Featured in The Grocer: Innovating through a cost of living crisis

The Grocer (March) included a supplement on How Britain’s biggest brands are innovating through a cost of living crisis. It’s been a challenging climate for UK grocery brands and we shared our opinion on successful innovation strategies; from risk-averse NPD (New Product Development) and EPD (Existing Product Development) prioritising health and sustainability, to focusing on categories like frozen which are inherently more affordable and ripe for innovation.

Alexandra Hayes, of food and drink consultancy Harris & Hayes, agrees with Roberts. “Big brands are still innovating, but they aren’t generally taking a punt on riskier NPD right now,” she says. “If NPD isn’t affordable, relevant and sustainable then it won’t last long in the current market.”

It’s also why categories such as frozen have churned out innovation at higher rates in the past year compared with others, says Hayes. Frozen products are inherently “perceived as more affordable” as well as offering “ultimate freshness and convenience but with little wastage”.

Focus on a value proposition doesn’t mean macro trends have completely fallen by the wayside…. “Health and sustainability aren’t going anywhere, and along with price, they remain some of consumers’ primary concerns,” insists Hayes of Harris & Hayes.

“Even seemingly small EPD [existing product development] changes, like Sainsbury’s recently vacuum-packing all beef mince to save 450 tonnes of plastic each year, attract an increasingly conscious shopper whose purchases are driven by values,” she adds.

Read the whole article on The Grocer here.