Taking a page from Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods Inc. has launched an open innovation initiative of its own and is relying on customers to help drive its new wave of success. The new program encourages customers to provide ideas for new products, which is not something the company would have done in the past.

Kraft chief executive, Roger Deromedi, is embracing the plan. His company, which makes everything from Oreos to Miracle Whip to Macaroni and Cheese, hasn't had a product hit in a decade. Indeed, profit has dropped 24% to $2.63 billion in the past two years, and the company has announced that it will cut jobs and close plants.

While the plan is still being worked out, one element is to enable the submission of customer ideas on the company's web site and through a toll-free number. P&G's Crest SpinBrush, which also drew on customer input, was an inspiration for the move. "Who knows what we'll get?" said Mary Kay Haben, senior vice president in the Wall Street Journal. She believes that most valuable ideas will be ones that Kraft can rapidly take to market. "We love it if it's already been patented."