UPDATE: 1,000,000 Tesco Finder App downloads... congratulations to Nick Lansley!

A great project and a great day we're proud to have made happen: Tesco's TJam. Project leader Nick Lansley managed to find time in between generating ideas and presenting software architecture, to shoot a video!

Happen joined Arla on an ambitious journey a while ago which is now making a stir in the dairy category. Ambitious, as always with Arla, as they set their eyes on succeeding in a low involvement, low interest dairy category: UK Cottage Cheese. What we helped them do? Make it high involvement, high interest, by helping them create consumer validated propositions that match occasions, fulfil real needs and are simply more exciting. The Grocer writes: "[...] initially 7,000 tonnes annually, giving it a 50,5% share of the own-label cottage cheese UK market, aiming to increase production to 10,000 tonnes by 2012".

Open Hub for food innovators, September 24th 2010 in our London Hub

Explore cutting edge ways of thinking about (and approaches to) innovation in the food business. Based on a better understanding of what influences consumers' food choices and the motivations that drive trial and purchase. A unique programme that combines practical experience, live immersions and an in-depth look at the trends which influence current and future tastes in food.

Why would the cosmetics and fashion industries ever need any innovation if human perception of beauty never changes? Well,  because it does. Newsweek has an intriguing article on how beauty affects our lives and the choices we make. Check out the video below and be amazed to how our perception of beauty has evolved in the past century. Note that 'evolution' doesn't mean improvement, but adaptation to circumstances. 

I wonder if this would be true for male faces to? Maybe not, given the similarities between Clark Gable and George Clooney.

A warm welcome back to the Coca Cola Schweppes' team, with whom we're engaging on another exciting journey!

Well, exit my sense of Homo Sapiens' cerebral superiority. The single-celled amoebe "Physarum Polycephalum" that has no brain and looks like my bathroom rug makes decisions exactly like I do. Or is it the other way around? I guess that without a brain, it can't post-rationalize its decisions and make sophisticated comments about them.

In particular when confronted with the classic triple tier pricing structure, it acts as predictable as humans do. Or is that the other way around?

Read the full story @ Discover Magazine.

Reckitt Benckiser has posted an amazing set of 2nd quarter results, beating all expectations... guess who they're working with on innovating their power brands? Read the full story.

We're in the Financial Times! Read about our insight-led innovation approach (and consumer work in particular) in the weekly column by Mike Southon. He's co-author of the 'Beermat' entrepreneur bestsellers and a Friend of Happen. Read the article online here.