Innovation Observed

2012-01-23T11:17:00.000-05:00

Sobering thoughts for the New Year?

I read recently that the earliest share certificate dates back to 1288 when Stora Enso granted Bishop Vateras 12.5% of a Swedish copper mountain. Stora Enso, by the way, is still trading as a pulp and paper manufacturer!

Intrigued, I discovered that the world’s oldest company is claimed to be a hotel in Japan, founded in 705, and according to the credit rating agency, Tokyo Shoku, there are more than 20,000 Japanese companies over 100 years old.

Founded in 705

And yet when researchers, Arnold King and Nick Schulz reviewed, the 1957 Fortune 500 list against that of 1997 they found that just 40 years on only 74 companies remained! They called this Creative Destruction.

Further investigation led to a paper by Professor Richard Foster of Yale who found that the average lifespan of an S&P 500 company has decreased by more than 50 years in the last century, from 67 in the 1920’s to just 15 today!

Just 15 years

The Japanese believe the secret to corporate longevity is to stay small, avoid takeovers and mergers, and to have a belief that their mission is not just the constant pursuit of profit.

King & Schulz however think it’s about keeping up with innovation.

Role of Innovation

I’m not sure that staying small and making profit a secondary objective is the sort of advice that is appreciated from consultants!

But focusing on Innovation………….that’s a different matter, but then I would say that wouldn’t I!

2011-11-21T09:32:00.000-05:00

The genius of everyday things!

London's Science Museum has just opened a new exhibition, "Hidden Heroes". It features numerous inventions we now take for granted like wire coat hangers, rubber bands, tea bags and bubble wrap. It calls them "the genius of everyday things".

I was struck by the simplicity of the ideas and it resonated strongly when I recalled a recent survey finding that whilst 78% of US households claim to like trying new products, 75% of homes try fewer than 10 new items each year.
That's less than 10 from a total of 105,000 new food and drinks noted by Mintel.

The question most companies face is how do I get my new product into the 10 that are tried (or how do I get to increase the total to 11!).

I think the answer is observable in the Museum:
- Successful ideas require little thought by the consumer

- They intuitively communicate their benefit

- The innovatory feature is truly valuable to the consumer

Wire coat hangers, rubber bands, tea bags and bubble wrap - each one fits these three imperatives.
They are all meaningful, understandable and relevant.

2011-10-11T18:26:00.000-04:00

Brand Elasticity

Living in New Hampshire has many advantages just one of which is the excellent range (and price) offered by the NH State Liquor store, my most recent visit added yet more value. A fascinating example of brand elasticity.

Can you imagine drinking a wine branded Smirnoff? Or Kettle One? Or Stolichnaya? Nor me – but could it work the other way around, a Vodka called Mouton Cadet? No. A whisky named Chateau Latour? No again, although maybe a brandy ..…?

It all depends on the associations the name carries and the delightfully named Cupcake Wine does seem to me to carry off the tricky task of being appropriate for Vodka too.

For the record Cupcake is not the product of a small eccentric producer but marketed by The Wine Group, the 3rd largest US wine producer and behind numerous other brands including Franzia claimed to be the worlds most popular wine box.

The Wine Group was formed by (amongst other purchases) the acquisition of Coca-Colas wine interests, clearly there’s marketing in its DNA.

2011-07-25T22:18:00.000-04:00

Its not a failure it’s a learning experience!
Written for a soon to be published book on Innovation Delivery

Its often stated that 9 out of 10 new products fail, and academic researchers have claimed that it takes 3000 ideas to achieve 1 commercial success. There are so many definitions of what is new and what constitutes success or failure that it would be easy to challenge any of these findings but no-one will dispute the general belief that there are more failures than successes and that achieving real breakthroughs is difficult – very difficult.

But although it sounds like a Mother saying “don’t give up dear” as her child learns to ride a bike, each failure really does bring success closer. Scientists don’t expect every experiment to succeed, so they analyse the reasons for failure and try to correct them, its what empirical science does. Business however views failure like death, its career threatening Managers sensing failure hurry to disassociate themselves from projects, and rush to start something new to sound positive and confident about.

There is a lot of truth in the old saying that success has many parents but failure is a bastard!

I’ve seen test markets fail because a product manufactured in a pilot plant didn’t perform properly and yet despite an easy fix the whole test was junked. I’ve seen concepts bomb in research when changing just two words would have overcome the issue. I’ve seen strong purchase and repeat purchase scores discarded because they didn’t come in fast enough.

The management teams all knew the reasons for these problems and yet such was the fear, not so much of the financial effect of failure but of personal reputation, that no one did the obvious and identified the problem, sought how to correct it and re-launched.

No one wants to fail, its expensive and time consuming, just like developing and researching the idea was, so view a market launch problem as a step in the process not the last stage. Analyse what needs to change, change it and try again.

Failure gives you real world market experience and that brings the old 9 out of 10 fail metric down to much more manageable odds.

The sort of odds that careers and empires grow from not hide from!

2011-07-06T10:51:00.000-04:00

Please let this be a failure!

Word reaches me from England that the country is in danger of returning to its "food is just fuel" roots.

The Brits invented the sandwich (you do know the story of its invention by the Earl Of Sandwich don’t you….he called for a food that he could eat whilst at the gambling tables).

Later retailer Marks & Spencer and their suppliers sorted out how to make, deliver and sell delicious sandwiches nationwide despite a 24 hour product life.

But now I hear that Booker, a major grocery distributor, has developed a 14 day sandwich.

Technically its classic gas flush packaging, careful choice of ingredients, no tomatoes or lettuce to make it soggy and an oat based bread that defies staleness longer.

Strategically it may offer business advantages, less waste and better on shelf availability all leading to a new profit opportunity.

Emotionally however I’m hoping its going to be a classic case history failure. Its food, not emergency rations, its about pleasure as well as nutrition.

Come on Britain, we’ve come so far, lets not go back to “the French live to eat but we Brits eat to live”.

2011-06-27T09:05:00.000-04:00

What no packaging - at all?

Thanks to the very wonderful Morning Cup I've just been reading about in.gredients an Austin Texas start up that claims/aims to be the first grocery store that you bring your own packs to.
All lines will be sold from bulk and shoppers fill their own containers whether its grains, dairy, detergents or even wine.

One for the very committed eco warrior - me, I'll stick to Farmer Markets, no or low packaging, local products, meet the farmer......
in.gredients is currently raising investment through indiegogo the micro funding site.

2011-06-23T10:16:00.000-04:00

This study will change markets!

The Washington Post reports a 20 year 120,000 respondent study by Harvard on US eating patterns and weight change.
The federally funded study found striking differences in how various foods and drinks — as well as exercise, sleep patterns and other lifestyle choices — affect whether people gradually get fatter.

The findings suggest that its not just calories in calories out that is the only variable - its also where the calories came from and the different effects of various foods on how our bodies convert energy.
I'm guessing that this study is going to launch numerous new diets and some fascinating new food claims. I'm just glad I'm not working with a potato client today!

2011-05-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

Robotics

I usually write about developments in food and drink but I stumbled on a fascinating series of videos from German Robotics firm Festo.

They have developed air or water flying pengiuns, and even a heavyier than air powered seagull as part of their "bionic learning process".

This is real innovation observed - do have a look its a facinating mixture of beauty, form, fuction and creativity all in one!

Air Penguins http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/9780_10393.htm#id_10393

Aqua Penguins http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/9780_10393.htm#id_10393

Smart Bird http://www.festo.com/cms/en_corp/9780_10393.htm#id_10393

2011-05-10T12:41:00.000-04:00

I knew that!

