I just read something that perfectly illustrates how innovative companies stay ahead of rapidly shifting consumer needs.

Dawn dish soap has been totally reformulated because … Americans are eating SO much more meat.

Yes, seriously.

In 2017, America’s most-consumed household foods were coffee, eggs, butter, oil, and milk.

By 2024: Meat, coffee, eggs, oil, and cheese.

Both meat and cheese weren’t even ON the list less than a decade ago!

This protein-heavy dietary shift (thanks, keto diet) has completely changed what gets stuck to people’s plates. The grease profiles are different. The cleaning challenges are new.

I honestly don’t want to think what this means for everyone’s cholesterol, arteries and heart health 20 years from now.

So Dawn created Powersuds — its first major reformulation in years, with twice the suds that “stay white longer.”

This is exactly what I talk about in I Need That — how smart companies detect changing needs early, then adapt to maintain relevance. Procter & Gamble (Dawn’s maker) recognized the “flip” from want to need that’s happening in their customers’ kitchens.

People don’t simply want clean plates and white bubbles. It’s a non-negotiable. (Like, um … meat.)

What makes this story remarkable is that P&G didn’t make incremental tweaks. They spent two full years redeveloping the core product after interviewing 10,000 people about their dishwashing habits.

“Proteins and fats we see are really on the rise,” says Angelica Matthews, P&G’s VP of North American Dish Care. “Things like a one-pan casserole dish like a chicken cheesy bake is something we see being really popular.”

That kind of detailed need-sensing is how you stay dominant in a category for decades.

Action for today: Think about what downstream effects are washing into YOUR customers’ world. What subtle shifts in their behavior might require you to adapt your product? The changes might be more significant than you realize.

Want to explore how to better sense your customers’ evolving needs? Tap that reply arrow and let’s discuss what subtle shifts might be happening in your market. Or reach out to my team of need validation experts at Graphos Product.

Product Payoff: Pepto-Bismol‘s iconic pink color was originally a happy accident. (This product example juxtaposition, not an accident.) When pharmacist John Hoyt created the remedy in 1901, the original formula mixed calming ingredients with raspberry flavoring, creating the distinctive pink hue. This accidental color became so central to brand identity that the company trademarked “Pepto Pink.” Today, that visual differentiation helps drive over $200M in annual sales and instant recognition on medicine cabinet shelves worldwide.