Consumer needs prove vital for innovation success

Food and beverage manufacturers and retailers must put consumer need at the heart of innovation strategies to ensure their brands remain relevant, says Leatherhead Food Research.

Qualitative research undertaken by Leatherhead with sister company Oakland Innovation indicates that the sector is on the cusp of an age of innovation, largely driven by escalating and evolving consumer demand. Leatherhead believes brands that can cater to these demands will be best placed to thrive over the coming years. Those that don’t could find they are disrupted by customer focused start-ups.

To help organisations purposefully align their strategies with customer needs, Leatherhead has launched a white paper: Consumer focused innovation for better business returns. It outlines ways to harness customer insight via data and sensory science to enhance both incremental product development and longer term breakthrough innovation.

The paper’s author, Cindy Beeren, vice president of consumer sensory and market insight at Leatherhead, says, “Today’s consumers are savvy, well connected and more aware of issues such as nutrition and provenance. They expect food and beverage brands to offer products that suit their individual requirements. But it isn’t only about the product itself, the end to end experience from shopping to eating also needs to be considered.

This is a challenging situation, but brands that use objective, scientific approaches to inform innovation can develop new ideas that resonate with consumers.”