Describing a cafeteria experiment Brian Wasink* writing in Nutrition Action states ....instead of Chocolate cake we called it Belgian Black Forest Cake ...and sales jumped by 27%.

I think all marketeers and most consumers know that adjectives and yummy words work - but I've never seen any research conducted that claims to have proven it. Its so obvious that I think we just accepted it as a truth.

I'd love to know if Black Forest Gateaux with dark Belgian Chocolate and ripe Italian Cherries would have worked even better!

*Brian Wansink is the John S Dyson Professor of Marketing in the Applied Economics and Management Department at Cornell Unversity

2011-03-22T20:18:00.001-04:00

Its called a what?

Reading this months Atlantic magazine I was intrigued by an article about Phosphates, or to be exact Acid Phosphate drinks. Sounds great doesn’t it, almost as good as the Ad copy for a past brand leader Horsfords Acid Phosphate, “Its not nauseous but agreeable to the taste”. Move over Don Draper.

The article goes on to describe the history of these marvelous drinks - find a copy of Darcy O’Neil’s book Fix the Pumps to learn more – my thoughts however strayed to all those really strange sounding food and drink names I’ve encounter since I moved to the US.

If you were launching a new drink would anyone name the category Phosphate, or Seltzer or even Carbonate ?

Mmm, try a glass of our new all natural Phosphate.

Its not just drinks though, I’ve just about got used to eating a “Sub” and I can even understand that it looks a little submarine like in shape but why in heavens name did anyone try calling them a “Hoagie” or a “Grinder” or, (and I will happily give a prize to anyone who can tell me the derivation) a “Dagwood”.

And if we stay on this theme, why are they called Oreos, and why was their competitor called a Hydrox (thinking about that one it would be perfect for laundry detergents).

I’d love to hear of any other strange names……….

2011-03-06T11:18:00.000-05:00

Is Private Label Growth here to stay?

AC Neilsen* (hat tip to George Ward @ShopMktgGeorge ) released new figures last week showing the growth of Private Label purchases around the world.

Consumers claim that they will continue to purchase private label even when their economy turns up again and national comparison figures show Switzerland leading the pack at 46% of all sales closely followed by my old home country the UK on 43%, with even the US now up to 17%.

Whilst its commonly thought that price is the only driver of Private Label my belief is that innovation is at least as important. Its only when store brands behave like manufacturer brands that they are seen as at least equal in consumer’s eyes.

In the UK food market the rapid growth of the chill fresh ready to cook and ready meals markets has been entirely private label and the successful launch of premium positioned foods by retailers like Tesco with their “Finest” range, or J Sainsbury with “Taste the Difference” has shown many a branded manufacturer the real power of Good, Better, Best.

Is there a natural limit to private label’s share? Looking again at the UK Sainsbury had to rapidly roll back on own label when they hit around 60% of all sales - shoppers deserted them – but that was a full store average, my guess is that some markets can go to 100% but that others have sufficiently entrenched brands to keep own label almost fully at bay.

*http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/global-private-label-report-the-rise-of-the-value-conscious-shopper/

2011-03-02T15:19:00.001-05:00

Made in ???
Like many I watched an ABC news segment this morning examining a Dallas family home and removing all the goods NOT made in the USA. The house was bare at the end, just a small vase left.

You can watch it at http://abcnews.go.com/US/MadeInAmerica/made-america-meet-usry-family/story?id=12950594

In the 1960’s nearly 90% of the good typical American families purchased were made in the USA – now it less than 50%.
Its claimed that an increaseof 1%, on average just 18cents a day would create 200,000 new American jobs.

As a transplanted Brit I rememeber a UK campaign to buy British for similar reasons. It soon faded away. Can the US do better? There certainly seems to be a mood swing going on with every car ad claiming some sort of US link from Chevy ( I thought FIAT of Italy had bought them) defining the high ground with imported from Detroit through to BMW claiming the worlds supply of X3’s is made in the US.

Does anyone know what proportion of our food is made in China?

2010-07-23T17:51:00.001-04:00

Good Better Best

Retail marketing 101 – can we differentiate enough to have 3 levels of quality? Good Better Best?

In the UK Own label frequently runs all three although they will probably be described as Value Brand, Standard Brand and what the British Grocers brand mark as Taste the Difference (J Sainsbury) or Finest (Tesco) or Seriously (Waitrose).

Whilst US Grocers appear to achieve a similar spread of quality and price points by stocking more brands than their British counterparts there are clearly some markets with room to differentiate further. If J Sainsbury (Britain’s 2nd largest Grocer) can stock Value, Standard and Taste the Difference Tomatoes together with Organic and vine ripened, cherry, plum etc then surely this is a possible in the US too?

2010-07-12T18:26:00.000-04:00

You like potato and I like potahto, You like tomato and I like tomahto

Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto, Let's call the whole thing off.
Fred Astaire? Louis Armstrong?

My all too infrequent blogs tend to seek comparisons between The US and European food products, services and attitudes and to be primarily composed from a UK based desk.

Times change and I’m now living in the USA, my thoughts are still about food comparisons, but rather more every day in nature.

Today my focus is on vegetable merchandising and how US grocery displays produce so appetisingly – the stacked high and misted items look great, the peppers shining, the potatoes scrubbed (but individually shrink wrapped spuds, I really don’t get that).

The UK sections have just as many varieties, but somehow it’s the display art and that misted water which makes such a visual difference.

There is one question I would love an answer on - why are American Carrots and Parsnips so long and thin versus British short fat ones? The Brits win on a peel to flesh ratio!

US Produce Display

UK Produce & fatter parsnips!

2010-02-08T08:53:00.005-05:00

Who should lead innovation?

I've worked with innovation teams in f.m.c.g, in d.i.y even in finance and seen teams composed and led by almost every commercial discipline. I like the consumer focus that marketing brings, I admire the passion that R&D brings and increasingly I enjoy the sheer enthusiasm that sales bring to Customer Co-Innovation. Now that LinkedIn offer the ability to poll its members I've been able to ask others their views. Their answers Marketing closely followed by R&D - and with some surprising differences through the analysis

On the poll site I've had lots of great insights - many to do with the nature of leadership of any team - and of course I will welcome further comments here - it sounds like a cop out but my feeling is that its enthusiasm and desire for success rather than any particular background that wins.

(Double click the charts to increase the size!)

2009-11-02T12:25:00.002-05:00

How well do any of us really know our consmers?

Do you know how many seconds the average person lives? 2,456,654,400 (or 77.9 years). Or how many tons of ffod packaging you'll strugle to open in a lifetime? 8.49. How many pigs, cows, sheep you'll (barring religious or vegie choice) 15, 4.5 and 21. And what about chickens? 1201.

Do you know how many words will be spoken by the average person? 123,205,750. Beers drunk? 10,351 (remember this is an average, some of us may have reached this figure already.)

What about the miles we'll walk in the average life? 15,464 Friendships made? 1,700. Tears cried?121 pints.

And if you think life will go by in the blink of an eye, it won't. On average it will take 415 million blinks.

2009-09-28T21:59:00.002-04:00

Vanity Searches!

OK I admit it, we've all done it so I put my name into Bing to see if I still existed and there it was, a link to an interview with the UK Trade Mag Marketing Week in January 1996!

Scarily the same as 2009 - recessions come and recessions go........

