KANSAS CITY — New product development took a hit following the pandemic but is back on the rise, with a flurry of new bakery and snack products launched in 2023 and 2024.
In a webinar hosted by Baking & Snack and sponsored by Corbion, industry leaders examined the drivers of this new product innovation, as well as the challenges manufacturers still face in this area.
The webinar dove into insights from Baking & Snack’s State of the Baking Industry: Product Innovation & Development study, conducted by Cypress Research. The study surveyed 111 baking industry professionals — including many R&D professionals — on the importance of new product development, the challenges R&D teams face and their focus when it comes to new products. The study was also conducted in 2022 to examine the impacts of the pandemic on new product development.
New product innovation was broken into three categories: Invention, Innovation and Renovation. Invention is described as a truly breakthrough product development that typically involves introducing a new brand or processing. Innovation is a new product within an existing brand, and Renovation is a product reformulation within an existing brand or category.
Sixty-seven percent of respondents said Invention is a priority for them over the next 12 to 18 months, compared to just 59% in 2022 and 67% pre-pandemic. Similarly, 84% of respondents said Innovation is a priority, well above 76% in 2022 and tracking towards the pre-pandemic 88%.
“We’re seeing through this research a large share of bakeries returning to a healthy focus across all three initiative areas in the next 12 to 18 months, and those shares look really quite similar to what was happening [pre-pandemic],” said Marjorie Hellmer, president of Cypress Research.
Some of the biggest trends respondents said are influencing new product development include clean label (79%); convenience (51%), reducing ingredients like sugar, sodium, gluten, etc. (48%); and premiumization/increased value proposition (33%).
Sergio Machado, senior director of research, development and applications for Corbion, said the clean label trend is here to stay.
“Consumers are increasingly prioritizing health, transparency and sustainability in their food choices,” Machado said. “So for manufacturers and even suppliers like us, the trend is to call to innovate and adapt. We're seeing a push towards reforming products to meet these clean label standards without compromising on taste quality or shelf life.”
Survey respondents also reported drawing from many sources for new product inspiration, including consumers (81%), internal R&D (75%) and retailers (70%). Inspiration from startups saw a big jump (44%), up from just 15% in 2022.
“Startups often push into new territory, whether it’s offering new benefits, working with new ingredients, and they can signal what's emerging, and so it makes sense to be paying attention to them,” said Penny Patterson-Smith, chief innovation officer for Flowers Foods, Thomasville, Ga.
Still, there are many obstacles preventing manufacturers from focusing on new product Invention and Innovation, the study found. Respondents cited the need for cost savings (61%), an increased focus on existing brands and products (56%), and inflationary pressures (24%).
Patterson-Smith noted that inflation has limited consumer discretionary income, and while consumers still want new product innovation, they want it to come with some familiarity.
“Consumers want reassurance. They want the comfort of leaning on new products or line extensions from very trusted or familiar brands,” she said.
Other challenges facing new product development/R&D that respondents mentioned include “rapid changes in trends,” “consumers wants and needs vs. time to innovate,” and “trying to stay current with new trends and product concepts.”
