Diversity Executive - September 2008 - (Page 29)

Employee resource groups are an increasingly effective way to leverage the power of diversity to boost the bottom line. Strategically aligned groups deliver product innovation, develop key customer insights and support critical talent management efforts. By Deanna Hartley A non-Hispanic male may have headed the seasoning group when Frito-Lay launched its line of guacamole-ﬂavored chips a few years ago, but the credit for the successful multimillion-dollar product belongs to the company’s Hispanic employee resource group. Mike Zbuchalski, vice president of culinary innovation, research and development for Frito-Lay North America, recalls his initial reluctance when the group conceived the notion of guacamole-ﬂavored chips. “It was one of my ﬁrst experiences with making sure we were opening our minds to the consumer base we had,” he said. Employee resource groups (ERGs), also called afﬁnity or networking groups, are formal or informal groups of employees that come together outside daily work activity. The success of the new ﬂavor laid the groundwork for further innovation and provided the impetus for Frito-Lay’s Pan Asian Network to host an innovation summit that resulted in the creation of wasabi-ﬂavored Funyuns, another best-seller for the company. “[Frito-Lay’s] consumer base and customer base are becoming a lot more diverse and globally connected,” Zbuchalski said. “We’re taking advantage of what we have in-house — the afﬁnity groups — to leverage culinary taste perspectives and get feedback and innovative ideas [that cater to] our consumer base.” The Pan Asian Network helped facilitate an international research and development initiative to create a version of the popular Cheetos snack for the Indian market. The new product, called Kurkure after the Hindi word for “crunchy,” incorporated curry seasoning with a lentil and rice base, instead of corn, and has garnered signiﬁcant market share in India. “[Kurkure] had all the taste and texture of why [the United States] loves Cheetos, but it was done in a way that from a taste and palate standpoint resonated with Indian consumers,” Zbuchalski said. Boosting the Bottom Line Companies are tapping into the power of ERGs to develop new products, but also to boost sales of existing products. At General Mills, the African-American ERG helped revive a dying cornbread brand, said Frans Johansson, managing director of The Medici Group and author of The Medici Effect. The book examines how individuals, teams and organizations can create ideas and innovation at the intersection of different ﬁelds, cultures and industries. According to Johansson, sales for the once-strong Betty Crocker corn mufﬁn mix were dwindling until a General Mills executive tapped into the African-American group to develop marketing strategies targeting the product’s largely African-American customer base. The company changed the name of the product and added a picture of famed African-American restaurateur B. Smith to the 29

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Diversity Executive - September 2008

Diversity Executive - September 2008 Editor's Letter Contents Leadership Connections Guest Editorial Diversity Executive Online 2042: A New Business Era Begins The Rules of Attraction Where to Look for Diverse Talent Like Minds Think Great Culture Teams Target Business Opportunities at Luxottica Retail Special Section Rebalancing Gender At ING Americas, the Color of Diversity Is Orange Profile Business Intelligence Case Study Strategies Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources

Diversity Executive - September 2008

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