Marketing Week
Fri, 19 Jan 1996

Risky Business

"Little wonder that during the recession, manufacturers slashed their npd budgets, laid off R&D staff and limited themselves to a few line extensions, rather than launching totally new, innovative products. According to researchers Leatherhead Food RA, the number of new food products - usually the largest sector for new product launches - introduced during the recession, fell by about 17 per cent
Nick Sawbridge, managing director of NPD specialist Innovate, says: "The major players battened down the hatches and were not prepared to take the risks involved. The few companies that didn't cut back tended to be family-run firms not shackled by shareholders. They are the ones now getting the payback. "

2009-08-28T16:33:00.002-04:00

Is there a “real” product waiting in your brands history?

So Mexican Coke is made with natural sugar and bottled in glass and has a following spreading out from California aficionados through the US - and Pepsi never backward in coming forward has launched Pepsi Throwback (but in cans) also made with natural sugar.

Maybe they taste better/different maybe its all about the badge but it’s a powerful reminder that innovation can be about looking backwards not just forwards.

Is there a retro new product just waiting to go in your brands history?

2009-08-14T07:59:00.006-04:00

Meal Assembly - A Trans Atlantic Comparison

3 years ago Meal Assembly was THE hot franchise—and Super Suppers along with Supper Thyme were seen as leaders.
I visited one in Houston and was impressed—the mix of convenience, quality, family care and even friendship occasion seemed spot on—for America.
I couldn't see it transferring to the UK,-size of family size of freezer, and especially lack of free car parking just didn't seem to gel
At least one trial was made from David Lloyd, a successful tennis and fitness club operator— I’ve heard no more of it.
But now, perhaps overcoming all my size based objections, Jamie Oliver has launched Recipease

Intimate Supper for 2?

Upper middle income London suburb “High Street” . Friday supper for 2 or Saturday Dinner Party “I cooked it all myself darling” .

Or Family Dinner for 6?

Classic strip mall in middle income suburbs, geared to make weekday family meals in 8-12 serving containers.

Horses for Courses….

Recipease is clearly targeting wealthy urban couples, the design and location are very upmarket whilst Super Suppers are aiming at middle income sub-urban families.

Both are products of pre-recessionary “good times”. Will they succeed in the back to basics era both countries now experience?

Personally I think both can make it but their different business models, franchise vs. corporate will define different definitions of success or failure.

2009-05-19T08:44:00.002-04:00

Nothing Changes!

This quote may not have a direct relevance to "Innovation Observed" but it certainly does for any form of management. I recomend reading the quote and then the author!

"We trained hard but it seems that every time that we were beginning to form into a team we would be reorganised. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganising, and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inneficiency and demoralisation."

Titus Petronius also author of The Satyricon. Died by his own hand AD 66

2009-04-22T09:11:00.004-04:00

Reprinted from a short piece in The Morning Cup

Liquid Smoke

You see them outside offices, restaurants, bars, theaters – no matter the weather there they are, sometimes alone, sometimes in small groups, always cigarette in hand.

Over 40 million Americans smoke – but not at work, when traveling, in bars or restaurants. Now that’s what I call pent up demand, and of course chewing gum, nicotine patches, coffee have all targeted the gap but none as clearly or as single mindedly as this launch seen at last week’s London International Food Fair.

Liquid Smoking doesn’t claim to help you stop, doesn’t include nicotine or tar or the other addictive ingredients of cigarettes but it does promise “similar properties as the nicotine feeling of smoking…..alertness …followed by calming and relaxation”.

A high value market, legally restricted, intense consumer desire – a compelling claim, a descriptive name, a pack design that says it all, but will smokers feel it’s an appropriate badge? Is the strategy just a little too obvious in such a sophisticated market?

It’s a great example of logical analysis and lateral thinking. I wish it well!

2009-04-01T04:53:00.003-04:00

Part 4 Economic Drivers

Value is the new sustainable.

Grow Your Own is more than money saving.

Staying In is the new eating out—and might just be the driver that finally cracks the US chill fresh market.

Eating Out it may be comfort or perceived value but either way there’s a strong forecast of continued growth in “family style” serving of 2 portion entrees.

Slow Cooking of cheaper cuts of meat gets lots of support both sides of the Atlantic and would seem to play well to cocooning and value.

Breakfast still the most important meal of the day and now more and more its all day—even in a very British way as a new crisp flavour “Builders Breakfast” (that’s “chips” to American readers

Cuisines and Flavors

Peru is the new Thai Peru as the next cuisine with its influences from Spain, Africa, China and Japan. Its not all sevice and Pisco Sours and it looks very in.

Noodles may be in as we cut back from the expense of fresh Sushi

Korea and Vietnam look set to flourish as more specific cuisines rather than Foodcourt Asian.

Ginger is the new mint at least according to some drinks industry pundits. It’s a strange flavour—rarely identified in blind tests that I’ve worked on.

Hibiscus and a chance to end on an exotic note. It’s tipped for its anti-oxidant properties.

Anyone for a Blueberry Hibiscus muffin?

Cuisines and Flavors

Peru is the new Thai Peru as the next cuisine with its influences from Spain, Africa, China and Japan. Its not all sevice and Pisco Sours and it looks very in.

Noodles may be in as we cut back from the expense of fresh Sushi

Korea and Vietnam look set to flourish as more specific cuisines rather than Foodcourt Asian.

Ginger is the new mint at least according to some drinks industry pundits. It’s a strange flavour—rarely identified in blind tests that I’ve worked on.

Hibiscus and a chance to end on an exotic note. It’s tipped for its anti-oxidant properties.

Anyone for a Blueberry Hibiscus muffin?

2009-03-06T10:53:00.001-05:00

Part 3

Ingredients

Offal and cheaper cuts of meat change the way we cook but match the comfort food and economic drivers.

Stevia the new Holy Grail a natural sweetener (sort of) even if it comes from an ingredients company and a soft drink.

Natural(ness) shorter more natural ingredient lists and far greater transparency.

Eggs Two pundits see 2009 as the year of the egg, or at least anyth

least major appeal for any food with an egg on top of it.

Lycopene— an old favourite but with claims of stability at elevated temperatures typical of food processing and over a wide range of pH values seen as ready for greater success .

Probiotics no US consensus here and even less so for prebiotic. Seen as strong in Europe though.

Target Grey plenty of agreement however that targeting the health of greys stays important. Pom & brown rice singled out by some.

Calories. As more and more attention is given to obesity and hidden calories restaurants will continue to be pressured to show their calories—but with what result, lower sales of high calorie foods, item switching within menu, better health or just more guilt?

2009-03-05T08:17:00.004-05:00

Part 2

I’ve tried to gather the forecast elements under 5 headings and have kept the details brief. They are in no particular order— this is not based on weighted averages of times mentioned!

Attitudinal

The Economy no answers here—it is of course the big unknown but seen as driving all the following predictions one way or another.

Comfort Food as we return to cocooning.

Mini Bites & Sliders no more Super Size Me? Or lots of mini bites that add up to the same calories?

Relax & Sleep Well Drinks the antidote to energy drinks for a time when worry replaces activity?

Food Miles in the US local is better, fresher although for Europeans it may be all about CO2.

Food Safety much much greater a concern in the US than Europe where Salads and Peanut scares seem unknown and mad cow or foot and

2009-03-02T11:01:00.002-05:00

Forecasting????

Forecasting is a mugs game and yet every year, every industry and every pundit puts pen to paper and attempts to foretell the future.

It all seems a little like trusting a stockbroker – I mean if they really knew do you think they would tell!

I’ve been guilty of trying the same but this year I feel calls for a different response so I’ve been seeking out Food Industry punditry in an attempt to see what if any commonality could be found.

