This article was originally published in Dutch in 2010 and has been translated and updated in October 2026.
Thanks to all kinds of technological developments, today’s consumers are better informed, more active and able to network with people all over the world. For companies, this opens up new opportunities. It no longer has to be the case that a company comes up with something and then simply tells its customers about it. Products can now be co-created by the customer. That way, customers feel more involved with a product, and it becomes clear what they actually want. This makes co-creation a successful way to get ahead of the competition.
My Starbucks Idea
A good example of co-creation done well comes from the coffee chain Starbucks. In 2008, the company decided to launch new strategic initiatives to increase shareholder value. It wanted a renewed focus on customer experience and innovation. One of the initiatives that grew out of these goals was ‘My Starbucks Idea’: a platform, or open community, where customers are involved in every step of the innovation process. After registering, people can submit their ideas. These are discussed and voted on, and the idea with the most votes rises to the top. On the site, Starbucks shows what it has done with the ideas.
The success
‘My Starbucks Idea’ turned out to be a big success. In 2009 the site had 3 million visitors, 70,000 suggestions and 450,000 votes, and by early 2010 the number of ideas had reached almost 86,000. One of the reasons it worked is that it was not so much about selling something as about sharing a passion. Starbucks also genuinely acted on the ideas. Ideas that were put into practice included the Starbucks VIP card, free coffee for Gold Card members on their birthday and a free cup of coffee when buying a bag of coffee beans. By asking customers for input this openly, Starbucks was able to collect all kinds of information about what its customers really value. The approach also worked because the interaction was honest: critics were given plenty of room to respond as well.
Dell and LEGO
There are more successful examples of co-creation. Dell, for instance, introduced ‘Dell IdeaStorm’, which worked in much the same way as ‘My Starbucks Idea’. By listening to customers’ opinions and ideas, Dell managed to win back its popularity after a long period dominated by customer dissatisfaction and negative publicity. Or take LEGO, which at the time let customers upload their own designs; the best ones actually went into production, with the designer receiving royalties. More than 3,000 designs were being uploaded every week. Thanks to the internet, participation by adults rose enormously. They discovered that LEGO was not just for children and got the chance to share a passion with like-minded people. So there are all kinds of successful ways to get customers involved with a brand. Consumers have shown they are ready for it. Now it is up to most companies to follow.