How can SMEs successfully navigate the digital transformation? Simon Balz, Head of Technology at Betty Bossi, explains why customer experience comes first in every project, what tomatoes have to do with digital transformation – and why some employees ask: "Are we still needed?"
From start-up to long-established company Betty Bossi
Simon, you come from the world of start-ups and are now Head of Technology at Betty Bossi. What prompted you to take this step?
Simon Balz: It's the opportunity to help shape the digital transformation at a well-known Swiss company. Betty Bossi is currently undergoing major technological change – and I was attracted by the chance to contribute my experience in this area.
What distinguishes working in an SME from working in a start-up?
In a start-up, decisions are made very quickly, and people adapt to them. At Betty Bossi, digital transformation is a process. You shape change together with people. That requires patience and mutual understanding.
Which methods from the start-up world help you with digital transformation in SMEs?
Above all, the iterative approach. Not making decisions based on gut feeling, but testing hypotheses on the market, adapting them and trying them out again.
At Betty Bossi, digital transformation is a process. You shape change together with people.
Simon Balz, Head of Technology at Betty Bossi
Digital transformation starts with the customer
You are responsible for the technology behind digital transformation. But it's not just about technology, is it?
Ultimately, it's the added value for customers that counts. We never set up projects as purely technological projects. We ask: what customer experience do we want to create? And then we look at what systems and technologies are needed to achieve this.
How do you convince other employees of these principles?
Through experience and facts. I try to get people excited about trying something new – and then we see what comes of it together. In the end, concrete results are the most convincing.
How do you proceed when someone requests a new feature – for example, because the competition has it?
Employees can submit new features via a portal. We then check: Does the problem really exist? We formulate a hypothesis about the customer benefit, start with a small experiment, measure the success and adapt. Strategy also plays a role in prioritisation.
We never set up projects as purely technological projects. We ask: What customer experience do we want to create?
Simon Balz, Head of Technology at Betty Bossi
How does feedback from your customers flow into the digital transformation?
The customer centre is our yardstick. When we launch something new and it doesn't work as intended, we see it immediately in hundreds of support requests. Constructive feedback flows directly into the prioritisation of new features. We also conduct targeted market research.
There is a board with real-time KPIs hanging in your lunch kitchen. Why?
The point is that the entire company is guided by the most important key figures: sales, conversion rates. This transparency is crucial in digital transformation. Everyone needs to understand the priorities.
How AI accelerates digital transformation
What role does artificial intelligence (AI) play in your digital transformation?
A central one. We have the AI chatbot ‘Ask Betty’ on our website. You can ask it culinary questions, and it has access to our entire recipe and product database. The chatbot even creates weekly plans based on individual needs. For us, this is a prime example of how generative AI creates real added value.
What has changed as a result of using AI?
Visits to the traditional Q&A section have declined. People prefer to use the chatbot – and get what they want. At the same time, the number of enquiries to the customer centre has fallen. This saves resources.
Where else do you use AI?
We are experimenting with using AI to generate added value from product data or recipes. For example, in the automated recognition of ingredients and their energy values. We also see a lot of potential in process automation. There are exciting applications here, especially for SMEs.
Where the digital transformation is leading at Betty Bossi
Which technology trends will shape the digital transformation at Betty Bossi?
AI is here to stay. The benefits are simply too great. We also see a lot of potential in expanded networking: for example, when tablets or kitchen appliances interact directly with our recipe database and the individual preferences of users.
Where do you see Betty Bossi in three years?
The market is changing. Cheap products are available everywhere. We have to differentiate ourselves. That means developing additional services that go beyond an online shop. We want to combine culinary experience with technology and make everyday life in the kitchen easier.
How is digital transformation affecting the people at Betty Bossi?
Reactions vary. We see a lot of enthusiasm, but also pragmatism. With AI, there are questions about data protection and legal issues that we need to resolve. At the same time, it is clear that technological changes can also trigger uncertainties – for example, when AI suddenly takes over tasks that were previously performed by humans. This quickly raises the question, "Am I still needed?" But AI does not simply replace people; it changes their roles and working methods, which is why we must continue to evolve.
We want to combine culinary experience with technology and make everyday life in the kitchen easier.
Simon Balz, Head of Technology at Betty Bossi
‘Green Betty’: Sustainability as part of the digital transformation
Tell me about your new ‘Green Betty’ feature.
We have developed a model to assess the environmental impact of each recipe on a scale of 1 to 5. This shows how digital transformation can also support sustainability goals.
Can't you just ask ChatGPT?
In reality, calculating the environmental impact of an ingredient is extremely complex. Take tomatoes, for example: those from Spain are not automatically worse than Swiss tomatoes, because greenhouses here often generate more environmental impact than transport. It depends on seasonality, quantity, origin and combinations. Behind "Green Betty" lies a great deal of intelligent modelling and science from our project partner, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences.
What's the feedback like?
Extremely positive. This can be a really good lever if families take into account not only preferences and health aspects when planning their weekly menus, but also the environmental impact.
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