of existing products. These added extra benefits are applied while using the supply chains and skills you already possess.

• Disruptive innovation reshapes the playing field. Making bold moves that force competitors to follow suit, changing the industry’s rules overnight.

• Radical innovation pushes into entirely new territory. Make a leap that requires advanced science, regulatory approvals, and collaboration with external experts.

This three-level framework gives you structure. It reminds us to keep the product pipeline balanced—some projects for immediate growth, others for long-term transformation.

Building the Platform

Managing these streams of innovation requires discipline. It means a formal New Product Development process, taking ideas from concept to launch through clearly defined stages—product formulation, packaging, costing, testing, and finally, market release. If a product cannot clear these hurdles, it should not move forward. This discipline saves you from chasing too many half-baked ideas.

At the same time, you should lean on outside expertise when needed—scientists, designers, regulatory specialists—but always keep the core knowledge inside the company. The balance of external input and internal ownership proves critical to successful outcomes.

Turning Science into Stories

One of the toughest parts of innovation is not developing the science—it is translating it for consumers. Research findings have to be published in credible journals to give a scientific foundation. From there, your marketing team has the challenge of distilling the science into messages ordinary people can understand without losing the integrity of the data. Education is a constant task. Every new product means new explanations of what it is, why it matters, and how it works.

Lessons Learned

Innovation should be seen as less a series of products and more as a system. Having a clear platform, strong internal alignment, and a process for managing different levels of innovation gives you the confidence to take risks. Not every idea will succeed, but enough to transform your business from a start-up into a global brand.

Takeaway: Innovation isn’t luck. It’s a deliberate, structured process that balances creativity with discipline. Build a platform that allows for routine, disruptive, and radical innovations, and you won’t just keep pace—you’ll set the pace.

Innovation is not something that happens occasionally—it should be built into the DNA of the business.

Your next read in the series 18. Why is competing through the supply chain important?

Building Global Businesses

A fuller explanation on this subject is outlined in my book “Going Global” www.goglobal.co.nz