Innovation for Growth

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A new report launched today by Kantar Worldpanel looks at the strategies that brands can employ to achieve a successful new product launch.

Using its unique shopper panel data, Kantar Worldpanel has created a new metric for understanding where and how a new product adds value. It tracks a shopper’s changed behaviour because of the new launch, when compared to what they would normally have done.

A new launch can be successful in different ways. It can win for the manufacturer alone, taking share from other brands. Or, in the very best cases it can grow the category as a whole.

The analysis focuses on significant launches that reach minimum thresholds of success and reveals that all these launches are beneficial for the manufacturer. Almost half (46%) have a positive impact on category sales as a whole, and in 19% of the cases, the impact on the category spending can be considered strong. Attracting new shoppers to the category is extremely hard - less than 1% of cases studied - but it’s very valuable when it does happen. The most reliable way to achieve a positive category impact from a new product launch is by trading shoppers up to buy a more expensive product, but in many cases a higher price comes at the expense of volume.

The report draws on research from product launches across five key markets - Great Britain, China, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. To learn more, download the report today.