Though only 26% of global consumers think that the worldwide food and beverage industry is innovative, 89% are interested in trying new products in this category, according to a study by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods.
The study, which explored both the perceptions of innovation within a range of CPG categories and the expressed desire for more innovation, uncovers a significant disparity between the level of new products consumers think they’re getting and how many they really want, most notably in the areas of food and beverages, personal products and household products.
All three – in addition to financial services and pharmaceuticals – currently rate among the most ho-hum in terms of perceived innovation:
Demand for Innovation
In contrast, when specifically asked how willing they would be to try new food, household and personal products, consumers were overwhelmingly interested, as evidenced by top-two box scores ranging from 81% to 89%:
“It’s not surprising that consumer packaged goods would not rank as high as more obvious technological products,” says Lauren Demar, CEO of Ipsos Marketing, Global Consumer Goods Sector. “What is interesting is that consumer packaged goods are viewed to be innovative by almost one-third of global consumers – not bad for an industry that, generally speaking, has been unfairly tagged as sluggish on the innovation front.”
Desire for Food, Household and Personal Products
While other industries and market sectors ranked higher in terms of perceptions of innovation, Ipsos Marketing said the study’s central finding is that consumers want to try new food, household and personal products, but feel there is a gap in terms of what’s new in the market.
About the research: These are the findings from a study conducted by Ipsos Marketing, Consumer Goods via the Ipsos Global @dvisor, an online survey of citizens around the world. Interviews were carried out between October and November 2008. Approximately 1,000 interviews were carried out in each of 18 countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the US.
