The Swiss company TAG Heuer, maker of luxury watches, is part of the LVMH group (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton). In 2015, CEO Jean-Claude Biver is deciding whether to launch its first-ever fully connected Swiss watch, manufactured in partnership with Google and Intel.

Case A describes the development from concept to production of the world's first and smallest hand-held espresso machine. It shows the importance the role of prototyping plays in developing an innovative product, capturing the phases and decisions involved along the design path. The machine is ready for tooling and the CEO of Nielsen Innovation must decide to bring the product to market.

Paulo Pereira da Silva, a Swiss-trained physicist and CEO of Renova, a privately-owned Portuguese paper company, was attending a Cirque du Soleil show when he first came up with the idea of black toilet paper. To see how far-fetched the idea is, bear in mind that toilet paper is a highly commoditized category with sluggish growth and little innovation.

Unilever is a solid leader in the Brazilian detergent powder market with an 81% market share.