food product development

When it comes to food product development, there’s no secret formula to making a new food or beverage product successful—every product is unique, which means every product needs its own unique development and marketing plan. At HSR Associates, we’ve been bringing food and beverage products to market successfully for more than 3 decades, and we understand the reasons behind why 98% of new products end up failing. In this blog, we discuss the marketing pitfalls that can prevent your product from getting off the ground.

Marketing Pitfalls: Weak Strategies and Poor Targeting

Only 2% of new food products succeed in the marketplace. So what’s going wrong with the other 98%? The answer often has to do with poor product marketing strategies.

 

  • Marketers assess the marketing climate inadequately.
    You may have a great product, but inexperienced marketers and marketing consultants can cost your product its success. It’s crucial to work with consultants who know your market intimately and have the skills to properly assess the marketing climate. This allows skilled marketers to develop a strategy tailored to your product.
  • The wrong group is targeted.
    Targeting the right demographic is critical. Your consultant should be able to assess your product and identify the proper target demographic—consumers who will be attracted to your product and willing to give it a try. Marketing demographics segment consumers by age, gender, location, income, and many other qualities that can affect how people view different brands and products.
  • A weak positioning strategy is used.
    Market positioning strategies allow brands to set themselves apart by building a unique identity. Positioning is built on business data, but operates on a symbolic level to influence the way consumers perceive a brand or product. Experienced food product development consultants know how to position a product effectively in the minds of consumers.
  • Product benefits are not optimized.
    What benefits does your product offer that sets it apart from thousands of other products? How does your new product solve consumers’ problems? Consumers are critical thinkers, and they weigh the benefits of one product against another. It’s essential to communicate benefits effectively so that consumers are enticed to try your product.
  • A questionable pricing strategy is implemented.
    Basing prices on costs, rather than perceived value, is one of the common pitfalls faced by inexperienced marketers. Your consultant must be able to balance the many elements that go into pricing a new food product and develop a pricing strategy that is both appealing to consumers and profitable for you.
  • The advertising campaign generates an insufficient level of awareness.
    Never count on a “sleeper hit.” Food products cannot succeed based on word of mouth, without proper promotion and marketing. If your consultant fails to generate enough awareness of your product, it will get lost on the shelves.

Successful Food Product Development Starts with Expert Consultation

You need experienced consultants who understand how to assess your market and develop an effective strategy for success. HSR ASSOCIATES specializes in developing new food products and bringing them to market. We provide all the services necessary, from Kitchen To Marketplace. Contact us today at steve@hsrassociates.net.

More great ideas to come from our food product development experts! Stay tuned…………..