Innovation and online FMCG growth

This week we have two topics on innovation – the importance of new products having a net contribution to range and that new product trial expectations must reflect the size and strategy of local retailers. Our third topic looks at the growth of FMCG online purchasing globally.

1. Over the period 2015 to 2019, the 500 brands that gained the most share increased their assortment by 40%. This meant that new SKUs were in part incremental to the range. For the 500 biggest losers, the number of new SKUs was very similar but they substituted existing lines. Aim for at least 25% range incrementality with new SKUs.
2. As expected, the number and size of Discounters in a country will affect the likelihood of branded new product listings and hence trial rates. This isn’t to say that these retailers don’t list the right products for them. In addition, listings at retailers with lower levels of Private Label vary widely related to size of the retailer and store types within their portfolio. These considerations should be built into new product targets.
3. Although online growth has been universal, there remain significant differences in scale and growth by country.
   We have also seen that the major share increases happened last Spring with a levelling off since.