I’ve read words of wisdom from 26 observers, from the newsworthy at Reuters to the homeliness of the Winston-Salem Journal, from AgriBusiness at Farm Bureau to broadcast at The Food Network and science at Inside Cosmeceuticals

Forecasting never is science and this review certainly isn't either, it’s a distillation of other peoples ideas, picked over by me and presented to raise some thoughts, perhaps some disagreements and hopefully some extra insights to help as we get to grips with how to innovate in a very different economy.

I'll post what I've found over the next few days - until then here's a taster

5 Hot Nutrients

Vitamin D

Fiber

Protein

Potassium

Omega 3

Based on number of pack claim mentions!

Lots of tips for……

Peru as the next cuisine with its influences from Spain, Africa, China and Japan. Its not all sevice and Pisco Sours ,and it looks very in. Make mine a large one please

Lots of tips for……

Peru as the next cuisine with its influences from Spain, Africa, China and Japan. Its not all sevice and Pisco Sours ,and it looks very in. Make mine a large one please

2009-02-26T11:52:00.000-05:00

The law of unintended consequences

British grocery has put a great deal of effort into developing online shopping with efficient sites and timed deliveries. – they have it down to a fine and by and large profitable art.

But in what must surely count as a clear example of the law of unintended consequences shoppers are now using on line grocery shopping as way of managing there spending to lower budgets.

Its much easier to swap items in an on line basket or to put some back to ensure the total spend stays within the weeks budget. All that and sometimes the delivery is free too!

2009-01-12T12:50:00.001-05:00

OK so I was never strong on diary writing but the lack of posting is pretty poor. Resolution for 2009 to return to writing!

2007-01-03T04:22:00.000-05:00

Resolutions ... for 2007

I don’t usually make New Year resolutions: eat better, drink less, exercise more. They’re all easy to make but for me, at least, they’ve slipped away by around January 6 or 7. This year, however, I’m going to try to keep as close as I can to a few professional resolves. Admittedly as a consultant rather than a manufacturer, it’s more of a case of encouraging others to the straight and narrow! These are some of my favorites:
Global fashion retailers like Zara criticize themselves for taking 8 weeks to get from catwalk to multi-national distribution, so there is no real excuse for many of the projects in our industry dragging on for years!
My resolutions here are:
● Do fewer things but do them faster. Two projects at 50mph are much better than 100 projects at 1 mph each!
● Make decisions. Making better decisions is good, making quicker decisions is great but just making a decision is real progress in some projects.
● When you get to “design fix”, keep it fixed. Fiddling with the specification and delaying launch rarely works. It’s usually better to be nearly right but in the game rather than perfect but 5th entrant!
It’s really easy to fall in love with the latest idea. After all it’s not called NEW Product Development for nothing. But don’t let that put you off ideas that have been around the business before.
I’m going to:
● Encourage my clients to set up a proper “Treasure Chest” of all the old ideas, written up in the same format and made available throughout the business.
● Even better, they should ensure that the Chest is kept topped up with new ideas.The consumer pull mantra and the need to find real insights are of course correct but it’s sometimes all too easy to miss technology push.If you have a powerful consumer insight team, check to see that you have just as much awareness of technology push:
● Do the marketers know their industry’s next technical step change and the unique product benefits it may bring?
● Do they know how to express them best for consumers?
● Do they know what the change could do for their competitors?

So to everyone in [new product development], good luck in 2007. Let’s do it quicker, let’s do it better, let’s do it! (Unless of course you’re competing with a client of mine!)

2007-01-03T04:18:00.000-05:00

A Time for Predictions

The New Year is often a time for predictions and I’ve been peering into my crystal ball. If Bob Messenger will allow me, I will happily re-print these thoughts in a further 12 months and we can all laugh at my foolishness!

Food Scares
A confident prediction this one – there will be lots, but each new finding will have a lower impact on consumers as we all face what I call SAS or scare avoidance syndrome. The net effect of this will be that most of us will miss at least one valid and important message about our food.

Retailers
British retailers don’t have much of a track record when it comes to entering the US: Sainsbury with Shaws, Marks & Spencer with Brooks Brothers but Tesco in California will be different and I predict they will succeed.

Food Types
Short shelf life, chill fresh meals or meal components will be tried again – this time the mix of distribution logistics and consumer demand will work. Watch out frozen food you have a new competitor.

Green Issues
Whilst 20% of the greenhouse gas methane, is from the “emissions” of cattle I don’t expect the nation to go vegetarian, but I do predict that the carbon footprint of many food production processes will come under increasing scrutiny. It’s not just a threat, there are opportunities here too!

At home
I think that we will continue to see a return to families eating together, not every day, not every meal but certainly more often. Emotionally allied to this will be the desire to return to real food, at least partly prepared by Mom. Meal kits, component foods and perhaps especially preparation centers like Super Suppers will make further gains.

Health Claims
2006 has been the year of dark chocolate and still wider acceptance of red wine. Next year will see much greater emphasis on superfoods like cranberries, blueberries, almonds and of course pomegranate. Breakfast cereals and bars seem the most likely carriers but they may spread as wide as ice cream and salads.

Right or wrong? Glaring omissions? Do let me know!

2007-01-03T04:08:00.000-05:00

A Christmas Quiz

In the spirit of the season I thought it might be appropriate to offer a short quiz with your Morning Cup today. As an added incentive I will send, one of Harry and David’s finest Traditional Fruitcakes to the first 3 correct entries sent to nick@rapidice.com – it might even arrive before the New Year!
Good luck and thanks for reading.

What is Bob Messenger’s favorite drink when he’s thinking about stuff?
a) Coke b) Pepsi c) Jack Daniels

What proportion of brand stretch launches fail?
a) 9 out of 10
b) 7 out of 10
c) 1 out of 2

On average, how many first stage ideas does it take for each really significant launch?
a) Lots
b) Less than a hundred
c) 3000

It’s said that reducing the time it takes to develop a new product by 6 months increases life time profitability by?
a) Not much
b) Quite a lot
c) 30%
Which of the following is NOT a wine brand?
a) Fat Bastard b) 3 Blind Moose c) Dipsomaniacs Delight

Which global brand designed Father Christmas in 1931?
a) Coca-Cola
b) Harley Davison
c) Marlboro

Which of the following helped pull Santa’s sleigh?
a) Red Bull b) Red Sox c) Red nosed Rudolph

Which state was the first to make Christmas Day a legal holiday? (Hint: think alphabetical!)
a) Alabama b) Delaware c) Wyoming

What is the main ingredient in the traditional English Christmas Mince Pie?
a) Meat b) Mice c) Dried fruit

If your true love gave you all the promised gifts, after 12 days would you have?
a) 78 presents b) 363 gifts c) Too much wrapping paper

Under a branch of what is it customary to kiss at Christmas?
a) Blueberry b) Yucca c) Mistletoe

Seasons Greetings, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to one and all!

2006-12-16T12:55:00.000-05:00

Stretch Marks

A few weeks ago I wrote about a branding difference between the UK and the USA, identifying the relatively low presence of Celebrity Chef food brands here.

Last week I read that while Chefs might be missing a trick, other appeals to a higher branding authority clearly weren’t.
Martha Stewart, fresh from stamping her name on new housing communities and home renovation products, is planning her first line of food products.
That seemed like a pretty wide portfolio for any brand, Housing to DIY to Food, and did raise for me the question of what constitutes a brand stretch too far.

