Tired of Innovating?!
“Innovate or die” is a frequently used statement to emphasize the importance of launching new products. Some recent trends show that FMCG products may need ‘re-animation’! In the 2 years to 2014 the number of newly launched products across a large number of product categories in nine European markets decreased by 17% accompanied by a similar drop in their sales contribution. The drop in new products launched meant that only around 10% of the assortment are new in the last year. Manufacturer brands are responsible for just under 60% of these launches and account for about two thirds of their sales – but the drop came in new private label products too.
Because new products are typically some 20%-40% more expensive than their parent brand a decrease in launch activity may further reduce the funds available for innovating: A vicious cycle? Maybe not because there was increased activity from the top brands in 5 key European markets in 2015. However, the previous drop represents lost opportunity especially as the benefits of new products take time to realise.
Countries: DE, BE, ES, FR, NL, PT, UK, DK, PL, Categories: up to 79 per country
