Ep. 123 - Gatorade's Xavi Cortadellas on Breakthrough Innovation

There’s no way to innovate if you only stay in your court

Xavi Cortadellas is the Head of Innovation and Design at Gatorade. He focuses on innovating in the newest spaces, like tech and services, rather than incremental innovation. Gatorade invented sports drinks 50 years ago and now has an 80% market share. With little room to expand, they actively look for new spaces to grow. Because Gatorade is a huge part of sports in America, when entering a new market, they are careful to examine what’s the right things to do and to always have patience and perseverance.  

Gatorade started their innovation journey in 2010 with the G Series. They wanted to expand their product portfolio for before and after sports occasions, such as energy drinks and recovery shakes. In 2015, they changed their approach to viewing themselves as a sports fuel company, providing solutions for the 24/7 athlete in multiple spaces and with numerous products. Some products worked, while others did not.Today, Gatorade is in the third wave of innovation and is now looking at services. Xavi believes in the future, Gatorade may be able to provide sports nutrition information through tech like wearables and heel implants or offer recovery tips and move from delivering products to providing monetized services.

As the quarterback of a small innovation team, Xavi corals different groups that touch innovation, such as a daily relationship with R and D. He also works with external design agencies, external tech agencies, and sports marketing teams, which connect him with professional sports teams. Gatorade must understand what the professional athletes want and need. However, working with them can be challenging. Products and services must work the first time, and there’s no time for incubation. When moving products and services from the pros to consumers, Gatorade will make some changes, but already has received valuable input about the products or services from the pro athletes. 

Prioritizing new ideas at Gatorade comes down to a few things. First is money. What is the size of the prize? Second is an equity play. Is it a good niche investment for Gatorade and does it create a story that helps them tap into new spaces? Third is complexity. Do they have the right capabilities to accomplish this idea? Cross-functional teams help vet this question and typically have a reasonable consensus on prioritizing and killing ideas. Applying the proper discipline up front, helps the company stay successful.Xavi believes two pitfalls for innovation teams include the tension between the core and innovation, and the complexity of entering new territories.

For more information or to contact Xavi, go to Gatorade.com or email him at [email protected]

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