Mintel’s team of expert food and drink, food science and product innovation analysts were at IFT, July 16-18. If you were not able to make it to the show, we’ve got you covered!
At IFT, Mintel Director of Innovation and Insights, Lynn Dornblaser hosted a presentation, “New Product Purchase Intent Reveal: Your votes vs. consumers.” Throughout the day, IFT attendees (aka industry experts) were asked to vote on products for the following criteria: Purchase intent, tasty, healthy, good value and premium. Lynn then revealed the results comparing what the experts thought to what consumers said. Find out how it went….
First, let’s see who the participants were. Mintel Purchase Intelligence data is balanced to the US population for key demographics, including gender. Consumers can choose as many descriptors as they think apply to them.
Now let’s see how IFT attendees compared to the average US consumers!
Square Organics Sea Salt Protein Popcorn. Popcorn with twice the protein as regular popcorn (10g per serving). Only four ingredients: popcorn, coconut oil, rice protein, sea salt. This product lags behind the Popcorn subcategory in all 16 attributes tracked, except for Healthy and Natural. Entire category purchase intent: 37%
Project 7 Moscow Mule Flavored Gourmet Gummies. Gummy candies for adults made with natural colors and flavors, with the flavor profile of the popular drink. Although this product has a slightly lower purchase intent than its category, consumers see it as Natural, Healthy, Premium, and Unique. Entire category purchase intent: 48%
Daiya Key Lime Cheezecake. Frozen dessert is made without dairy, gluten, or soy and is suitable for vegans. Although this product has a slightly lower purchase intent than its category, consumers see it as Natural, Healthy, Premium, and Unique. Entire category purchase intent: 48%
Veggie Noodle Co. Zucchini Spirals. “Spiralized” zucchini that can be substituted for noodles in many dishes or even eaten raw, according to the company. This product outperforms the category on most attributes, except for Good Value. Entire category purchase intent: 39%
What we think
As you can see, the results between consumers and industry experts varied, and some by a large margin! It’s important to realize that there are many variables that go into results. The sample size that we had at IFT is much smaller compared to the data pool that Mintel Purchase Intelligence uses.
However, one of the takeaways of this experiment is industry experts can see things differently than consumers. When a consumer walks into their grocery store they are not looking at what food is trending, nor do they have data that shows what new product launches fit their wants and needs. A consumer is looking at taste, healthiness, price, brand, etc. Those factors can also vary depending on the type of store the consumer enters.
This leads back to why Mintel created Purchase Intelligence, combining Mintel’s product intelligence and consumer research, creating a unique picture of how to succeed when developing, launching and selling new products. Going beyond purchase intent, with data and insight on key attributes, creates an understanding of who the consumer is and what they care about, resulting in brands making better informed decisions for their products’ success.
