LBB - Second Product - 30/09/26

Five lessons on launching a new product from Workspace’s LBB panel

Five lessons on launching a new product from Workspace’s LBB panel

You’ve grown as a brand and you’ve got a burning desire to launch a new product. But how do you know when the time is right? Whether your instinct is pointing to a real opportunity, or pulling focus from what already works.

At Workspace’s latest London’s Brightest Businesses panel discussion, CEO Charlie Green was joined by Elli Lemming, Head of Operations at Hip Pop drinks; Sam Akinluyi, Founding Partner at Salt; and Adrienne Little, Partner at And Rising. 

With years of experience in brand building and product launches, the panel explored what it really takes to bring something new to market.

1. Start with the mission, not just the gap

A gap in the market might demand a new product, but do people care? Adrienne Little said the strongest founders begin with a larger problem they want to solve. The first product may change substantially along the way, but a clear mission offers continuity and creates room for future products to feel like natural expressions of the same idea.

That matters when a company is entering an emerging category. A founder may need to create the demand, so conviction about the underlying problem is more durable than the lure of an empty niche.

"The ones that have done it most successfully have got a much bigger mission in mind...What problem are they going to try and solve in the world to make the world a better place?"
Adrienne Little
Partner, And Rising

2. Treat your new product like a new company

There is a major difference between extending a range and building something new. A new version may use the same expertise and route to market. A new category could mean starting from the ground up, while competing with the existing business for attention.

Sam Akinluyi urged founders to look beyond the excitement of the idea and assess the burden that comes with it. What additional resources will the launch require? How will it affect the core offer and the people already running it? If the answers point towards a different operating model, think of it as starting again.

"When people say a whole new product, I think of it as a whole new company... Really think about why, and remember how hard it is"
Sam Akinluyi
Founding Partner, Psalt

3. You’re too close. Test it outside the company

Teams that spend months developing a product can become, as Elli Lemming put it, “taste-blind”. Hip Pop found this while developing its fibre sodas: the team believed it had a strong recipe, but independent market research revealed otherwise. Instead of defending the original, the company reformulated and relaunched.

External input should extend beyond consumers. Hip Pop has invited retail buyers to the brewery for tastings, giving the people who understand the shelf and the category a chance to influence products before launch. That makes feedback more useful and can create early commercial buy-in.

"We cannot just be internal with our approach to product development. We have to get it out to the wider audience"
Elli Lemming
Head of Operations, Hip Hop drinks

4. Balance gut instinct with evidence

In a genuinely new category, historical evidence may be scarce. That means you have to rely on gut instinct, particularly at the earliest stage. But founders still need to show the size of the opportunity, explain who will buy and demonstrate how the product could grow.

Adrienne Little advised founders to map a longer-term product pipeline, even in the knowledge that it will change. The exercise shows whether the first launch belongs to a wider vision and whether the opportunity is large enough to justify the effort. The strongest pitch is not data without imagination or vision without evidence, but a persuasive combination of the two.


"The vast majority is gut, especially at the early stages... You need to sell the vision with some data attached to it"
Adrienne Little
Partner, And Rising

5. Know when to pull the plug

Not every worthwhile idea can last the distance. And Rising discovered this after launching a retreat series for busy founders and business leaders. Customers liked the concept and the experience itself was strong, but they were spending 30% of their time finding people to go. The added value wasn’t enough to justify the distraction from the agency’s core work.

Judge a new product as part of the wider business. Founders should ask what it contributes, what it costs in cash and attention, and what evidence would trigger a rethink. If it cannot support itself or strengthen the core, simplify it, reduce it or stop it altogether.

"Is it adding enough value to justify its existence?... Or is it too much work, too much of a distraction from the core?"
Adrienne Little
Partner, And Rising

Workspace’s LBB series brings founders, experts and business leaders together for panel discussions, followed by questions from the audience and practical advice that people can apply to their own ventures. Previous LBB discussions have been moderated by guests including Ben Fogle, Grace Beverley and Dr Alex George.

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