Why most new products fail

The majority of new food and beverage products fail within their first year of production, and statistics show that your product is more likely to fail than to succeed. According to studies done by the Harvard Business School, more than 80% of the 30 000 products launched in the US each year fail. There is no lack of innovation out there; it is obvious that the challenge does not lie with the creation of the products. So what are 80% of innovators missing that is the key to long-term business success?

According to Robert G. Cooper, author of the book Winning at New Products, it has been shown that products fail for one or more of these three reasons:

1. It is a ‘me-too’ or already-tried new product;
2. Insufficient or inadequate front-end homework;
3. A lack of consumer- or market-trend insight.

There are several stages during a product’s life cycle in which the product could fail; the first is product development, which is followed by introduction into the market, and then a product growth and maturity stage. What follows that depends on various factors that could lead either to product extension, or to the decline of the product and its sales.

The first stage – product development – is the most crucial, and is integral to ensuring a long (or even infinite) product life. This is where all the research happens; this is the stage at which recipes are trialled and perfected, and artwork for labels is created and checked for compliance. The importance of this stage is vastly underestimated; it is usually sped through to meet deadlines – created by the innovators themselves, or by clients – which is counterproductive.

The processes that are generally overlooked or rushed through in the product development stage include market research; having an incomplete or skills-deficient team; and not performing adequate sensory evaluation of the product through the stages of the product life cycle.

Market research

This is the first step towards establishing if the product concept will be accepted and liked by the general population. There are many ways to circumvent a deficiency in this regard during product development. It could be done via desk research, from which it can be determined whether similar products have been accepted and do well in the market.

It can also be done in the form of quantitative research, by creating surveys or polls online, or by conducting one-on-one interviews to ask the target market questions, with the goal of collating statistical data to prove specifically formulated hypotheses that are integral to determining how consumers perceive the product.

Qualitative research is a valuable further step in market research, as it will give an idea of why the target consumers behave the way they do and make the choices that they make. Qualitative research can be conducted through the creation of focus groups or by conducting in-depth interviews, to really ‘get into’ the minds of consumers.

Quantitative questions are usually closed-ended, and are simpler to analyse compared to their qualitative counterparts, which are open-ended and more challenging to analyse.

Building the best team

A strong and skilled team is needed to create a successful product. This means taking time to find the right people for the desired product.

Food technologists/scientists

A first step would be to find experts in the field to do the relevant research on what the best ingredients would be to use in terms of safety, nutritional gain, processing challenges and regulatory limitations. They could also advise on food-safety systems and food-fraud-related challenges pertaining to those ingredients.

They must have expert knowledge of the type of product that is being developed. For example, if it is a dairy-based product, a food scientist should have some experience in the dairy industry.

The right raw-material suppliers

From the research, you could now go forward and look for the best raw-material suppliers; they should be trustworthy, have a comprehensive food safety system, and know about future processing challenges that may be pertinent to the final product.

The product developer

Once you have these two requirements sorted, the reins can be handed over to the product developers to develop a recipe or formulation based on the research that has been done. They will work with the raw-material suppliers and food technologists to create a recipe that is practical, and which also meets the other criteria determined in terms of nutrition and organoleptics, as well as regulatory obligations. They would need to perform several kitchen trials, and potentially, sensory evaluations over time.

The right manufacturer or co-packer

Finding the best manufacturer can be tricky. Sometimes the product developer will work with the manufacturer to have the product trialled on a larger scale, to assess the practicality of the product manufacturing process. However, most manufacturers have their own product development teams; so the project – ultimately, to get the product on the shelves – could be handed over to them.

Support services

Regulatory and label compliance is something that should be looked at throughout the development of the product, so it is often best to consult with an expert.

Testing – in terms of microbiology, basic safety tests, nutritional testing and adulteration tests – should be done to substantiate any claims made on the product label.

Sensory evaluation

For a new product to be accepted by consumers, the different sensory responses the product creates must align with each other. This means that all of the senses must be provoked simultaneously in a positive manner – from the appearance of the packaging, and of the product itself, to the taste and texture of the product, they must all align for a consumer to like and accept the product.

Therefore, it is important to do the correct sensory analysis on the product throughout development, in order to predict (and confirm) consumer acceptance.

The Bottom Line

A product that is designed to succeed will address the consumer trends and unmet needs that exist in the market. That product will equal or exceed the products of its competitors, and will have a unique characteristic or two that set it apart from the rest. When conceptualising a new product, you have to ask yourself: what is its competitive advantage, and what is the core message the product is sending to the target market?

For more information on what FACTS can offer in terms of new product development, contact us today.