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Groupe SEB unveils its global innovation center, based in France

Located at Ecully, in the Rhône region (69), at the Groupe SEB world headquarters, the new global innovation center has just been opened. It comprises six centers of excellence, a multidisciplinary hub and an innovation strategy team.

The new facility is dedicated to the creation of disruptive innovation concepts and collaborates with Business Units to develop product offerings for all of the Group’s brands.

Groupe SEB dévoile son Centre mondial de l’innovation, basé en France

Groupe SEB innovation: key figures 

  • A Passion for Innovation, is one of the Group’s five values;
  • New products contribute to sales growth: 60% of sales generated with products that are less than three years old; 
  • Product renewals: One-third of our product offering is renewed every year;
  • Investment in innovation: €240m in 2020;
  • Intellectual property: Groupe SEB holds around 20,000 patents and over 20,000 trademarks and designs worldwide;
  • 443 patents registered in 2020;
  • Among the Top 20 patent filers according to the French National Institute for Intellectual Property (INPI).

Increasing consumer knowledge and observing their behavior to anticipate needs

The creation of a center of excellence dedicated to observing and understanding consumer behavior, at a very early stage in the process, is a priority strategic business activity which Groupe SEB intends to strengthen. Whether through the Culinary Observation Center, the Living Lab or anthropological resources, the Innovation Division has the available capacity to increase its knowledge of our consumers in conditions that are as close as possible to real-life.

These behavioral studies increase understanding of the physical use of a product or service. This enables the Group to develop concepts which will capture future consumer trends. 

Groupe SEB dévoile son Centre mondial de l’innovation, basé en France

Anticipating technology trends 

The building is also home to centers of excellence designed to determine technology trends and anticipate their integration into our products.

One example is data processing. The latter deploys new technologies (algorithms, etc.) and provides valuable information, helping us to anticipate consumer needs and personalize our solutions in product design and related services. 
In this respect, teams will analyze consumer data to compare them with other factors (leisure, centers of interest, eating habits, allergies, etc.). As such, our teams will be able to suggest personalized services and products that fit consumers’ lifestyles and momentary needs. This data processing will improve and enhance the consumer experience. It will also strengthen brand preference through community engagement as well as fueling consumers’ urge to discover more services.