For food and drink producers, it’s a competitive retail market – and it’s not just your product launches that will demand your focus. Of course, you’re hoping for big things from your brightest food or drink product – not least from a sales and profit perspective. But the most successful product launches can be undermined if you don’t keep an eye on your existing range too.

It’s a point that a SmartBrief article has picked up on. Drawing on a white paper from Salient Management Solutions (PDF), food and drink producers should evaluate their entire product mix – including current and future product launches. Why? It’s because “as much as 40% of a … portfolio is comprised of slow-moving products that contribute less than 3% to total sales.”

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Product Launches: In With The New, Out With The Old?

Is it a shock to learn the number of new product launches has been falling? Well, in the US, at least. A 2015 Catalina report (PDF) showed a 4.2 per cent drop in new additions reaching the supermarket shelves in 2013 – compared with the previous 12 months. And that number fell again in 2014, down 4.6 per cent. The value of your existing products can’t be underestimated.

The same Catalina research had also revealed that a mere 0.7 per cent – 1 in 143 consumers – was responsible for 80 per cent of the sales of 50 top-selling new products. And 11 per cent of those were still purchasing those items a year on. The key is to strike the right retail balance – sticking with key sales drivers, launching latest innovations and axing the slow-movers.

If you’re a food or drink producer and you’re evaluating the presence of your products – new and existing – then make sure to maximise your retail potential! We’ve worked with some of the world’s biggest producers – and that makes our experience at refrigeration hire solutions world-class. How about one of the largest European confectionary producers, for example…

We’ll naturally be delighted to talk through your fridge rental needs with you. We have found that your product launches and existing fixtures are FOUR TIMES more likely to grab that all-important consumer attention if they are branded. Hear what Refrigeration Rentals can do for you today – we’re here to take your calls and emails all week 9am to 5pm – and there’s no time like the present.

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