What Creaholic does

Creaholic SA is a Swiss innovation consultancy founded in 1986 and headquartered at Rue Centrale 115 in Biel/Bienne, operating as a private corporation (Creaholic SA) with 11-50 employees. The firm is structured as an 'innovation factory' that delivers professional services across three pillars: Creative (product development, new technology creation, service design), Strategic (innovation strategy and growth, future thinking, customer experience management, organization and culture), and Transformative (innovation training, culture checkpoint, employee surveys, event-space rental). Core deliverables include invention of new products, reimagining of existing products, prototyping, service concept validation, and culture transformation, executed by a network of designers, engineers, and strategists (the firm cites 450 professional inventors and 100 nationalities across its extended bench).

The business model is project-based professional services revenue, with engagements sourced via direct client contact (Project inquiries, Speaker requests, Media), content marketing (blog, 'Creaholic Thoughts' newsletter, LinkedIn, Instagram), and the Innovation Nights event series in Biel/Bienne. The firm serves a horizontally segmented client base of 5,000 companies across diverse industries (telecommunications, insurance, sustainability, medtech, smart home, banking, advertising technology), with named enterprise clients including Swisscom, Raiffeisen, and KAUST alongside startup engagements such as 4D Lifetec, Arboloom, Neuropro, and Working Bicycle. Pricing is custom-quoted per engagement and is not publicly disclosed.

Over nearly four decades, Creaholic claims 1,500+ projects, 140 spin-off companies, 2,500 patent families, 30 digital products, and 75,000 professionals trained, with international delivery spanning the USA, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. The firm also operates an incubation program that has produced ventures such as Inpressing (Swiss Climate Foundation grantee) and supported the development of CE-marked medical devices such as the 4D Lifetest lung cancer diagnostic. There is no public listing, no disclosed institutional investment, and no parent company; ownership appears to remain with founders or management.

Name

Creaholic

Legal name

Creaholic SA

Website

https://www.creaholic.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Swiss innovation consultancy founded in 1986 and based in Biel/Bienne, delivering product development, service design, innovation strategy, and culture transformation to enterprise and startup clients across diverse industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Customer, Marketing & Sales Consulting (BPAHACAG)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• Product development
• Service design
• Technology creation
• Innovation training

Headquarters

HQ city

Biel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Innovation Consulting & Project Services: Professional services revenue from innovation strategy consulting, product development projects, service design, new technology creation, and organization/culture transformation engagements. Projects are delivered for clients across various industries including Medtech, sustainability, and digital solutions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Creaholic is a Swiss innovation consultancy that helps organizations develop new products, services, technologies, business models, and innovation cultures through consulting, hands-on development, design, and training engagements. The firm delivers end-to-end innovation work — from strategy and ideation through prototyping, patenting, and spin-off formation — for corporate clients seeking sustained innovation capability.

Product overview

Creaholic is an innovation factory founded in 1986, offering professional invention and innovation consulting services rather than a standalone software product. The company provides a portfolio of interconnected service offerings organized under four pillars: Strategic (Innovation Strategy, Future Thinking, Customer Experience Management, Organisation & Culture), Creative (Product Development, New Technology Creation, Service Design), and Transformative (Innovation Training, Culture Checkpoint, Pulse Digital Employee Survey, and the Invention Ramp event space). Creaholic also operates an Incubation Program that has produced spin-off entities and products. The company claims 30 digital products and 140 spin-offs as outcomes of its innovation factory model. Featured client projects include the 4D Lifetest medical device (cancer diagnostics), Working Bicycle's sustainable advertising box, Swisscom's insurance platform (Swisscom Sure), the KAUST smart home initiative, and the NeuroPro epilepsy headset. The company positions itself as supporting organizations through the full innovation lifecycle, from ideation through prototyping to commercialization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Innovation Consulting Strategic and operational innovation advisory engagements helping organizations identify opportunities, define innovation roadmaps, and structure their innovation programs. Targeted at corporate clients seeking external perspective and structured methods.
• Product Development Hands-on development of new physical and digital products for client organizations, from concept through prototyping and launch readiness. Delivered by an in-house team drawing on 450 professional inventors.
• Service Design Design of new customer-facing and back-office services for client organizations, combining user research, service blueprinting, and prototyping to deliver implementable service concepts.
• Technology Creation Applied research and invention services that generate new technologies for client organizations, with a portfolio of 2,500 patent families generated across industries. Targeted at clients seeking novel IP and defensible technical assets.
• Organization and Culture Transformation Programs that help client organizations build internal innovation capability, culture, and operating models to sustain innovation beyond individual projects. Includes leadership alignment and capability-building workstreams.
• Innovation Training Structured training programs that teach Creaholic's innovation methods to client teams, with 75,000 clients trained historically. Targeted at organizations that want to embed innovation practices internally.
• Spin-off Creation End-to-end support for creating new ventures or business units out of innovation work, with 140 spin-offs originated over the firm's history. Includes concept validation, entity formation, and early-stage commercialization.

Quantifiable outcome

• 75,000 clients trained in innovation methods
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• EMPA (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with EMPA laboratory during the 4D Lifetec project. Visited the lab to observe comet assay processes and interviewed lab professionals about their needs and context of the process to gain important insights for product development.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy offering product development, service design, and strategy services to enterprises. Directly comparable to Creaholic's product development, service design, and innovation strategy pillars, though IDEO operates at significantly larger scale with a more global footprint.
• Frog Design: Innovation and design consultancy delivering product design, brand, and digital transformation services. Comparable to Creaholic in product invention and design development focus, with similar enterprise client base across telecom, healthcare, and consumer goods.
• Smart Design: Product and service design consultancy offering invention, prototyping, and brand experience work. Closely aligned with Creaholic's professional invention and product development mandate, with comparable boutique scale.
• Fjord (Accenture): Service design and innovation consultancy within Accenture Interactive, focused on customer experience, service design, and digital transformation. Comparable to Creaholic's service design and customer experience management offerings, but with the scale and integration of a global system integrator.
• Hype Innovation: Innovation management software and consulting firm offering innovation strategy, idea management, and culture transformation services. Comparable to Creaholic's innovation strategy, organization & culture, and skills/training offerings, with a stronger technology platform component.
• Livework: European service design consultancy specializing in service innovation and customer experience. Direct peer on Creaholic's service design pillar with similar boutique, project-based delivery model and European client base.
• Continuum Innovation: Innovation design consultancy offering human-centered design, product development, and innovation strategy services. Directly comparable to Creaholic's core offering across product development and innovation strategy with similar boutique positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Doblin (Deloitte): Deloitte's innovation strategy practice focused on innovation maturity, strategy, and transformation. Comparable to Creaholic's innovation strategy pillar but operating as part of a Big Four firm with much broader scale, delivery capacity, and enterprise access.
• McKinsey & Company: Global management consulting firm with significant innovation, design, and growth practices. Competes with Creaholic for enterprise innovation and growth mandates but at vastly larger scale, broader service portfolio, and C-suite-level access.

Others

• PDMa Innovation Services: Professional association for product development and management practitioners that provides frameworks, training, and certification in innovation management. Adjacent to Creaholic's innovation skills and training pillar, serving as an ecosystem and standards body rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creaholic
• Instagraminstagram.com/creaholic.sa
• Xx.com/creaholicsa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creaholic