WITH consumers expecting more choices in food and beverage products, listening to the consumer as the basis for new product development is more important than ever, according to Colmar Brunton group account director, Karen Stanton.
“Some manufacturers keep coming to us with the same old ideas,” Stanton told Food Magazine.
“Where are the new things? What are you doing to deliver to consumer expectations? What are you doing to deliver something new and exciting, because that’s what consumers are looking for.”
Innovation, says Stanton, is the key to a successful product. She says even the traditional products with strong brand recognition are changing.
“All major manufacturers are looking at how they can do things better, quicker, smarter, faster, newer because the consumer needs are just changing so rapidly,” she said,
“Consumer expectations are incredibly high. You only need to look at new products like juice with iron and calcium, and Coca-Cola with the new cherry flavour. Consumers are expecting things to be specific for them.”
Consumers also want good food quickly.
“People have been saying that for a long time, but the whole organic thing is just going to be huge, and people just aren’t happy to have low fat anymore,” Stanton said.
“It’s got to be low-trans fatty acid. It’s got to be certain types of fat. I think with McDonald’s moving to some of their fresh things on the menu is a start in that direction.”
Food and beverage manufacturers are also changing their strategy in how they are marketing products, according to Stanton, who points to a trend towards not only communicating more information about a product, but explaining the benefits of the product’s contents. Consumers are also becoming more environmentally conscious with a preference for simple packaging.
“Consumers don’t want packs within packs, or paper inside boxes in cartons,” Stanton said.
“They want the least amount of packaging as possible. In terms of design it’s been more about simplicity, and there’s almost an expectation from consumers that packaging is recyclable.”
However, perhaps the biggest challenge for food and beverage manufacturers, says Stanton, is how they respond to new consumer demands for healthier foods.
“There is a trend towards food as medicine and almost an expectation from a consumer that food is going to somehow be fortified. “This issue is going to be absolutely huge,” Stanton said. “No longer is it just bottles of water, for example; it’s got to have minerals.
“People want products specifically for their dietary requirements whether that be low-fat, high energy or low sugar. It’s going to be the next step, so food as medicine and fortification is going to be critical.”
For more information, contact Karen Stanton at Colmar Brunton: karen@sydney.cbr.com.au