In business strategy, blue ocean strategy describes creating an uncontested market space instead of competing directly in an existing market.
The concept was popularized by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne in their 2005 book Blue Ocean Strategy. They contrasted “blue oceans,” where a company seeks new demand and makes competition less relevant, with “red oceans,” where established rivals fight within known market boundaries.
A blue ocean approach does not simply mean inventing a completely new technology. It can involve changing a product’s features, price, service model, or target audience so that an offering combines value in a new way. The authors’ strategy canvas and value innovation are tools associated with the framework.
The idea is often confused with ordinary differentiation. Differentiation improves an offer relative to rivals in an existing market; blue ocean strategy emphasizes reshaping the market itself or creating a new category. Critics note that supposedly uncontested spaces can eventually attract competitors.