In the darkest days of the pandemic there were real fears the coronavirus would put the kibosh on food and drink NPD. But as this week’s New Product Awards shows, the industry was undaunted, and has dreamed up new ideas in their droves, with a record number of entries and categories.
Great ideas too. From Pukka, Quaker, Galaxy, Kleenex, Veetee, Weetabix and Quorn, to Dirty Cow, Lilk, Milliways, Heartsease and Moju, brands of all shape and size are meeting the changed needs of post-pandemic shoppers with aplomb.
The stories behind this innovation have been inspiring and uplifting. Through resolve and enterprise, from home offices, spare bedrooms and kitchen tables, not only has the industry landed existing NPD. Recipes have been concocted, and new gaps spotted, in a fast-changing market, in many cases over Teams and Zoom, and using domestic kitchen equipment.
These awards reassure, too. Products like Heck’s chicken mince prove that brands can add value even in commoditised markets if well done, and the success of Sharwood’s 30% less sugar sauce shows that big brands can reformulate and deliver on taste too. The victory for Rustlers’ cheese melt burger also shows it’s still possible to add an innovative, premium spin to a longstanding mainstream brand.
Then there’s the Willy Wonka-like exuberance of products like the Dr Oetker jelly bubbles cupcake mix, the awesome execution of retro sweet shop ice lollies by Barratt; and the technological edge that Simply Roasted, Superloaf and Violife (now part of Upfield) have brought to the market.
It’s also pleasing to see small brands among the winners, given the consolidation in those dark early days of the coronavirus, but also the closure of the foodservice channel – an important route to market for many startups – not to mention the current supply challenges. And if I can strike a note of caution, amid the availability issues, it is to warn buyers not to discriminate against small players for reasons of convenience.
The vibrancy of the sector depends on healthy competition. Now more than ever.
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