Manufacturers criticize four supermarket chains for leaving no room for innovations
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The presence of innovations by manufacturers' brands in large supermarket chains continues to be very low, according to the study "Radar of Innovation 2020" by Promarca and Kantar. Based on the aforementioned report, the mass consumer sector has collapsed by a 44% launching innovative products since 2010. Despite the fact that innovation levels are in free fall, manufacturer brands continue to be the engine of innovation with a total of 98% of launches, which exceeded the levels of the previous year, when they stood at 95%.
The study shows that Mercadona only references 7% of the innovative products of the manufacturer's brands, Aldi 8%, Lidl 10% and the chain with the least reference innovations is Grupo Dia with 3%. Conversely, Carrefour (67%), Alcampo (36%), Grupo Eroski (31%) and El Corte Inglés (30%) maintain the highest levels of introduction of new products in their shelves.
During the presentation, the president of Promarca, Ignacio Larracoechea, blamed some chains (Mercadona, Lidl, Aldi and Dia) for not making room for innovation references and asked them to make an effort to support innovation. "If they don't, innovation will continue to fail and the Spanish brand will continue to fail and it will be a shame," he criticized. «Many times they tell me that there is not room for so many new products, but there are not so many. This year there have been 88 products for supermarket shelves that can reach 8,000 references, 1%. It is more of a business model problem since you do not want to compete against a new product from a manufacturer when the chain's own brand does not yet have it, "said Larracoechea, adding, however, that the current trend for Aldi and Lidl is" very positive. "
Value for the consumer
Consumers who bought innovations increased their consumption in those categories by 15%. In addition, despite the fact that last year was atypical, the success rate of the innovations was 55%, a figure in line with the average of recent years. According to the report, the success of the innovation depends to a large extent on the degree of novelty and on whether it satisfies relevant needs not addressed so far.
Therefore, from Promarca and Kantar they conclude that the positive response of the consumer is the greatest incentive for manufacturer brands to continue making an effort to launch innovative products. The report therefore calls for the entire chain - farmers, ranchers, industry and distribution chains - to work "like clockwork to maximize their presence in the market, at the consumer's disposal."
"It is a market failure that must be corrected urgently and that we must take into account at this time, in which the reform of the Food Chain Law is at the most decisive point. Any act contrary to the dissemination of innovation is harmful to all links in the food chain and ultimately has an impact on the consumer ", declared the president of Promarca.
In his speech, the director of Consumer Insights at Kantar, César Valencoso, also delved into the fact that innovation continues to be at "excessively low" levels. «So that this fundamental motor of consumption can push the markets we must continue to ask manufacturers for more and better innovations and distributors to open their shelves to reference them for long enough for the consumer to know them and decide on their success, "he insisted.
