261. Boosting the Adoption of Innovation

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Christophe Pelletier

There seems to be a persistent impression that food and agriculture is slow with the adoption of innovation, in particular of new technologies. At least, I hear this comment regularly, but is it really the case?

Two agricultural researchers in a field examining bio-fertilizer and disease-resistant plant data

Personally, I do not share that negative sentiment, although I can understand both the frustration of innovators and the resistance from the sector. Food and agriculture are often perceived as being conservative and slow to change. In my opinion, this is not quite a correct assessment. Food production has undergone major and profound transformations over the years. In that regard, the sector has proven that it is far from opposed to change. Today’s food production is quite different than it was 40, 25, 10 or even just 5 years ago.

Consumer demand, natural conditions, government policies and the tools available to producers have all changed dramatically. The complexity and the challenges have strongly increased and the food industry has adapted accordingly and successfully. Unfortunately, the sector has been too timid in its communication about progress. It should showcase its evolution much more blatantly. The general public would benefit greatly from knowing how agriculture has been able to be at the forefront of innovation, while keeping its values rooted in common sense. The latter is probably why the sector is considered conservative. It is so to some extent, but the real reason is that food producers, and farmers in particular, do not jump on every hype. They observe and think first. Before everything else, they need to be convinced, and that is the main challenge for innovators who often would like to skip that step.

The main mistake innovators make is to have a push production-driven approach while they should be more market-oriented. A few simple factors greatly improve the chances of the adoption of innovation.

The first one is to make sure to solve the problem. I insist here on use “the” and not “a”. The solution that an innovation offers must be quite specific to the problem for the user. Solving a problem might do just that, but it might not be the problem that needs to be solved. Then, the result is a mismatch. That is the drawback of developing an innovation first and then try to push it in the market. It might not meet as much interest as expected.

The second factor depends directly on the first one. A solution that solves the problem of the users means that it does add value to them. The value can be of an economic, financial, time saving or organizational nature. In a B2B environment, value is often about objective and measurable parameters. It is rational and usually easily supported with numbers and calculations. These are essential to move the customer from indecision to a frank “Yes”. My personal experience has always been to put myself in the customer’s shoes and find out what added value truly means. In other words, what does the innovation have that existing options don’t? Once you show the numbers that mean an advantage for the customer, adoption is much easier and natural. For consumer products, value is much more of a subjective nature and demonstrating it is quite a different exercise. It is a topic of its own, perhaps for another column.

A third essential factor to boost the adoption of innovation, and especially of new technologies, is to make sure it is user friendly and reliable. Food producers, especially farmers, will not go for a long, complicated and uncertain learning curve. They want something that can be implemented quickly and effectively, and that will not need regular troubleshooting. Since technology is only as good as the user, training is essential. No new technology should be brought on the market without a user’s manual and proper testing. The customer must never be the quality control or the guinea pig, unless they agree to be.

Creating the best conditions possible is essential for the adoption of innovation. Without customers, innovation remains just a nice idea, and a business just remains a hobby. It is never too early to start marketing activities and place the customer at the centre of innovation.

Working on a new book, this time about marketing

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Christophe Pelletier

The idea of writing a book about marketing in food and agriculture has been on my mind for quite a while. Yet, I have been struggling with the style I wanted to use. I started writing several times over, as could not find the right tone. I would not want to write “just another” marketing book. There are already hundreds of thousands of them, if not even possibly millions. Especially, I did not want to write a theoretical and abstract book. From my experience, that is the main weakness of so many of them. I now have finally found the tone and style that I believe will be the most effective. I have tested it in several of my recent assignments and the feedback I receive tells me that I have now found the right path. It will be straight-forward and plain language. There will be as few complicated terms as possible, perhaps even a book without four or five syllable words.

The project also comes from my past experiences with the topic. How many times have I been told that price is not really that important, while my experience has always been that price always comes in the discussion and plays a major role in the customer’s decision to buy or not? Price is important! Of course, it is! Saying otherwise is simply delusional. But the price is always brought in relation with what the perceived value of the product is. And this Is why the book will be built around the idea of value, of what that word means, how flexible and fluid it is, how it relates for what the customer wants and/or needs, and what added value is really about.

And since the book will deal with value, I will go one step further and address values, too, because the perceived value finds its roots in the set of values of the customer, and also because sharing common or similar values significantly increases the chances of making the sale.

My area of expertise, for as much as I have one, is food and agriculture. Therefore, the book will focus on these business areas. Perhaps, it could be extrapolated to all sectors just as easily, but I will not be as presumptuous as to think it can. Marketing food and agricultural products is a specific exercise, as this category has its very own idiosyncrasies. The readers -and the future- will determine if extrapolating to other sectors is a possibility. I am quite comfortable in food and agriculture and my niche is there. I do not have a need to overreach but, just as everything else I do, I will do what I do best where I do it best, at least to start.

In my work, I regularly meet with food producers who are always looking for better business and for ways to strengthen their future. They all ask me the same question: “Is there a market for this product?” That is why the book will have a clear practical angle (I wish to strongly insist on that aspect) aimed at food producers who want to sell in better markets and find better customers.

The theory on marketing will be limited to a strict minimum. Emphasis will be on avenues that will help the reader develop and implement an original new sales and business strategy, in particular how to close the deal with the customer.

I have already identified more than 30 topics to cover in this book. I have made some good progress but the road ahead is still long. I will keep you posted in the future as I will come closer to completion and reach some important milestones towards its final publication.