10 Ways For Australian Food Suppliers & Retailers To Differentiate In 2018.

Last week 6 of us gathered around a white board for two hours to come up with our top 10 strategies that food suppliers and retailers can deploy to stand out from the crowd in 2018, while meeting and exceeding consumer needs at the same time.

The theme includes the offer, the retail environment and the people elements.

Without stating the obvious - 2018 is the year to differentiate and stand out!

We have spent a large amount of time travelling & obtaining first hand insights this year so, here are our thoughts.

1.    GLOBAL CONSCIOUSNESS & A SENSE OF PURPOSE - this includes environmental sustainability, raising awareness and funds for communities in need. Retailers and suppliers need to consider that this is becoming more important in the eyes of the consumer when making a decision on which brands to purchase. This is particularly relevant with the Millennials and the Z generation - your future consumer! Of most importance, every business should be active in this space, simply because they can. It is not hard & potentially costs very little. There are many sustainability and community projects both domestically and internationally where recipients receive an enormous benefit through very little effort from the provider or contributor. Ask https://thankyou.co and https://www.iequalchange.com.

In 2018 your business needs to be so much more than your product or service, or are you just too busy?

2.    CONSUMER EXPERIENCE Food retailers need to tap into the key consumer senses. Creating a space that is completely sensorial with the right music, smells, visual display etc is critical with competition increasing. There are some amazing food retail stores that are visually amazing, however the consumer senses of smell and sound are missing in action. Two good examples are Leos Fine Food & Wine in Kew (Melb) and Chapleys Frewville (South Australia), these two take first prize, with aromas of every fresh food department wafting through the store. At Leo’s you are met at the front door with the aroma of freshly squeezed orange juice and ripe brie from the cheese counter while Chapleys employ a pianist to entertain you whilst you shop the aisles & sample their latest morsels. In Australia we see the consumer sensorial experience as a big gap!

3.    BRAND & PACKAGING. For food and beverage suppliers, having a stand out brand is becoming key as the market place becomes crowded with a record high level of new brand entrants. Assuming your product is excellent then your band and packaging is actually the most important element! The classic saying of less is more is very true for food and beverage suppliers. Minimal copy, pastel or earthy stand out pantone colours are what makes a brand stand out on the shelves.

Then there is the health food movement.

4.    VEGANISM is not a fad and the reasons to become vegan appear to be much broader than 20 years ago. Whether it be animal cruelty, environmental or for better health, Veganism is here to stay. Food suppliers need to build vegan options into their portfolio and retailers need to make locating vegan products easier for consumers.

5.    HEALTHY SNACKING. With most of us having less time than ever before we are subsequently grazing and snacking more, in fact up to 85% of the waking day people are eating / snacking and grazing while on-the-go, with only a very small window of time being dedicated to sitting down to eat. Healthy snacking has become an enormous category, however, we think a myopic view has been created. Muesli bars, protein balls and bars dominate this space, with most of the major supermarket chains ranging up to 12 bays of health bars and balls. We agreed that compared to overseas markets there are many other categories that can capitalise on this grazing / snacking movement including fresh and beverage options. Think outside the square on this one and innovate!

6.    HEALTHY INDULGENCE and permissible consumption is in vogue for all the obvious reasons. Guilt free indulgence or indulgence that caters of the intolerant is here and will be a big opportunity in 2018. Ask the likes of Pana Chocolate, Loving Earth, CoYo, Cocofrio, Zebra and Botanical Cuisine.

7.    FUNCTIONAL & LOW SUGAR BEVERAGES will continue to canabalise traditional beverages including hot and cold options. The rise of Kombucha and Turmeric latte are evidence that again these options are not fads and are here to stay and will grow in popularity.

Within the health food segment it is key for suppliers to ensure that consumers can fully understand the product and the health benefits very quickly. Don’t try and get too cute with ingredients that no one has heard of, or it will be a long hard slog.

For retailers, how the health food is merchandised and promoted is also critical to growing a much needed segment and most importantly to create an easy enjoyable shopping experience for the consumer.

8. MEAL KITS. A packaged product that can be assembled or finished off is a concept that Australians understand well. Woolworths Metro have this underway, however, there is a big gap out there. Making consumers feel like they are Masterchefs as they empty the contents of the purchase into a wok is a clear gap!

Overriding all of the above 8 points and without stating the obvious, CONVENIENCE is #1 and will continue to grow in importance when it comes to consumer choices. Quicker, easier and ‘just make my life easier” will only become more important.

And then there’s the power of the people.

9. COLLABORATIVE PLANNING .

Getting the people from key strategic suppliers together in a room with people from matching roles within the retail business is very powerful. 

Imagine a room with two white boards a packet of white board pens, full of people in these roles from the supplier and the retailer - operations, supply chain, product development, merchandise and e- commerce to name a few. The outcome of a collaboration like this is dangerous however it is rare! Gaps would be easily identified & new products and strategies would emerge.

10. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE. In our opinion this is a topic that is not understood well enough, not seen as priority in many businesses, & not considered, particularly in times of extreme competition or performance challenges.

Aligning company values with individual values is powerful, and can be very simple, yet a heavy hitting strategy which unlocks the full potential of any organisation large or small, especially if executed effectively. For more detail see the attached Barret Centre link. https://www.valuescentre.com

As a final note and in the words of WGSN at yesterdays WGSN futures summit, the 4 E’s have replaced the 4 P’s in terms of connecting with consumers. Engagement, experience, exclusivity and emotion!

As extreme as this may sound, to differentiate in 2018 we need to UNLEARN what we know, then relearn, innovate, challenge ourselves and think again!

David is the founding partner of DJB Consulting Group partnering with food and beverage suppliers, wholesalers and retailers domestically and internationally to optimise growth and reduce risk.

[email protected]

+61 427 034 412

https://www.djbconsultinggroup.com