Why the Toblerone x Biscoff Mashup Scored in the Top 5% of 60,000 Innovations
Toblerone's new Diamond Truffles with Lotus Biscoff scored an exceptional 5.8 stars on System1's Test Your Innovation — the top 5% of more than 60,000 ideas tested — while its launch ad hit 5.6 stars: a textbook case of 'Fluent Innovation', something new built on two things people already love.
The scores: exceptional across the board
Toblerone's collaboration with Lotus Biscoff has posted some of the strongest testing numbers you'll see. The new Toblerone Diamond Truffles with Biscoff earned a 5.8-Star rating on System1's Test Your Innovation — placing it in the top 5% of more than 60,000 innovations in System1's database, a strong predictor of real sales potential. Two-thirds of people (66%) felt happy when shown the concept and a further 14% were surprised; just 4% had a negative reaction, and only 17% were neutral, less than half the 35% average.
The commercial signals were just as strong: a Buy Shares score of 78% (nearly eight in ten would hypothetically invest in it) and an exceptional Emotion-into-Action score of 84. The launch advert matched the product, scoring 5.6 Stars for long-term brand growth, a Spike score of 1.44 for short-term sales, and a Fluency score of 83 for strong brand recognition.
What 'Fluent Innovation' really means
System1 calls this a case of 'Fluent Innovation' — a new product that builds on familiar, recognisable qualities rather than asking people to embrace something entirely alien. Toblerone and Lotus Biscoff are two distinctive, well-loved flavours; combine them and you get something new that consumers understand instantly, with advertising that makes the innovation immediately recognisable.
That instant understanding is the whole point. Most new products fail not because they're bad but because they're unfamiliar — shoppers don't have a mental shortcut for them. A mashup of two beloved brands arrives pre-understood: you already know what Toblerone tastes like, you already know Biscoff, so 'the two together' needs almost no explaining.
Marketing Minute's read: why brand mashups are a low-risk growth play
The deeper lesson for marketers is that the safest-looking innovation is often the one that borrows equity from two trusted names at once. A mashup lowers the single biggest barrier to trial — the 'will I actually like this?' risk — because both halves are already proven, and it hands the advertising an instant hook. Done well, it's one of the highest-odds bets in the innovation playbook.
But the conditions matter. Mashups only work when both brands are genuinely loved and the pairing makes intuitive sense; bolt together two tenuously-related names and you get a gimmick that tests badly and fades fast. And the advertising has to carry the same fluency as the product — System1's data shows the ad succeeded precisely because it made the new idea immediately recognisable. The takeaway for any brand: you don't have to invent something the world has never seen. Often the biggest wins come from combining two familiar, loved things in a way that feels new but instantly understood.
Quick FAQ
What is a System1 Star Rating?
It predicts an innovation's or ad's likely in-market performance by combining consumers' emotional responses, simulated share-trading and decision speed. The scale runs up to 5.9 stars; a 5.8 puts this product in the top 5% of over 60,000 ideas tested.
Why do brand collaborations like this tend to work?
They're 'Fluent Innovation' — something new built on the familiar. Two loved brands lower the 'will I like it?' risk and make the idea instantly recognisable, so shoppers understand and accept it faster.
Two iconic category disruptors collide here, and I'm already halfway to the supermarket. Lotus's unique flavour meets Toblerone's 'Never Square' attitude: different, distinctive and equally loved. — Tristan Findlay, Chief Growth Officer, Innovation at System1
Innovation doesn't have to be alien. The biggest wins often come from combining two things people already love — and advertising that makes the new instantly recognisable.
What two familiar, loved ideas could your brand combine into something that feels new but is instantly understood?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: System1 Test Your Innovation and Test Your Ad results (via Brilliant Relations). Marketing Minute analysis.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