Barb Stuckey recently wrote in The Morning Cup about Shell selling energy drinks and I’ve seen their brand on Ice Creams in Holland. At first sight, two completely crazy brand stretches, but given that Shell is also a retailer with thousands of gas station shops, perhaps the intention was just to launch own label foods. Retailer brands do have powerful stretch capabilities.

It’s frequently stated that 9 out of 10 new product launches fail. What’s rather less well known is that 1 out of 2 brand stretch launches fail also!!! The odds are better but you might as well bet on heads or tails – clearly brand stretch is not the low investment, low risk idea that many companies seem to believe. The key, as always, is simply stated and yet terribly difficult to achieve.

We really need to understand our brands and our consumers with searchlight clarity, and most important of all we need to be honest with ourselves about their real strengths and weaknesses.

Brand Stretch development is no place for the corporate over optimism so often used as a substitute for true brand insight. Failure here can damage the parent brand as well as kill the extension.

Me, I’m thinking of stretching my consultancy from innovation to climate control. After all, with a name like Rapid Ice, we must be OK on global warming.

2006-12-08T02:35:00.000-05:00

Lets tell it like it is

“We pressed 9 Apples, we mashed 2 Bananas, we crushed 50 Raspberries, we squeezed 2 Oranges, we squashed 247 Cranberries”

That’s the ingredient list on the back of a very successful UK brand of Fruit Juices and Smoothies. Innocent (do have a look at their web site too, http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/) have broken the mold of their market with their innocent approach.

Given the growing mistrust that consumers have about too much of the food industry, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all be like Innocent. But, I hear many of you saying, “It’s easy for them. I have an ambient long life product which needs its preservatives, colorings and flavors…..”

Maybe …. or maybe like a friend of mine in the industry, you might find that changing as many as you can from artificial to natural gets you a better taste, a cleaner ingredient list and surprisingly even a lower cost.

And why stop there? Aren’t many food factories really just giant kitchens?

In kitchens, we have recipes not ingredient lists, we use natural products, we’re careful about the ingredients we buy, we check the quality of meat, vegetables and grains and reject any that aren’t good enough for our family.

In kitchens we keep things clean and if we’re really good we keep washing our hands and making sure that we don’t drop hair or our watches into what we’re cooking.In kitchens we keep our raw meat away from our cooked foods.

In kitchens we’re proud to say “I cooked that”

In kitchens we are almost as good as the food industry is in factories.So how about we start talking about our industry a little differently.

Let’s be proud of our great big kitchens, our obsession with hygiene, our rigid buying standards.

Let’s tell our family consumers how we’re not so different from them.

Let’s tell them who was the cook on the shift that made this product.

Let’s even let them look into the kitchen. Whenever they want. After all a web cam is pretty easy and we’ve nothing to hide – have we?

2006-12-01T09:28:00.000-05:00

Food snobbery ...

The term “junk food” seems to be journalistically used in a way which is at best lazy and at worst sheer snobbery.

Despite its wide 21st Century use, the expression dates back to the early 1970’s and Michael Jacobsen, Director of the CSPI.

Most current definitions suggest a food is junk if it is high in fat, salt or sugar and of course the words “junk food” are rarely seen without “fast food” in close association.

Government, celebrities and food writers look down their noses at Franchise Burgers, Chain Chicken and Delivered Pizza. Suggest “fries with that” and the 5 grams of fat are part of a global conspiracy but Duck a l’Orange at a rather exclusive little restaurant where the Maitre D’ knows me well, and the 20 grams of fat are just fine!

A super chocolate dessert recipe in a foodie’s magazine is only 549 calories per serving – and 23 grams of fat, 15 of them saturated, but that’s fine if it’s for a Dinner Party dear!

European nutrition analysis shows many fast food outlets serving lower fat and calories than their trendier restaurant equivalents and I bet it’s the same here too.

It gets called junk because it’s fast, because it’s urban, because it’s cheaper. Pizza in a fashionable, minimalist Italian style restaurant with other young families is real food, attractively served with a hint of just like “Mama made”, but have a pizza delivered to an urban apartment and eat it from the box whilst watching TV, and its junk.
It’s the price not the nutrition that frequently determines the description.

This is snobbery not commentary.

2006-11-25T03:19:00.000-05:00

You need real innovation for real profit

Despite frequent visits home, my long suffering and long time ex-pat American wife still finds some elements of the US strikingly different.

Life in England was hardly Soviet style privation (well not in recent years) but the sheer number of grocery items in the US still surprises. It’s not that there are so many different categories, it’s the number of brands and varieties in each category that adds up.

A recent quick count of SKU’s gave me 98 Chicken Soups, 16 Blue Cheese Salad Dressings, 54 versions of Macaroni Cheese (18 of them from Kraft) and nearly 100 Orange Juices from 11 Brands in one store!

It’s choice, it’s freedom, it’s capitalism, it’s America – but is it good business?

I know the arguments about shelf presence, about family size vs. singles, about brand preferences, and consumer typologies, but how many of these items are paying their way?

Next time you are considering extending a line, calculate really honestly the investment costs - market research, design, art work, pack, ingredient and product inventory, change parts, down time between varieties, salaries, promotions, listing costs, maybe advertising - then account for cannibalization from your current range, and work out the really honest pay back period. I think many will be faced with an unpleasant surprise.

All that activity just for a me-three or me-four proposition and then such a poor return.

Real innovation is of course much harder and much riskier but it’s where the ultimate rewards are.

Real profit comes from thinking and acting differently, not from launching the 55th Macaroni Cheese.

2006-11-15T04:24:00.000-05:00

Is half full, too full, or not full enough?

Years ago when I was working in a London Ad Agency we had a real fire alarm. It was mid-morning and everyone left the building in an orderly fashion to be counted and checked. The creative teams slipped away to their favorite bars and were never seen again that day. At the time it didn’t really seem unusual. It was normal for many jobs to lunch in a Pub and highly unusual not to down several large ones at Friday lunch times.

Times and attitudes change and the English pub lunch has become rare (with average lunch times down to 19 minutes, it has be!) but presently back in the UK for a few days, I see that the leading Lager brand has launched a “mid-strength” variant at 2% ABV (Alcohol by Volume) rather than 4% and is promoting it as “the lunch time pint”. German Brewer, Becks, is trying something similar and even Guinness is testing a mid strength Stout in Ireland.

I worked on low alcohol beer npd in the past and always personally felt the route made sense in that it tasted like a real drink instead of no alcohol beers which tasted awful and which nobody would even consider drinking in a session.

Half alcohol didn’t work in the past because no alcohol beers were a clearer proposition versus drink drive laws.

But now, is there a route which avoids all thought of driving and merely suggests a lunch time drink for a public transport commuter, or a pint after training, or at the 19th hole, or because of a big meeting tomorrow?

Or a beer instead of a soft drink.

Or two beers instead of one?

Or an evening drink that lets you join in the fun but still, how shall I put it, perform?

I wonder would Americans see “medium strength” as a half full or a half empty glass?

2006-11-10T04:58:00.000-05:00

How Fast Is Your Innovation?

“No company is smart enough to know what to do with every new opportunity it finds and no company has enough resources to pursue all the opportunities it might execute” John D Wolpert in Harvard Business Review, August 2002.

“Under pressure in the market and under pressure from the board, the innovation team generates many ideas but, incapable of choosing from them, clogs up and in the end achieves nothing. Nick Sawbridge The Morning Cup November 8th 2006”

In food and drink there are so many markets, sectors and niches that choosing which ideas to progress is frequently a slow, inefficient and subjective process and yet this stage is probably the most important of all. Do you recognize any of these reasons in your company?

