Continually Looking For New Opportunities

Alexis Vaganay, Vice President of Marketing at BIC Consumer Products North America, emphasizes BIC’s collaborative and entrepreneurial spirit. Vaganay has experience working with BIC in Europe and now, in the USA and Canada. BIC is an innovative company that delivers products that provide easy answers for everyday needs. This includes a full range of sensational stationery products, lighters and shavers. BIC is a world leader in its segments and continues to break boundaries.

2 Questions with Alexis

What makes an innovative culture? How do you create a culture of innovation?

Innovation is second nature at BIC. Our organization is a leader in innovation and is continually looking for new opportunities. We offer simple solutions to the consumer; however, these solutions require a tremendous amount of science and research to produce.

An example of this innovation is a line of writing instruments that we are launching called BIC Kids. This line is for young children that are just beginning to learn how to write and features a ballpoint pen, mechanical pencil and a stylus. The entire line was designed in partnership with ergonomists and early childhood educators and helps children to learn how to correctly hold a writing instrument.

How do you identify trends? What resources does your team use to spot trends and consumer insights?

We do a lot of research. We conduct studies, interact with consumers and watch their behavior. We use social media and garner an abundance of insights from this. Using this dialogue is very useful for us.

An example is the Duck Dynasty phenomenon. We identified that many consumers were engaged by this TV program and were able to obtain a license for designs that can be applied to our lighters. By staying in touch with consumer trends, we are able to jump on to opportunities, such as Duck Dynasty, in the early stages.