Focus on innovation survival rates
While companies launching new products may have unrealistic expectations hoping these launches stay on the market forever, anecdotal stories reporting that a majority of launches disappear quickly tend to be vastly exaggerated.
In one of the most launch-intensive countries, 3 in 5 FMCG launches still around after two years
Out of 6244 new products launched in the UK in 2019, just above 80% are still available one year after launch and just above 60% two years later. How different that launch is from the existing category offering does not matter.
Survival rates of launches are quite stable across Europe
On average across nine European markets, 18% of all launches disappear within a year and another 17% within 2 years – so almost two thirds of all launches survive at least two years on the market.
Launches sell at above average prices – relative to the category and their parent brand
One important role of innovations is to signal the dynamism of a brand and to justify charging a price premium. Launches indeed tend to be substantially more expensive than the typical category offering but also sell at higher prices than the existing range of the launching brand.
