New Beginnings

We are super-excited to be building the next chapter with Accenture and What if – by coming together we will create the world’s leading innovation business with all the capabilities needed to deliver transformational innovation at a time of unprecedented challenges for humans and for business.

Innovators this way

Few Words from the Founders

Mark Cowan

Co-Founder

To our team
& to our clients

Thank you for putting your trust in us over the last twelve years.  We earned our reputations together succeeding in some of the most challenging markets in the world.

David Walker

Co-Founder

To our team
& to our clients

Thank you for putting your trust in us over the last twelve years.  We earned our reputations together succeeding in some of the most challenging markets in the world.

Costas Papaikonomou

Co-Founder

To our team
& to our clients

Thank you for putting your trust in us over the last twelve years.  We earned our reputations together succeeding in some of the most challenging markets in the world.

Stories from
the Team

Hi, I’m Emily

Role: Senior Consultant
Time at Happen: 3 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
Meeting all the new faces! Looking forward to an even bigger range of diverse skills, working styles & personalities.

Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
Working with Tesco to rebrand their own brand vegetarian range to appeal more to the growing plant based trend. This led to a new brand, 24 new products & all customer metrics improving.

View this case study's below

Hi, I’m Mark

Role: Client Director
Time at Happen: 4 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
We now have the LARGEST innovation capability worldwide to tackle ANY challenge that needs to be executed now or next!
‍
Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
Pernod Ricard new gin pipeline with multiple successful launches across Beefeater and Plymouth brands 1 year after project completion!

View this case study's below

Hi, I’m Natalie

Role: Senior Consultant
Time at Happen: 3 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
The opportunity to learn from new people and expand client opportunities with fresh new thinking!
‍
Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
Primula, it was a very saturated marketplace with growing threat from Seriously Strong and Cathedral City. Impact: (as of 2017) Primulas market share is now 16.9%, at the beginning of 2016 this was just 15.6%.

View this case study's below

Hi, I’m Helena

Role: Senior Consultant
Time at Happen: 4 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
Brining & learning new expertise to our clients & project challenges, being able to provide solutions across more of the innovation journey.
‍
Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
A product that can bring a bit of guliciousness to everyone’s day: the launch of Gu Spread. Who doesn’t want to smother toast, ice cream or cakes with luscious chocolatey indulgence?!

View this case study's below

Hi, I’m Anna

Role: Consultant
Time at Happen: 4 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
Working on projects that drive large impact in society and within organisations!
‍
Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
Working with Pernod Ricard to fill their short-term gin pipeline using existing assets. This led to the Beefeater Blood Orange launch, one of Beefeater’s most successful launches – ever!

View this case study's below

Hi, I’m Eleanor

Role: Client Director
Time at Happen: 8 years

What are you most looking forward to joining Accenture & ?What If!
Learning new approaches, working with new clients and working in a new way with more smart and interesting people
‍
Which of your Happen projects has had the most impact & why?
Weetabix Protein Drink – my first product launch and the easiest way to tell my mates what I actually do!

View this case study's below

Beefeater’s Blood Orange

How do heritage brands stand out in the fast-growing gin market, when more niche players enter everyday?

From fragrances to speakeasies, we analysed 63,000 blog posts and product, venue and menu reviews to understand what was driving consumer excitement across related categories. The result? Beefeater Blood Orange launched within one year using existing distillery capabilities.

Primula sales soar

Can a tube of soft cheese sidestep into main meal occasions?

We looked for points of friction across the entire cheese market, unpicking real, consumer frustration with blocks and spreadables. Using this insight, we created a powerful activation pipeline across the UK’s big four supermarkets. From in-aisle recipe cards to mobile messaging, we leveraged Primula as the perfect ingredient – delivering a quick, fresh and tasty cheese hit to multiple family staples.

Sales soared by £1.25m in one year – all with no product changes.

Gü spreads the message

A global analysis of 60,000 reviews revealed when people like to indulge: chocolate tops porridge, yoghurt and toast. Nut butters were booming because of their versatility, but lacked the indulgence factor. Swap in a prestigious chocolate spread, let real customers tweak the formula with texture bursts like crunchy nuts, and launch. All within one year.

Plant Chef refresh

The Tesco team wanted to rethink how they could expand on the decade’s fastest growing trend of plant-based. We helped the team to position the range to appeal to a mass of consumers turning onto the eco consumerism of Veganuary and Meat Free Mondays.

Enter Plant Chef, a new range of 24 colourful and appetising products aimed at the growing flexitarian segment.  Alongside Wicked Kitchen,  Tesco have successfully created an offer that spans the UK household’s flexitarian needs

On the Go grows Weetabix

In 2015, breakfast was going mobile. But how were people choosing it? Time-poor, young commuters told us they wanted to be healthy, but frequently compromised. Meanwhile, a 44% increase in gym membership was fuelling a protein trend. Our solution?

Translate the familiar breakfast bowl into a drink with the same properties, but added protein. The range made £6.6m in its first year.

£500m bright idea for Vanish

How can more people be persuaded to buy stain remover? Insight told us customers mainly care about keeping whites white. So we split the product into two offerings, with one just for the whites wash. White packaging and evocative language, such as ‘crystal white’, completed the new look. The result?

A £500m increase in revenue.

Impact on Clients

‘Delivered over $5bn of incremental revenue for our clients over 12 great years’

Innovators this way

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