Product Innovation: Better, Or Just New?

Product Innovation: Better, Or Just New?

From The Bottom Line by BBC Radio 4

February 26, 2026 · 32 min

About this episode

The episode discusses the dynamics of product innovation and the balance between meaningful improvements and marketing strategies.

From smartphones to trainers, confectionary and cleaning products, we live in a culture of constant updates. Companies reformulate, redesign and refresh their products in a continuous race to stay ahead. But how are those decisions made? What counts as meaningful improvement and how much is designed to make last year’s version feel old? Evan Davis and guests discuss how products evolve and why standing still is the fastest way to fall behind. Guests: Tom Moody, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, P&G (Proctor & Gamble) Northern Europe Dr Garry Moppett, Senior Director of Research & Development at Mars Dave Ward, UK and International Managing Director, Amazon Ring. Production team: Presenter: Evan Davis Producer: Sally Abrahams Sound engineers: Lee Wilson and Donald MacDonald Production co-ordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Matt Willis The Bottom Line is produced in partnership with The Open University

People in this episode

Host: Evan Davis

Guests: Tom Moody, Dr Garry Moppett, Dave Ward

Topics covered

  • product innovation
  • consumer culture
  • business strategy
  • market competition
  • product development

Keywords

  • product innovation
  • consumer products
  • business strategy
  • market trends
  • product development

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: P&G (Proctor & Gamble), Mars, Amazon Ring, The Open University

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