Making the most of the big drivers of volume in food and drink is the major priority for all food and drink manufacturers. But scratch the surface and the complexity of the challenge to meet these trends becomes more apparent.
Making the most of emerging and established trends is vitally important for successful NPD. It can also be the saviour of companies looking to change direction, shed an unwanted unhealthy image, or looking for new avenues for revenue.
Convenience
Long established as a major driver of food and drink innovation over the past 30 years, right back to the launch by M&S of chilled ready-meals and the chilled pre-packed sandwich, convenience is still being utilised by manufacturers to drive sales.
One of the biggest sectors still to be fully utilised is food-on-the-go, a growing sector which in the past has been held back by the British cultural barriers to eating whilst walking, driving or sitting on a train. With these barriers reducing, new occasions for consumption are opening up. In the US, it is estimated that nearly 20% of all food is consumed in the Car, and with the continued expansion of Forecourts, this trend will continue to grow in the UK.
It is estimated that the time taken to cook the average UK meal will be around 8 minutes by 2015, down from 1 hour in 1980. Despite celebrity chefs, the trend for faster preparation is likely to continue.
Health
Products which start to address the complex arena of Health are finding rich rewards.
The term ‘Health’ covers so many different aspects of a food or drink product, from the basic ingredients through to specific consumption occasions, pack sizes, formats, etc. Brands that have tackled the basic ‘hygiene issues’ of fat, salt and sugar are seeing growth in sales.
Small tweaks to product ingredients, which remove barriers to consumption, are great for a short term fix, but the underlying long-term health aspects need to be tackled. Sugar, calories and other ‘nasties’ will become the basic health messages used by government to tackle the obesity crisis, and brand should be on the forefront of tackling these before they gain a higher health profile.
Understanding what health is, below the headline ingredients issues, is critical for brand survival and regenerating your brands worth to the consumer. ‘Health’ is therefore, in our view, a megatrend which is the most important to target, and target well.
Premiumness
Giving consumers the permission to consume, in the knowledge that it is indulgent and that you should not eat/ drink it everyday, is growing quickly. It acknowledges the health megatrend, but also acknowledges the role ‘self-balancing’ plays in a consumer’s repertoire of products.
Self-balancing what you eat and drink, for instance, having a Diet Coke to allow you the permission to have a Big Mac and Large Fries, has long been in existence. However, both premiumised products and low fat products have a role to play here, and many opportunities exist for brands to fulfil these roles.
Premiumness does not have to equal small volumes. Some successful premium products (e.g. Innocent, Dorset Cereals, Kettle Chips) are now being sold in large enough volumes to be considered as major players.
Using premiumness to re-awaken a sector is also common place and opportunities still abound for this to take place.
Taste
It should be remembered that above all, taste is a megatrend that will always be with us. New products which underperform in taste will always fail and for any brand, taste is a factor which has to be addressed.
Taste makes or breaks a new product launch and it has to fit your proposition, its promises and the brand.
Exploiting megatrends is not an easy task. Demystifying what these trends mean for your brand is key to any NPD process.
Chris, Sinclair, Managing Director (Joint), The Oxford Research Agency. Contact Chris on +44 (0)1865 728272 or email chris.sinclair@tora.co.uk
