Innovation is a key factor in the food and beverage sector. Developing a product portfolio by surfing on new consumers' trends can enable companies to achieve improved margins and healthy growth. Quick and accurate introduction of innovative products is a competitive advantage for companies able to properly manage new product development and launch.
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According to a 2014 General Mills survey, US people eat 48% more whole grains now than in 2009. It is an impressive rise to compare with the less than 1% growth shown between 2000 and 2004. A whole grain stamp has been created and is appended on nearly 10,000 products. The whole grains movement is driving demand for ancient grains such as amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, couscous, sorghum, teff or brown rice.
First innovation products were composed of quinoa grains. According to Innova Market Insight, global launches of new products made with quinoa rose 50% last year and among them, 38% promoted their gluten-free properties.
Bakery, breakfast cereals and snacks now account for the largest number of new product introductions composed of whole grains, with side dishes and meals gaining quickly.
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Consumer buying behavior has changed tremendously in industrialized countries. Food industries try their best to adapt but raw material price increases, tighter regulations, higher energy and labor cost and health scandals make the challenge extremely difficult to overcome. Most food industries and new businesses focus now on entry-level products, especially in countries with high consumer debt (USA, UK, Spain, Denmark, Europe…). Some other food industries choose to turn to quality or niche products with aggressive marketing campaigns enabling them to limit the decline in sales volumes and remain profitable. For these companies, innovation is key to keep high margins. A good example is the Greek Yogurt trend, which shows a double digit growth for a few years.
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It could be
extremely difficult to deal with various countries regulations when selling
globally. Even if norms and certifications tend to be international (ISO,
HACCP, OHSAS…) the majority of rules are still country specific. For example if
a Spanish company would like to expand into the USA, they would have to adapt
labeling, conform to US protocols, legal requirements, and specific regulations
about health and sanitary issues.
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Talking about palm oil is very trendy. A few years ago, Greenpeace opened a new debate with the Kit Kat ads and orangutans protection event to find a solution to the palm oil challenge. At that time consumers discovered this new oil revolution. But today, the palm oil issue has been demonized and it could be difficult to disentangle fact from fiction, especially when politics use the topic to get their program approved or ecological lobbies consider industries as criminals against humanity …
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