Understanding consumer data use in new product development and the product life cycle in European food firms – An empirical study

The Link between the Consumer and the Innovations in Food Product Development

“…To assess the ideal fitting of the new product with the needs of the target consumers, there are different methods available for the food industries to rely on, such as collecting data about consumers' needs and preferences [10,11]. A more traditional strategy includes a wide variety of tests designed to gather information about consumers' response to new ideas and concepts of possible food products as well as concrete developed products.…”

“…A more traditional strategy includes a wide variety of tests designed to gather information about consumers' response to new ideas and concepts of possible food products as well as concrete developed products. These allow a more directly assessment of the level of acceptance by consumers regarding those new products, so important for successful launch [11]. Other types of approach make use of indirect data, which can also be used to determine the optimal degree of fit of the new product with the expectation of consumers ( Figure 2).…”

“…Other types of approach make use of indirect data, which can also be used to determine the optimal degree of fit of the new product with the expectation of consumers ( Figure 2). Examples of these include data on current food trends or aggregated data on environmental factors that affect consumers' needs and preferences, such as demographics, economical aspects, social and cultural factors or technological developments [11,12]. While the first, focusing on consumer involvement data collection and corresponding methodologies, have been more studied, the second group, namely study of consumer trends and socio-environmental factors, have been less analysed [10].…”

“…Ultimately, data obtained through direct involvement of consumers in NPD, like for example a consumer co-creation, constitute a rich source of product ideas and can have a positive impact on the successful product development and consequently improve the company's financial performance [13,14]. Nevertheless, food firms that use food trend and socio-environmental data, which point to future changes in consumers' needs and preferences, can more effectively develop products with longer PLC and in that way make their NPD more profitable [11,15].…”

Principais Direcionadores de Compra de Carnes em Hipermercados

“…Changes in consumers' propensity to buy certain meats may impact the production chain, especially when trying to determine the quantity of the products that are on demand and/or are being offered. It is important to understand consumers and consumer trends for planning purposes, to organize sustainably-structured growth and to avoid wasting raw materials, inputs and energy (Horvat, Granato, Fogliano, & Luning, 2019;Zylberstajn & Neves, 2000). However, a projection of consumers' trends requires information on how products are used, how they are valued by consumers, how frequently they are used and the buying habits of consumers with respect to the market.…”