Disruptive innovations help create a new market and value network and eventually disrupt an existing market or Industry. It usually comes with the consequence of substituting an earlier solution or technology.

In this list, we discover 8 world-changing innovations by family businesses from around the globe.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By Atinncnu – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1052137

1. Instant Noodles

Company: Nissin Foods

Created: 1958

Family: Ando Family

Industry: Food

Nissin’s instant noodles and the subsequent cup noodles revolutionized instant foods and were chosen by the Japanese as their “best invention of the twentieth century”.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By Fanch from Paris, France – Arc en CD, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3216346

2. CD’s

Company: Philips

Created: 1982

Family: Philips Family

Industry: Automobiles

Co-developed by Philips and Sony, the Compact Disc had a greater capacity than computers at the time of its release and marked a shift in digital data storage systems.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By Magnus Bäck – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4303121

3. Ready-to-assemble Furniture

Company: Ikea

Created: 1956

Family: Kamprad Family

Industry: Consumer furniture

Ikea’s ready-to-assemble furniture drastically reduced the price of furnishing for consumers by eliminating shipping and assembly costs.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By Mk2010 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12658875

4. Glue Stick

Company: Henkel

Created: 1969

Family: Henkel Family

Industry: Industrial Products

The Pritt Stick was the world’s first glue stick, employing the twisted-up mechanics found in lipstick and commercializing mess-free glue.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By MissMessie – https://www.flickr.com/photos/97335141@N00/4552792626/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=19965285

5. Zig Zag Fabric

Company: Missoni

Created: 1962

Family: Missoni Family

Industry: Fashion and Textiles

Missoni invented the first multi-coloured zigzag patterned fabric through the “fiammata” technique, revolutionizing the knitwear and fabric industry.

By Blake Burkhart – Flickr, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44401478

6. Blue Jeans

Company: Levi Strauss & Co.

Created: 1873

Family: Strauss Family

Industry: Fashion

Blue jeans were developed utilizing denim enforced with rivets for maximum sturdiness, later becoming synonymous with the American West and redefining casual-wear.

8 More World Changing Innovations by Family Companies
By Curtis Publishing Co. – https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/imgsrv/download/pdf?id=mdp.39015020918861;orient=0;size=100;seq=33;attachment=0, Ladies Home Journal, July 1923, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75997187

7. Condensed Soup

Company: Campbell Soup Company

Created: 1897

Family: Campbell Family

Industry: Foods

Campbell soup produced the first commercially viable method for condensing soup, allowing for smaller packaging and reducing the price of canned soup.

By Taken byfir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.auCanon 20D + Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 – Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=485100

8. MP3 Player

Company: Saehan Group

Created: 1998

Family: Lee Family

Industry: Electronics

The MPMan was the world’s first mass-produced MP3 player, revolutionizing the music industry and marking the shift from physical to digital music consumption.

Tharawat Magazine, Issue 24, 2014