● Inconsistency of judgment criteria. “Someone keeps moving the goal posts.”

● Focus on business as usual. “It’s hard enough keeping up with today’s problems let alone creating more for tomorrow.”

● A lean organization with no spare capacity. “We’ve just had another re-organization”

● Concept confusion. “The idea was never clearly written with a proposition, reason to believe, and target consumer that we could all understand”

● Ideas are cheap. “We’ve been working on these ideas for months without real progress. Lets have an away day and generate some easier ones”

To be really successful you need to be able to allocate sufficient resource to developing an idea – and although it’s difficult and risky, that means making a decision.The question is do you want to progress 100 projects at 1 mph each or 1 project at 100mph?

2006-11-02T04:23:00.000-05:00

How Many Ideas ...
It’s said that it takes 3000 early stage ideas for each commercially successful new product launched, and whilst I like to think that my own firm somewhat betters these odds, it is clearly true that generating successful ideas is a major task. Idea generation on this scale needs direction and dedication.
Whether you have a formalized procedure for regular sessions, frequent ad hoc sessions, or contract out your generation, you need focus if you are to create and filter so many ideas.
As a marketer I feel a natural affinity with any process which begins with clear consumer insights, but I know how easily a blue sky session runs off into a never never land in which real world production and costing issues are rapidly abandoned.
There are I think three main areas of focus for most [food] companies.

● The classic Marketing group area best defined by Consumer Trends, Brand Values and Consumer Insights.

● The R&D groups responsibility for awareness of emerging technologies and the product possibilities that they may bring.

● The joint responsibility area best described as Brand Evolution in which product and pack developments are merged with consumer insights to develop fast track opportunities.
Focus on these three areas and even 3000 ideas may not seem too hard to achieve, as double Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling said, “the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas”.
Now all you need to do is decide which one is the winner!

2006-10-25T12:47:00.000-04:00

Success has many parents
but failure is a b………d

Personnel research has shown that there is frequently a rush to collect a talisman of success. Promote and move a manager, and ex-colleagues rush to pick up his old desk organizer, chair, cubicle, corner office, but fire someone and no-one goes near!

It’s like that with new product development too. There’s always a rush to claim credit for success and it’s understandable that everyone wants to get in on the act from project champion to the previously hostile manager who tried to kill the idea at Stage Gate 2. And that’s just the producer company. Look at any famous success and count the number of case histories claiming it at market research, pack design, advertising and even innovation consultancies!

Success has many parents but failure, as we all know, is a bastard, an illegitimate, unloved child.

That fear of failure or even association with failure can be so powerful as to overcome logical management. Some years ago, I observed at close hand the launch of a food product into test market. Trial rates were very high but repeat purchases almost non-existent, the result of a serious but overcomeable manufacturing failure. But the rush to sever all connections with the failure was so great that the remedial work was never undertaken, the product withdrawn but not re-launched and eventually a competitor successfully launched a near identical product.

Earlier this year at the Coca-Cola Annual Meeting, Chairman and CEO Neville Isdell was quoted as saying “you will see some failures” “this is something we must accept as part of the regeneration process”. A powerful message to his company and a powerful reminder to us all.

Here are my two failure mantras:

- Unless we accept some degree of new product failure our teams will become so risk adverse that stagnation will follow.

- It’s only a failure if we do not learn from it.

I earn my living helping clients succeed in innovation, but I know the importance of failure. Just don’t let it be on my projects too often!

2006-10-20T10:13:00.000-04:00

Cooking up a brand

Any previous reader of this column may know that as a somewhat virtual newcomer to these shores there are a lot of things I have no “history” of. I like to think that this stops me from making too many assumptions (never assume – best dictum I ever learnt). Sometimes, of course, it’s frustrating and sometimes it may just lead to a different point of view.I’ve seen lots of celebrity endorsed brands recently and in markets like fragrance quite a few personality brands from the likes of J LO and Britney, but I’ve seen less in food than I had come to expect from the UK market. Now, I admit, Brits have come to love food comparatively recently – in my childhood food was much more about fuel than fun - but now they’re keen watchers of TV Chefs and as lascivious over food porn as anyone. In the UK, there are Chef Brands in value added Rice, Couscous, Cook in and Pour Over sauces, Ready Desserts, Confectionery and Meats. Here in the US, though, I’ve only read about Emeril’s heritage tomatoes, heard about Francis Ford Coppola’s wine, and have drunk Wolfgang Puck’s coffee in my hotel room.Am I missing something? There are more restaurants here than anywhere else in the world, there are brands in depth in every category, it’s a society that generously supports Paul Newman’s charity brand, that applauds George Forman and his grill so why no Chefs? Where’s the equivalent of Jamie Oliver who having exposed the shame of junk food in UK schools and won real change in children’s nutrition has gone on to put his name to a few special products – and to promote a whole supermarket chain. He’s almost a King of Chefs. Of course we do have a real Prince too – the Duchy Originals brand (pictured above left) is as close to being branded Prince Charles’s Recipe as can be (actually it’s rather like Newmans Own, a charity brand). So advice please. Am I just unaware of Chef brands or aware of a really strong opportunity?

2006-10-20T10:10:00.000-04:00

Think Global, Act Local ... (but very very carefully)

Last weeks action by WASH on salt levels has bigger implications than being yet another pressure group action against problem ingredients and their “users”.WASH, it stands for World Action on Salt and Health, identified foods from a number of prominent food manufacturers and food service operators, and published the salt levels in some of their products in different countries.They found, for example, that salt in Coco Pops was higher in Colombia than in Australia which was itself higher than in the UK. That a McDonalds Cheeseburger has 21% more salt in Australia than in the UK but that a KFC Twister in the UK had 34% more salt than in the same product in France. WASH PR has very successfully placed the findings in many newspapers and magazines around the world and now we can all read which products “our” country has “extra” salt in, and the perception is that its those bad manufacturers again.Maybe they are and then maybe again they’re not. I think that most companies were merely following that old dictum – Think Global, Act Local. We can probably all imagine the scenario. Brand X is International, but run by subsidiaries in each of its major countries. The local brand team is testing local taste preferences and discovers that in their country, consumers like it to taste saltier – so they adapt the recipe. Some time later medical research points to perceived dangers from too much salt in the national diet and Brand X again re-formulates and claims “now with less salt”. No problem, a responsible manufacturer acting in the best interests of their consumers. But that I think was then. Now consumers of Brand X compare their salt levels to those in other countries, but they don’t think “we like more salt here”, they think “what a bad manufacturer you are”Its time I think to re-work the old dictum, perhaps it should now be Think Global and Act Local, very very carefully because to rather misquote Marshall McLuhan the world really is a village now.

2006-10-05T08:30:00.000-04:00

Web Grocery –

A Comeback?

I’ve never used a Web Grocer – I enjoy walking grocery aisles too much to miss out on the chance to get up close and personal with all those products and brands, but several recent events have had me thinking about this sector more than usual.

In June, Amazon began to sell over 10,000 grocery lines but with no perishables, and a top 10 items list comprised only of baby wipes and diapers its not what I call grocery. Time I felt to consider what does constitute web grocery and clearly the start point has to be the end point – of WebVan. Was this the greatest of all the Dot Gones burning over $1 billion before its spectacular collapse?

