Food industry

What is the food industry characterised by from the perspective of our research and counselling experience? It is the sector that is very dynamically changing. In order to be successful you have to introduce new products or flavour variants, which is why the role of innovation cannot be underestimated.

On the one hand, brand new product categories have been introduced, e.g. functional food, but on the other, one cannot forget that the key product attribute in this industry is the taste. I shall never forget the facial expression of an American having tried our traditional tripe, or the surprise of our foreign Client when Poles negatively reacted to the taste of a ‘cult’ product from his country. Poles and Americans like different types of food products, which shows that taste is a cultural variable

The most effective strategies are the ones that address consumers’ taste preferences. But in order to make it possible it is necessary to identify those preferences in detail and monitor them regularly. One also has to bear in mind the fact that because of large number of products and variants, consumers feel really confused in front of the shop shelf. It is not easy to change their product and taste preferences in the food industry, while the introduction of new, not fully relevant flavour variants or new products generates considerable losses.

One cannot also forget about the fact that there are no major barriers to buying and trying a new product in this sector, as groceries are relatively inexpensive compared to other products. This is why for the majority of categories from this sector the key target group is recruited from the mainstream. So explore your customers’ preferences and expectations, and test every single new initiative.