The “blue ocean strategy” is a strategic model developed by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their 2005 book of the same name, Blue Ocean Strategy. This strategy aims to help companies develop unexplored market niches without direct competition, where they can thrive and achieve sustainable growth.

The concept of the blue ocean contrasts with the concept of the red ocean, which represents existing markets, where companies battle for market share. The blue ocean strategy proposes that companies identify new markets through innovation and differentiation, instead of investing in saturated markets.

Among the objectives of the blue ocean strategy are:

1. Demand development: Instead of vying for share in saturated markets companies develop new demand, identifying unmet customer needs and offering innovative solutions.
2. Avoid direct competition: By developing a new market space companies avoid direct competition and position themselves as leaders in the new space.
3. Achieve profitable growth: Sustainable and profitable growth is possible in the new space, while prices and margins in saturated markets are constantly under pressure.

A blue ocean strategy is developed following these pillar principles:

1. Innovative value: Offer unique and innovative value to consumers through new features, services, or benefits that meet their needs in a way that is superior to the competition.
2. Low cost: Offer superior value with operational efficiency and cost reduction, in order to ensure higher margins.
3. Customer focus: Put the customer at the center, seeking to deeply understand their needs and desires and offer solutions that meet or even exceed their expectations. This implies a continuous effort to innovate and improve.
4. Making competition irrelevant: Companies must break with industry conventions and establish new rules to avoid direct competition and establish a unique positioning.
5. Strategic alignment: Internal strategic alignment, where all areas of the company work together in search of innovation and differentiation, is crucial to develop and maintain a blue ocean.

In sum, the blue ocean strategy proposes that companies identify and explore a new market space through innovation and differentiation, thereby avoiding direct competition and achieving growth above the market average.