If WebVan was too large and complicated then The Home Grocer with 300 or so items may be spot on, at least the shopping shouldn’t take too long. The wonderfully named SPUD - Small Potato Urban Delivery - is twice as big – all of 600 items which it delivers on a weekly schedule. To be fair to SPUD I think that their model is closer to the organic vegetable box scheme than a full web grocer. If, however, delivery once a week is too slow for you, and if you live in LA, Yummy may be more appropriate. They promise delivery within 30 minutes of order – more of a taxi than a web grocer I think.

Peapod looks like a real on-line grocer, offering 8000 lines, including perishables and frozen foods, and given that they are owned by an extremely large grocer, the Dutch Royal Ahold group, it’s no surprise that they now operate in eight states, working from a mix of warehouse/rooms and retail outlets. They claim almost 250,000 customers.

Internet groceries grew by some 36% last year to about $3.3 billion nationally, so would it be a surprise to show that in the UK, a country with less than a quarter the population of the US, one company turned over nearly $2 billion in on-line grocery sales last year? Tesco, the UK grocery market leader, has been quietly growing its net expertise. It never invested billions, never offered tiny selections and never promised 30 minute deliveries but, like Peapod, it has developed from its national store base.

Last November and December, it claimed I million customers purchasing on-line and now claims to be the world’s largest e-grocer. Yesterday, Tesco declared their 6 month profit up 10.3% to just over £1 billion. That’s almost $2 billion. The on-line profit grew by 43%. Tesco has nearly 1000 stores outside the UK. They are in the process of launching in California. One to watch I think.

2006-10-05T08:24:00.000-04:00

Wine naming - smile with me or laugh at me?

Twenty or so years ago most wine sold in the UK was purchased by professional class men at specialist stores where dim lighting, and knowledgeable, intimidating staff ensured that wine stayed elitist. Then the grocery supermarkets changed everything. They put lots of different bottles on brightly lit shelves, added descriptions, serving suggestions, clear pricing and let shoppers look, loiter and of course purchase - and mainly it was women who did the purchasing.

Over 60% of the wine sold in the UK is now purchased in Grocery. I understand that the US figure is nearer 30% and maybe this at least in part explains the explosion in “strange” names that now stock the US wine shelves.

There seem to be two categories, animal or comical. The first group follows the extremely successful Yellow Tail, a brand which on launch, changed all the rules by defining its competitors as all alcoholic drinks rather than just wine. Yellow Tail turned its back on the wine attributes of prestige and complexity of flavor and sought out fun and easy drinking - a market worth 3 times as much!

I’ve never tried 3 Blind Moose or Cool Fish or Smoking Loon but I surely hope that they have learned that success takes more than just a name with stand out.

I accept the need to create real change and to continue to de-mystify but I think that the second group may be in danger of mistaking the subtle difference between laugh with me and laugh at me.

I can smile with Marilyn Merlot, enjoy Tusk ‘n’ Red, even just about “get” Goats Do Roam but Old Fart, Big Ass Cab, Royal Bitch, and Mad Housewife seem to miss the point. A joke to buy once, something to take to a party, maybe even an enjoyable drink, but a long term brand, a name to still comfortably accept as one of my badge choices in 5 or 10 years, probably not.

Claude C. Hopkins, one of Americas finest advertising minds (who was earning $185,000 in 1907!), wrote that “the right name is an advertisement in itself” He also said that “People don’t buy from clowns”

I wonder how he would respond to the offer of a glass of Fat Bastard.

2006-10-05T05:38:00.000-04:00

This post is an update of one of my first for this blog.

Can time replace money?

Two recent product launches – coincidentally both from Coca Cola have had me thinking about the power of time in the Marketing Mix. Not the timing of a launch, although I still pay homage to my first Marketing boss at Kraft for understanding that too early is as bad as too late, but the ability to take time to establish a brand.

I think we all know that retailers look for almost instant performance following a listing and that sluggish sales lead rapidly to removal from the shelf and yet some, usually small brands continue to find ways to hang on until familiarity and understanding have reached critical mass.

I used to be a very loyal consumer of Diet Coke, I liked the taste, liked the effect and liked the badge but almost without realizing it I now find myself buying Red Bull. I’m certainly not an early adopter, its taken at least 15 years to get me from awareness to trial and for most of that time I’ve seen little or no promotional support. Awareness, word of mouth, seeing it on the street, even talking about it all preceded trial.

Spending my time in both the USA and the UK I’ve enjoyed discovering Blaq, at first I was confused by the classic bottle shape in such a small size and thought that it was a competitor to Red Bull, but lots of advertising has shown its coffee role better than its on pack description of “Carbonated Fusion”.

I found Relentless in a UK Petrol station( and if you can read that brand name on the pack congratulate your optometrist). It's 500ml and claims "No half measures", "Your Energy, Your Obsession - Relentless" Again I was confused it looked more like a cheap beer to me (all that quasi Gothic type) and with no advertising so far I would have stayed confused without a professionally driven look at its web site www.relentlessenergy.com It too is from Coke and this one is in the energy drinks market.

Without advertising can Relentless hold some distribution whilst slow adopters like me get to know it? Can giant Coca Cola behave like Dietrich Mateschitz and give it time? Would retailers allow a major company to behave like a minnow?

Or will patience and determination remain the most powerful part of only a small companies marketing mix?

2006-10-05T05:34:00.000-04:00

Probiotic ... prebiotic ... magic bullet or confusion for consumer?

For as long as I can remember the household cleaning brands have been telling me that their products would kill the germs, the bugs, the bacteria that threatened me in my home.

I’ve been warned since my childhood that food that has “gone off” is full of bugs, I’ve seen mold on forgotten leftovers in the fridge and I have become afraid to consume any of these baddies.

Now though a number of new products suggest I should start consuming “healthy bacteria”, that I should learn to love the good bugs. That I should go Pro Biotic and understand that my yogurt is now full of billions of bacteria or that the funny little drink pack contains a delicious blend of bugs.

Not an easy sell, and not if my UK experience is anything to go by a quick one either, but with the opportunity to create a brand with a patented active ingredient and a life enhancing benefit like Dannon’s Bifidus Regularis it is certainly quite a lure. It’s been fascinating to watch the gradual availability of these products widen from the almost quirky in health food stores through to grocery and main stream consumers. The progress, at least globally however, has not been without its problems even giant Nestle has withdrawn its LC1 range from a number of countries.

Perhaps we could see a proper functional claim, a specific health problem, a specific benefit. So I was particularly grateful to my friend Elaine Tecklenburg for pointing out to me that in May this year the FDA approved heart health claims for Barley. Now if I understood this correctly Barley can now make claims similar to Oats, and we all know how powerful that has been. What we need is the same opportunity for probiotics.

Elaine tells me that Colon cancer, asthma, blood pressure, lactose intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease, immune function, osteoporosis, etc. are all thought to benefit from probiotics. Ideally, they do, and, ideally the FDA is ready for an onslaught of petitions to allow qualified claims for these as well. Hopefully the major food companies are racing behind the scenes to clinically link specific bacterial strains and specific health conditions or diseases.

In the meantime, marketers need to be creative. Cereal companies can take a lesson from Tesco and Weetabix, who have introduced prebiotic cereal bars in the UK. Why not introduce the ultimate portable breakfast: a prebiotic cereal bar with probiotic yogurt?

A magic bullet or yet another way to confuse the poor old consumer?

2006-10-05T04:12:00.000-04:00

Fair Trade: Make Money, Do Good, Have Fun

Some years ago I saw what I still think of as the best Company Mission Statement possible.

