Start with the consumer, not the idea
Before anyone builds anything, we find out what people actually need, not what the team assumes. Real conversations, real data.
Amandine Devergies · Innovation, FMCG & AI
Biochemist by training. 20+ years in FMCG, from R&D and regulatory to global innovation coaching at Nestlé and Cereal Partners Worldwide. Here I share what actually works when you bring Lean Startup, consumer truth and AI into a company, from global groups to start-ups.
How I think
Before anyone builds anything, we find out what people actually need, not what the team assumes. Real conversations, real data.
Name the riskiest assumption, build the smallest test that could kill it, and run it in days, not months. AI makes that loop faster; it doesn't replace it.
My job is to make myself unnecessary. Teams should leave able to run the next project on their own, with confidence.
What I can do
Global group, SME or start-up: the core question is the same. What should you test before you invest? Most of my projects come from global groups. I also used the same method, on a very small budget, for my own venture. The budget and the pace change with the size of the company. The logic does not.
From consumer insight to launch: find the need, shape the idea, test it, and prepare the go or no-go decision.
Example: Nestlé CerealsGet Marketing, R&D and Operations aligned on day one, generate ideas, or use AI to go faster without losing the human view.
Example: La LaitièreWatch how people really buy and use a product, and find the friction points that surveys miss.
Example: HertaName the riskiest assumption, then check it with the smallest possible test (an MVP) before big money is spent.
Example: BuitoniTake an existing brand or product to a new need, a new target or a new market, based on what consumers there actually want.
Example: Bear BrandDecide with evidence whether to push on, change direction or stop, and do it early, while it is still cheap.
Example: Cap Clarté, my own ventureSelected projects
Challenge
Add protein to cereals without the "taste penalty" that had killed earlier launches.
What I did
Coached the team through its first Lean Startup cycle: riskiest assumption first, rapid digital consumer tests before the formula was frozen.
~18 months to launch vs. 24–36 usual
Read the caseChallenge
Build a business case for a plant-based concept before the market was ready.
What I did
Built a "conviction MVP" and documented the consumer evidence well enough to survive two deprioritisations.
US launch in 2021, 4 years after incubation
Read the caseChallenge
Do FMCG innovation methods work outside food? I tested them on a hospitality school's online learning offer.
What I did
Applied my consumer-friction diagnostic to the public enrollment journey and proposed a roadmap.
3 friction points mapped in the journey
Read the caseWhat colleagues say
“I am delighted to endorse Amandine for her exceptional expertise in innovation, continuous process improvement, and insatiable curiosity for learning and self-development. And she does that always with a big smile.”
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Zsuzsanna Toth“Regardless of the challenges — tight deadlines, market complexities, stakeholder management — Amandine always found a pragmatic solution.”
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Neil PatelNewsletter · on LinkedIn
Short, practical notes on testing before investing, AI in consumer innovation and the human skills that make teams brave. Written from inside a global FMCG company.
