Mintel

Just wrapped up hearing Paul Jankowski speak at our #MintelBigConversation event in Chicago about the New Heartland Consumer, and a few ideas have really stayed with me. The session was built around our new report, America’s Missed Majority, co-authored with Lisa Dubina . It was a strong reminder that while AI is changing how quickly we can collect, analyze and interpret information, data alone is never the full story. Some of the most valuable insights come from understanding the lived realities behind the signals: routines, values, relationships and cultural context that don’t always show up clearly in the data. The idea of the “visibility gap” especially stuck with me: the disconnect between what brands can easily see and measure, and how people actually live and make decisions. That’s what makes this kind of work so important right now. AI can help us quickly identify patterns, but understanding people still requires human judgment, curiosity and real-world context. It is also a good reminder of what makes Mintel different. Our investment in AI and technology is real and accelerating. But our strength has always been the coming together of three things: our data, our technology, and our people. Our analysts, our experts, and partners like Paul, who spend their time in genuine conversation with the communities they study. That combination is what makes our research distinctive, and it is something I am incredibly proud of. Great work from Paul, Lisa and the teams at Mintel and New Heartland Group in bringing this to life."

Innovation is under more pressure than ever. Teams are being asked to move faster, take bigger bets, and get it right more often, all while working with incomplete information and increasing complexity. The traditional model of innovation; long cycles, fragmented inputs, and heavy reliance on hindsight is starting to break. What’s becoming clear is that the future won’t be about more data or more tools. It will be about better connection between signals, insight, creativity, and decision-making. That’s what makes this launch meaningful. Mintel Spark is an important step forward in how we think about innovation, bringing together predictive demand signals through Black Swan Data , concept creation, and evaluation into a more continuous, decision-focused process. Not replacing human judgment, but strengthening it with better, faster context. I’m incredibly proud of the team behind this. Building something like this requires not just technical capability, but a willingness to challenge how things have always been done and to rethink what “good” looks like in our industry. There’s still a long way to go, but this is the direction. From describing what happened to helping decide what to do next.