3 Keys for Reinvigorating CPG Innovation in 2023
Learn how CPG companies can prepare for and deliver value in an evolving market
It’s 2023, and the consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry is rapidly evolving. New brands are entering the space at an accelerated rate. Private labels are on the rise. Multi-channel everything is now the norm, and the time-to-market window is shorter than ever.
It takes agility, expertise, ingenuity—and an innovation-first strategy—to come out ahead.
What is CPG innovation?
Plainly put: it’s creating and introducing new, improved, or updated products to the market. It’s fed by consumer data, trends, analytics and the thoughtful guidance of product and market experts. For most CPG brands today, it’s a business essential. Innovation is key to CPG growth.
“Innovation is the implementation of a new idea that creates sustaining value for the enterprise,” says Peter Erickson, Executive Advisor, Innovation, Technology + Quality. “The word is key. Many people consider invention to be innovation, but they’re not the same. Invention is simply a new idea. It’s not innovation unless the invention is implemented in the marketplace.”
As the first quarter rolls in, there’s no better time to look at your innovation process, and how well-equipped your team is to be effective. Read up on three keys to reinvigorating your CPG strategies this year.
1. Technical skills to innovate
Do you have the in-house capabilities to reformulate sugar coatings? How quickly could your team re-engineer your supply chain for fats and oils? What about big-picture thinkers who can achieve rapid category expansion?
Hiring in-house is one way to have that kind of talent on hand. But can your team hire fast enough to meet the speed of innovation? Working with a CPG consultant or a partner with ready access to CPG experts can close skills gaps and provide you with niche industry knowledge to ensure your product development team can deliver.
The on-demand CPG experts in Intellex’s network, for instance, are highly accomplished industry and business leaders who’ve planned, researched, developed, tested, and delivered thousands of consumer products for the world’s leading CPG firms.
These CPG experts can provide the skills infusion necessary for you to change product possibilities and revolutionize business outcomes.
2. Hands-on experience with leading CPG brands
Skills are one thing. But what about experience?
Leaning on expertise outside your current team can provide fresh perspectives and storied experience with CPG innovation and product launches.
The resources it takes for a large multinational company to bring innovation to the marketplace may differ from what it takes for small entrepreneurial start-ups to make an innovative splash, but in the end it’s innovation all the same.
When experts have worked with the likes of P&G, Unilever, Estée Lauder, Nike, Clorox, and more, they bring years of experiments, data, and insights your team may not have.
It’s worth noting that the type of innovation is not restricted to new products. You can innovate existing products, manufacturing or sales processes, and even existing brands as readily as you can innovate a brand-new creation. At the end of the day, innovation is a long-term mindset that must permeate every facet of the company.
3. Expanding network for an evolving market
Upgrading your skills and access to experience isn’t a one-and-done deal. Innovation is a moving target. We believe in the power of leveraging external networks to accelerate success.
As a company, you don’t always need to take time to develop an internal competency or technology. In many cases, it already exists and is available in the outside world. Actively scouting for external capabilities—oftentimes from another industry or discipline altogether—can drive faster, more successful innovation.
Working with a CPG consulting firm or network of CPG experts can make access to those capabilities easier to come by. At Intellex, for instance, you gain access to a system of experts, ideas, thought leaders, and organizations that span a variety of companies, verticals, and specialties, which you cannot find anywhere else. This link to diverse innovation creates exponential opportunities for marketplace success.
Rapidly scale your CPG innovation competencies
Intellex gives CPG businesses the capacity to rapidly scale their competence.
As a consulting firm with flexible, on-demand resourcing delivery models, we connect you with a community of CPG experts who stand ready to help you more efficiently grow your teams and capabilities. You’re able to better drive product innovation, and solve complex go-to-market challenges, while staying on budget and on time.
From pretzels to cosmetics to beverages, and from supply chain optimization to supplier refinement and product consistency redesign, we’ve seen it all and achieved it all.
We’d love to partner with you in 2023 to help you overcome your CPG challenges. To find out more, or to start a discussion, reach out to us anytime at: gvollmer@intellex.com.
And if you’re interested in hearing more agility and CPG industry insights from our strategic advisor, Peter Erickson, check out his video.
