Launching a Healthtech Business

Our client is a leading UK retailer that sought new ways to develop its retail proposition through innovative products and services that support customers’ health and wellbeing.

Over the previous decade, consumers had become accustomed to increasingly sophisticated health tracking products. The market had shifted rapidly from devices measuring simple metrics such as sleep duration to solutions assessing recovery or ‘body battery’, using a combination of heart rate data, blood oxygen levels and breathing rate. These capabilities had, until relatively recently, only been available in clinical settings.

To support the next phase of this evolution, we led the launch of an end-to-end diagnostic testing service. This allowed consumers to take greater control of their health and wellbeing through access to accurate laboratory insights.

Customers provided a finger-prick blood sample, which was posted to a laboratory for analysis, and received results through a mobile application. Follow-on services were then made available, allowing customers to book consultations with experts and take informed steps to improve their lifestyle.

Exevion supported the project from the early stages through to product launch.

• Strategy and Planning: the first step was to define the long-term strategy. We ran a series of design thinking workshops with stakeholders to align on direction. The outputs were used to build the project plan, establish ways of working and identify potential partners to support the service.

• Onboarding and Implementing Partners: the service relied on best-in-class partners to deliver follow-on services. We supported partners through due diligence and the agreement of commercial and data protection contracts.

• Pilots and Testing: an MVP was developed and piloted with around 200 users to identify pain points and areas for improvement ahead of launch. We managed the end-to-end testing process.

• Soft Launch: the team delivered a soft launch in the UK to enable a phased rollout. This period was used to optimise digital marketing, refine the proposition through customer feedback and onboard the next phase of partners. We supported the delivery of these changes.

• Full Launch: we supported the full launch, focusing on store operations and effective marketing before expanding beyond the UK.

We supported the delivery of two pilots to test and refine the proposition ahead of an initial soft launch. Given how innovative the service was to the core business, many internal processes were built from scratch. These were then used to support the development and launch of new products and services across the business.

For traditional retailers launching innovative propositions, it is important to focus on several key areas:

• Ringfence resources and operate as a start-up within the business: this allows teams to move at pace without being constrained by legacy technology or established ways of working

• Build robust processes and toolkits: this enables follow-on projects to move quickly from ideation to launch, supporting a test-and-learn approach

• Establish cross-functional teams: this gives teams greater autonomy and enables faster decision-making

This is one example of how we support our clients across the full journey, from ideation and strategy through to implementation and rollout.