After spending three days last week running the Brainfood Factory with my team for WRBM in Birmingham, my mind is brimming with the enthusiasm and passion of fresh-thinking entrepreneurs and foodies.

There was a great line-up of speakers and content and a huge turnout for the whole buzzing event and audience sizes not to be sniffed at for each presentation in the Brainfood Factory.

However, NPD at the show was a mixed bag. You could count real innovation on four fingers, not even a hand. Well done to Riverside Bakery’s No G gluten-free pastry products, the winner of the Great New Idea Award, voted for by visitors and seconded by Thrive and The Grocer team. The products tasted great. On the whole, however, there was much less real innovation than you’d have hoped.

“When will brands learn that there must be something unique in NPD?”

New players did use the event to launch, but many more were simply dancing to the same old tune, particularly in cooking sauces, pastes and accompaniments. When will brands learn that there needs to be a gap or something unique about what you do?

Cuckoo bircher mueslis were great with added linseed and fruit at the bottom of the pots, bringing fresh thinking to on-the-move breakfasting.

The first-ever charcoal ‘black’ Cheddar also caught my eye. It was really tasty, and in fact it won the Farm Shop & Deli Show Great New Idea Award.

There was huge support for the innovative, fresh-thinking and ‘flat-capped’ farmers’ den experience of Ten Acre crisps. The crisps were not only delicious with quirky new flavours, they were gluten and dairy-free, kosher and vegetarian too. They have such strong potential for success, probably more than some of the other brands struggling to cut through. People behind brands make a vital difference.

The Dragons’ Pantry heroed great new talent. The premium olive oil brand with amazing oils and tapenades was bang on the money as was the new way to buy food online by recipe and individual profile, rather than ingredient, being developed by Parsly.

I can see the ears of David Beardmore at Tesco prick up as I mention the flurry of fresh new adult soft drink choices being introduced by Qcumber, Simplee Aloe and others, all offering fresh, drier, more adult and healthier taste profiles. They will really help bring choice and variety, both on and off-trade.

Surprisingly however, with the exception of Bear snacks, Vita Coco Kids and a couple of others, probably only 8% of the new products at the show focused on children. This is a real area where solutions would be welcomed. Where were the entrepreneurs here?

Claire Nuttall is founding partner of Thrive

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