My daughter said she’d had waffle fries for the first time at school, and they were fantastic…

I’d never heard of waffle fries before and thought they must be a new food craze.

But after doing research I’ve found that a waffle fry is where a special blade creates small holes or windows in a potato slice to form a lattice, which is then deep fried, or oven baked.

And they’ve been around since the early 80’s…

Turns out it was legendary American fast food chain Chick-fil-A who first brought them to market, and had a monopoly on them for years, until competitors caught up.

After reading their story, I’ve discovered Chick-fil-A are a very forward-thinking client-driven organisation, who spend loads of time and money on new product development and testing.

Back in the early 80’s Chick-fil-A’s customers were telling them they wanted something more than quick and consistent, and the shoestring fries they offered didn’t match their quality sandwich.

So, they sought an alternative fry-based product to create a paradigm buster.

The waffle fry was developed by food supplier, Lamb Weston, but hadn’t caught any food outlets attention. And after market testing, Chick-fil-A did an exclusive deal and added them to the menu.

The waffle fry (although still a fry but packaged in a unique way) gave Chick-fil-A clear blue ocean and brought in loads of new customers. Even today, they are still the No1 sold menu item.

This story really resonates with me, as it’s a great idea of an innovate business changing the way an existing mass market product is delivered to consumers, to create a new untapped market demand.

If Chick-fil-A can do with a French fry, surely any of us can do it with our products and services?

We did it with home and office print / scan technology and supplies. Bundling them together in a package containing the technology, supplies and life-time support in one affordable monthly fee.

Office phone systems came next once internet stability and speeds allowed. This time providing the handset technology, minutes, and life-time support in an affordable monthly subscription.

There’s been other innovative companies that have done the same, such as Netflix streaming films rather than posting DVD’s or Uber changing the way you order a taxi.

Fundamentally you don’t have to invent a brand-new product to create clear blue ocean between you and the competition, just simply re-package an existing product in a unique way.

…which benefits consumers in such a way they will buy into it.