For convenience-store retailers and category buyers, speed matters. The faster a supplier like Givaudan can turn consumer insights into flavor innovation, the faster retailers get new, differentiated products on shelves—and the faster they can respond to trending demands and capture impulse sales. Givaudan's Taste & Wellbeing Marketing & Consumer & Sensory Insights (CSI) team in Europe recently cut decision-making time up to 10x by implementing Stravito, an insights platform that has direct implications for how quickly suppliers can support c-store product development.
Why Speed Matters to C-Store Buyers and Retailers
Givaudan supports food and beverage brands across categories including beverages, sweet goods, dairy, savory, snacks, and healthcare—many of which are critical grab-and-go, impulse-buy categories for convenience stores. The challenge: research and insights were scattered across platforms, folders, and inboxes, forcing the team to waste time searching for information they already had. That slowness cascaded to customers, delaying new product development cycles that retailers depend on.
Before implementing Stravito, accessing consumer or sensory insights required knowing where information lived and who to ask. Some team members dug deeper; most didn't, because it took too much time. The result was slower customer briefs, delayed product decisions, and slower time-to-shelf—exactly what c-store retailers cannot afford.
The Solution: Fast Insights, Fast Products
Givaudan's European CSI team selected Stravito after evaluating several vendors. Four factors drove the decision—factors that c-store buyers should understand because they directly affect supplier responsiveness.
People and partnership mindset. "The attitude made a big difference," says Basak Oker. "You could feel, 'We're here for you.'" For retailers working with suppliers, this translates to faster, more collaborative problem-solving.
Intuitive, modern user experience. Stravito felt self-explanatory, enabling adoption across the team without heavy training. Faster adoption means faster insights for customers.
Speed to implementation. The team needed quick deployment, including integrations with external content providers. Stravito supported both technical setup and rollout, minimizing delays.
Clear ROI. Stravito wasn't chosen for cost alone, but because overall value—speed, usability, support, and adoption—made clear business sense. That efficiency gains reduce unnecessary costs that might otherwise get passed to retailers.
The team named their Stravito instance "The Genie," betting it would make their insights wishes come true.
Results That Impact C-Store Product Development
Even shortly after launch, Genie's impact on supplier responsiveness is significant. On many projects, decision-making is now 3x faster—and in some cases up to 10x faster. With Stravito's AI Assistant surfacing relevant internal and external research quickly, projects that once took weeks can now be completed in days or even hours.
For c-store retailers, this speed translates directly to faster product iterations and quicker time-to-shelf for new flavors and innovations. Easier access to existing insights also means less duplicated work and less need to commission redundant research—freeing budget for genuinely new product exploration that retailers can then feature as exclusive or first-to-market offerings.
For reactive customer briefs—such as when a retailer asks a supplier to develop a flavor for a trending category—Stravito helps regional teams rapidly understand local market demands and consumer preferences. This leads to more informed, confident conversations between suppliers and retailers, and faster decisions on what to develop and merchandise.
For proactive innovation, the platform supports an internal Innovation Roadmap process, enabling Givaudan's teams to immerse themselves in category, consumer, and sensory trends more quickly and systematically—intelligence that filters into the new products available to retailers sooner.
What This Means for Retailers and Category Buyers
Speed and confidence in decision-making now matter more than ever in convenience retail. Faster supplier insights mean faster product development, faster new-item introductions, and faster response to impulse-buying trends. Thanks to Stravito, Givaudan's European teams spend less time searching and synthesizing—and more time creating products that retailers can stock, merchandise, and sell.
Today, Stravito is available to regional and local marketing and CSI teams across Europe. The platform is also expanding to sales and key technical stakeholders, enabling more informed, insight-backed conversations between suppliers and retailers—exactly what c-store buyers need for faster, smarter category decisions.
About Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing Europe
Givaudan is a global leader in flavors and fragrances, with more than 16,900 employees worldwide. Within its Taste & Wellbeing business, the European Marketing & CSI team supports customers across categories including beverages, sweet goods, dairy, savory, snacks, and healthcare—anywhere taste plays a critical role in success.
About Stravito
Stravito is the Insights Intelligence Platform global brands trust to turn their existing research into confident, growth-driving decisions. Purpose-built for insights teams, Stravito pairs best-in-class AI with human expertise to apply vetted knowledge in decision-critical moments. Founded in Sweden in 2017, Stravito is trusted by global leaders including Nestlé and Comcast. The company is ISO 27001 certified, SOC 2 Type II attested, and has been recognized in the Financial Times' FT 1000 list of Europe's fastest growing companies.
