LINK Innovation Day: 3 questions for Hamza Ayub, Chief Marketing Officer DUNKIN Switzerland

This year’s LINK Innovation Day will take place on 05 September 2023 at Kraftwerk in Zurich. This year, the industry event for people from marketing and market research is themed “Success through innovation” and focuses on the successful practical use of AI, implicit research and customer-centric product development.

We have talked to various speakers in advance to find out what innovation means to them and what visitors can expect at the event. In his presentation «Reimagining the customer of today for better innovation», Hamza Ayub (Chief Marketing Officer DUNKIN Switzerland) provides insights into the innovation strategy of one of the world’s leading fast-food chains, which has contributed significantly to the popularity of the donut in Switzerland. We would like to thank Hamza for sharing these exciting insights with us!

DUNKIN «only» opened its first store in Switzerland in 2016, yet it has quickly become a trendy baked good. How did you manage to accomplish this in such a short amount of time?

We owe our meteoric rise to having a customer-centric strategy that lays a great deal of emphasis on studying our target audience’s preferences which translates into products that are made by our customers and for our customers. Moreover, we pride ourselves on having an extremely proactive approach in both our advertising strategy and in product mix-related innovation.

We have been positioning ourselves as an early adopter of trends, influencers and tools which enables us to stay relevant and top-of-mind.

What exciting experiences await the participants of Innovation Day during your presentation? Could you provide a glimpse of what you will be showcasing?

I am excited to present some fascinating videos that will depict what it means to be a DUNKIN fan in Switzerland right now. Albeit my session will start off by touching upon some strategies that we deployed that proved to be quite successful, I will dive deeper on how we are evolving as a species and what that means for our marketing, innovation and business strategies.

Other donut companies want to enter the Swiss market as well. Considering this, which role do marketing and innovation play in your own expansion strategy?

After the success of any successful venture that manages to create a market for a good/service, new market entrants and spin offs are not just inevitable, they are a necessity for a market to develop further. Within our short run we have managed to trigger what I believe can be pegged as the donut revolution of Switzerland. Currently you cannot go to a single supermarket, gas station or bakery in Switzerland without finding donuts. For every 1000 people of Switzerland there is at least 1 store selling donuts in their vicinity. Ultimately the real victors are the fans, and they dictate how we innovate and where we expand. The worst thing that could happen to us is that we fall prey to marketing myopia and try to push products to consumers who do not want them in places they never wanted us in the first place.

You can register directly for the Innovation Day now – a few select spots are still available. Participation is free of charge. We look forward to an exciting event!