The new global innovation center of Groupe Seb has recently been opened. It is located at Ecully (France), at the Group world headquarters. It comprises six centers of excellence, a multidisciplinary hub and an innovation strategy team. “The new facility – the company explains – is dedicated to the creation of disruptive innovation concepts and collaborates with Business Units to develop product offerings for all of the Group’s brands”. Groupe Seb invested in innovation 240 million euro in 2020, and holds around 20,000 patents and over 20,000 trademarks and designs worldwide (443 patents registered in 2020). “The creation of a center of excellence dedicated to observing and understanding consumer behavior, at a very early stage in the process, is a priority strategic business activity which Groupe SEB intends to strengthen – the company adds -. Whether through the Culinary Observation Center, the Living Lab or anthropological resources, the Innovation Division has the available capacity to increase its knowledge of our consumers in conditions that are as close as possible to real-life. These behavioral studies increase understanding of the physical use of a product or service. This enables the Group to develop concepts which will capture future consumer trends. The building is also home to centers of excellence designed to determine technology trends and anticipate their integration into our products. One example is data processing. The latter deploys new technologies (algorithms, etc.) and provides valuable information, helping us to anticipate consumer needs and personalize our solutions in product design and related services. In this respect, teams will analyze consumer data to compare them with other factors (leisure, centers of interest, eating habits, allergies, etc.). As such, our teams will be able to suggest personalized services and products that fit consumers’ lifestyles and momentary needs. This data processing will improve and enhance the consumer experience. It will also strengthen brand preference through community engagement as well as fueling consumers’ urge to discover more services”.
