Reading in the latest copy of our Kidscan newsletter this week about Kellogg’s moves to reduce the amount of sugar in their breakfast cereals, particularly for those aimed squarely at kids, such as Coco Pops, got me thinking about an innovative product that tackled a similar issue in a completely different way.

Sipahh started in Australia in 2005, after founder Peter Baron took a fresh look at the flavoured milk market, and found it expensive, messy to make and way too high in sugar. Sipahh straws are wide plastic straws, filled with flavoured beads that gradually dissolve as the cold milk is sucked through the straw, adding flavour and colour to the milk. The flavours are somewhat less intense (read: less sugary) than pre-mixed flavoured milk, but kids still love it – not least of all because it’s FUN to watch the milk change colour and the beads dissolve.

What I love about his approach was that he didn’t just go for the obvious solution – making a cheaper, lower sugar version. Instead, he reframed the problem and thought about physically how the milk was flavoured, moving it from part of the production process firmly into the consumer experience.

Having now expanded into a number of countries worldwide, with regional flavour variants, Sipahh still seems to be going strong – tapping into the need for parents to get calcium into their growing kids, and the kids’ desire for fun food and drink.  In 2006 multinational big-boy Nestle launched a copycat product under their Nesquik brand… always a sign that a new product or category is significantly different, interesting and relevant, although sadly it will probably keep Sipahh out of the UK.

This is an example I intend to continue to use widely when talking about innovation, because it neatly shows how powerful the way you define your starting challenge and market can be in producing truly different and new ideas.

We’ve been running a lot of interactive workshops recently for clients investigating the brand engagement, experience and communications opportunities presented by social media and smartphones, so maybe it was this that was on my mind when I made the digital world shaking discovery that one of my favourite brands does not (yet?) have an app…

I work in branding. I follow brands. I like to hear from Marmite about what’s going on in their world. I enjoy the daily eye candy offered by Australian underwear and swimwear brand AussieBum on Facebook. On Twitter I keep track of when the next Les Mills exercise classes will be released. I use the Amazon app to check prices and save my window shopping don’t-need-but-really-wants for later. I’ve welcomed these brands into my day-to-day life and love the content they provide… so imagine my horror when I found out that my favourite branded coffee shop, Caffe Nero, did not have an app that would help me find their nearest cafe. Why, marketing Gods, why?

Starbucks has a nice little app that uses your location to find the nearest store. You can customise the search to only see stores on the map if they have wireless or serve oven warmed food etc. This is simple, practical and intuitive. When driving to a far off meeting an app like this is almost life-saving to a caffeine addict.

For me, and for customers like me, apps are rapidly becoming part of our lives. I was initially delighted when I found the Starbucks app, but realise, now that the surprise has passed, that apps like this are now almost a hygiene feature in my brand experience. I’ve seen it from one brand, then I expect it from another and become peeved when it isn’t available. Makes me sound horribly spoiled… but I guess that’s the point about delighting factors becoming expectations.

Whilst it won’t stop me visiting and loving Nero, I do feel differently about them, as well as differently about Starbucks. Must remember to use myself as a case study in the next workshop…! Now, where’s my app dammit?!

This week The Grocer reports on Nescafé’s 3in1 premix coffee sachets UK launch. A convenient pre-mixed blend of coffee, whitener and sugar.

We were asked to comment on the new product launch. Consultant Rosa Wilkinson describes it as “clever and insightful” and adds that “this could drive relevance for the Nescafé masterbrand. Coffee has had to make itself more relevant – today’s younger consumers are even more demanding of convenience than a couple of generations ago.”