CLIENT STORY
Accelerating Innovation: How Constellation Brands Cuts R&D Timelines from Years to Months with Lux
Client Challenge
When Luis stepped into his role, Constellation Brands was undergoing a strategic shift — from executing supplier-driven operations to becoming an innovation-led organization. The company’s packaging R&D team faced several challenges:
Supplier Dependence
Heavy reliance on external partners restricted visibility into new materials, technologies, and emerging processes.
Learning Pressure
The need to quickly build capabilities without expanding internal R&D created urgency for efficient knowledge acquisition.
Expertise Gap
Limited internal knowledge in fiber-based and sustainable packaging technologies hindered innovation and execution.
About Constellation Brands
A leading producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits, known globally for household names such as Corona, Modelo, Pacifico, and Kim Crawford. With operations across North America and a growing emphasis on innovation, the company is shifting from operational excellence toward proactive R&D across product lines.
Luis Barojas
Packaging R&D Manager for the Beer Division
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Constellation Brands partnered with Lux Research to gain rapid access to expert insight and market intelligence. An example of an area the team saw immediate value was across a range of packaging-related innovation areas. Lux supported the team by:
Mapping the packaging landscape
Providing a comprehensive view of trends in fiber-based packaging, alternative materials, coatings, and sustainability drivers.
Condensing time to insight
What would have taken 6–12 months of internal investigation was reduced to a matter of weeks with Lux’s analyst-driven support.
Guiding supplier conversations
With Lux’s insight, Constellation could engage suppliers with more technical fluency, accelerating negotiations and pushing for innovation.
Enabling faster go/no-go decisions
Research helped the team quickly determine which opportunities were not technically or commercially viable, avoiding wasted cycles.
Extending beyond packaging
Luis also accessed Lux’s expertise in artificial intelligence and alternative processing technologies, enabling cross-functional knowledge transfer within the R&D group.
“It was like having a full-time research team embedded in our company. Lux condensed months or even years of research into weeks — without needing to hire a subject matter expert for each topic.”
The Benefit
Through collaboration with Lux, Constellation Brands realized significant strategic and operational benefits:
Scalable Intelligence
Applied Lux’s expertise across packaging, sustainability, AI, and innovation processes — enhancing ROI across multiple projects.
Resource Efficiency
Avoided the need to hire multiple, experienced subject-matter experts across niche areas —leveraging Lux’s flexible access model instead.
Competitive Edge
Elevated supplier relationships and internal alignment by leading technical conversations based on Lux’s independent, third-party intelligence.
Faster, Informed Decisions
Empowered Luis and his team to say “yes” or “no” to innovation pathways faster, with confidence and clarity.
Time Saved
Regularly reduced 6+ months of internal research to weeks, and years of supplier negotiations to months with Lux’s insights.
“It was like having a full-time research team embedded in our company. Lux condensed months or even years of research into weeks — without needing to hire a subject matter expert for each topic.”