It read, “Make some money. Do some good. Have some fun.” The only trouble I saw was how, apart from adding “Pay your tax and Increase your charitable contributions”, any normal company could actively pursue all three objectives. That’s not to say of course that people haven’t tried, The Newman’s Own brand has grown and grown since its launch in 1982 and contributed over $200 million to charitable causes but that’s an example of a charity brand not a charitable brand.

Most of the Organic food producers I’ve met have charitable philosophies but are driven by their beliefs about food quality as a way to “do some good”. And with Organic Food growing at over 16% last year to nearly $14 billion clearly many Americans agree.

But going Organic and changing suppliers, re-modeling your production process, handling significant cost changes isn’t an easy do some good option for most food manufacturers, and giving all or a large proportion of your profits to a charity isn’t going to endear the shareholders either. And that I thought was that, but several European observations have recently made me think again.

For a growing number of consumers, Fair Trade is taking a similar role to Going Green. It satisfies a need to feel better about ourselves and our impact on the planet – but without having to give up anything that we enjoy.

The UK is now Europe’s biggest Fair Trade market, and it’s growing at nearly 40% a year.

Then I read that Ben and Jerry’s has launched a Fair Trade vanilla ice cream and I understood the win-win opportunity that Fair Trade can present, and that it can be more than just coffee. Fair Trade ingredients are bought at a price which covers the cost of sustainable production and an extra premium that is invested in social or economic development projects.

I know that many companies trade very ethically but choose not to publicize their policies but in not doing so, they make it harder for consumers to make informed brand choices. You don’t have to be a tree hugger to be a Fair Trader. You don’t have to change all your factory and you don’t have to give all your profit away.

If US consumers also follow the UK trend, then there are some major opportunities on the way. I think it’s just got a little easier to……..

Make some money. Do some good. Have some Fun.

2006-10-04T10:43:00.000-04:00

First "Published" August 23rd 2006 4 days after President Clintons 5oth Birthday

Evidence of Boomer Power in U.S.

Happy Birthday Mr. President, and best wishes too to the 5 Americans turning 60 years old every minute of this year. Actually it was Bill Clinton’s birthday on Saturday August 19th and President Bush’s on July 6th and both have joined the 78 million that the US Census estimates are the Baby Boomers.Of course I’m nowhere near this age any more than Bob Messenger is! My position is merely that of a professional empathizing with a target group! I suspect however that many of us can at least share some of the Boomers attitudes in our desire to re-create the taste of favorite childhood memories, its just that there are so many Boomers and that they’ve got the money to do it with.As a specialist in new products I find old ones fascinating. I like to think that I know how to look for consumer insights, to recognize a trend or a new platform and I know lots of example Boomer growth brands in the UK (if there are any long gone ex-pats out there you should see what Marmite is doing) but in the US I have to look for evidence of boomer power.I think I’m seeing it in collections of classic 50’s candy for sale on Amazon, I read that beer is back (not that it ever really went away for some of us) and I can see it in furnishings, even in the styling of radios. What intrigues me however is what companies can do to attract boomer nostalgia purchases.Is it enough to stay true to memory and NOT change?Should the packaging be deliberately retro, should it remind us of its past and spell out the message “Just like Mom Served”? Can your childhood favorite still be best in a world that has changed so much?Or given a changed consumer should the brand change too, to match the needs of a 60 year old?I see that Hostess Twinkies have recently made the first major change to its packaging design in 25 years, but it still features the traditional colors and the product remains the same.Should Jell-O now have added fiber?Could Kraft's boxed Spaghetti Dinners be positioned as Microwave Meals and still appeal?Is it enough to add “Classic Recipe” to Heinz Sloppy Joe Sauce?Would Peter Pan peanut butter be improved with a heart healthy Omega 3 claim? Could Added Calcium persuade us that Tang or Start are Florida Orange Juice replacements?Or is the secret of Baby Boomer Nostalgia that it is as close a copy as possible of the original experience with all the emotions, reminiscences and warmth that childhood memories can bring.If that's the case as innovators our role is only to spot the trend, to match the product, perhaps to promote and then just to sit back and enjoy.Pretty much what Pabst has done with Schlitz beer really, a retro makeover including the iconic bottle from when it was the world's best selling beer in the 1950’s – Cheers.

2006-10-04T10:30:00.000-04:00

I have been neglecting my blog whilst enjoying writing each Wednesday for Bob Messenger's Morning Cup, a daily on line journal following food and beverage industry news, trends and commentary. I'm biased of course but I recomend it highly. www.morningcup.net

I will be re-issuing my pieces here in Innovation Observed

2006-08-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

How big can cup cakes get?

It’s over 50 years since Hostess started selling cup cakes but now they are appearing in lots of guises.

Premium retail outlets are opening with recipes that sound more like cocktails than cakes. Anyone for a Long Island Lemon, a Buttercream Blossom or a Black Ty Affair? All available at New York Cupcakes.

Bookshops are featuring cup cake recipe books, Amazon currently lists 91 titles, and cookery stores are loaded with pans and decorating kits.

What’s driving the growth?

- a reaction against the ubiquitous muffin?
- a chance for a small treat rather than a glutinous slice of gateaux?
- the discovery of afternoon as an additional consumption occasion?

Of course the front cover of Martha Stewart Living magazine hasn’t hurt either.

Will cup cakes go mass? Can they go mass premium?

Any one for tea and cake instead of coffee and muffin?

2006-06-22T11:39:00.000-04:00

Home Cooking

The UK’s love of “ping” cuisine - microwaveable chill fresh ready meals – is fuelled by a vast range of products in a wide variety of cuisines.

Given that this product form hardly exists in the USA it always seemed that eating out filled the same role, but now, as the US turns back (a little) to eating at home and without the Ready Meal option a number of new franchises are appearing.

I visited a Super Suppers in Houston’s suburbs and was very impressed.

The combination of pre-prepared, fresh ingredients, a wide variety of recipes, no cleaning up and a friendly, or with friends, environment is great and taking food that Mom has (sort of) made for a family meal is emotionally spot on.

Now the first reports of a UK version are leaking out, the David Lloyd Group are launching
Dinners Made.

Will it work? Are Brits as keen on “family”, are UK freezers big enough to store the US 12 packs of 6 portion entrees? Is spending over £100 a time too big and outlay? Is it easier to pick it up at M&S or any other grocer?

In short is this an idea that will transfer?

2006-05-23T09:55:00.000-04:00

Ideas translate better than names

US readers will know Smores as a, usually home made, "melt" of cookies, chocolate and mallow. They may think of a biscuit as a bready accompaniment to a savory meal.

So what would a US consumer make of a BBQ Biscuit? Probably not this UK kit for making a dessert on the BBQ, AKA Smores!

As somebody once said 2 nations divided by the same language.

2006-05-07T11:27:00.000-04:00

Two very different Innovations Observed from Coca Cola.

Blak picked up in April in the US is a 237ml premium priced, clearly from Coke product. The classic waisted bottle and identity all looking a little strange in so small a size.

The on pack description "Carbonated Fusion" led me to believe - without having seen any ads - that this launch was against Red Bull. It was only after tasting the strong, sweet vanilla and coffee that it pointed to Starbucks instead. As did www.coca-colablak.com

Replenish (and if you can read that on the pack congratulate your optometrist) was found in a UK petrol station last week. It's 500ml and claims "no half measures", "Your Energy, Your Obsession - Relentless"

I was confused by the strange type face and at first thought it was a cheap lager but of course Coke are nothing if not professional, and a look at the web site conveyed all. www.relentlessenergy.com

Are either a sufficient response to 10+ years of Starbucks and Red Bull? Should it take a web visit to understand a product?