As a researcher who studies consumers’ wants, needs, and beliefs, the past year of national upheaval has been very interesting to observe. Whether it was politics, protests or mask-wearing - the contradictive narratives were a good reminder that people’s internal belief systems and their emotional attachment to that knowledge is a primacy that must always be adhered to when developing new innovations.

The real world is in a state of flux right now. What is certain, is that during times like this, the ability for people to predict what they will do is even more difficult because there are so many unknowns about what the future holds and how it will impact them.

Instead, observing actual behavior is much more reliable. At Mission Field, we encourage our partners to use transactional testing because we believe consumers “vote with their wallets” and the best predictor of what someone will do in the future is what they do today, not what they say they’ll do tomorrow.

Studying consumer behavior in an actual store with real product on the shelf is the best way to understand what is working, what is not working, and why they do or do not decide to buy something.

You’ve probably read articles recently about the return to pre-pandemic levels of in-store foot traffic and the general improvement in the supply chain of most consumer products, particularly foods & beverages. On Mission Field’s end of the spectrum, that has translated into the ability to get back to conducting in-person in-store research in the latter half of the summer.

Grocery retail has experienced one of the biggest transformations during the pandemic. From making sure the shelves stay stocked to implementing new safety protocols, they’ve had to pivot quickly to keep ahead of curve. One indicator that retailers are adjusting to the new normal is Costco’s return to in-store sampling

It’s worth taking a moment to acknowledge the unsung heroes at Mission Field who are vital to the success of our client’s efforts but aren't often overtly acknowledged. For starters, I’d like to acknowledge Julie Beck, VP of Retailer Strategy…

Covid-19 has given us the opportunity to innovate some of our processes and get creative with our tried & true research approaches. Here are two examples that everyone can learn from:

1) Online Research Works.

On February 1st you could have rolled a bowling ball down the center store aisle in any grocery store and not hit very many people. Today, and most likely for many weeks in the future, the aisles are more crowded than Chicago’s Mag Mile during Christmas. The resurgence of center store is good for retailers, and it can also be a great opportunity for CPG innovation.

“When or how long do you think it will take shopping behavior to normalize after a crisis like this?”. As innovation leaders we’ve been contemplating this question and what the balance of this year will look like for shoppers, consumers and our innovation clients. Read four points of view from the Mission Field core team below:

• Jonathan Tofel has a point of view of optimistic-urgency on the state of CPG and the need to Battle Test™ new product innovation against the “new normal”

• Carolina Fryer sees a short-term shift to comfort foods with a resurgence towards healthier eating as our “new normal” set in and the initial panic subsides

• Caragh McLaughlin sees opportunities for new products if they can find deep connections with our current stay-at-home lifestyles

• Julie Beck has an eye on the retailer mindset and how they are likely to “pull” CPG innovations in a certain direction based on today’s experiences

At Mission Field, we celebrate all things innovation. So, for Innovation Day 2020, we put together a list of 20 ways to spark innovation. These are some of our tried & true tools and approaches and we hope they help you spark your own innovation journey.

A recent discussion I had with a retail VP of a major Organic/Natural grocery chain hammered home the point of the need for speed as it relates to innovation… and our contact made a point that “large CPGs are falling behind in many ways” because they “are waiting too long to get into the mix.” This does not have to be you!

Sometimes work inspiration strikes you when you least expect it… Impressionist inspiration to start the new year.

Elite athletes lead the way to the rise and acceptance of a Vegan diet. Check out the growing trends beyond vegetarian and plant-based diets.

And yes, entrepreneurs can exist and thrive in big enterprises.

I truly believe these statements. I remind myself regularly that “doing” is critical to moving in a direction, any direction. I remind myself of the hard-cold fact that if you never create something to sell, you never produce revenue, which means you’ll never have a business, yet alone fulfill some vision.

Over the past month, I have spent quite a bit of time testing innovations in various retailers on two continents for our clients.  And once again, I am struck by the power of standing in a store, face-to-face with consumers and getting a visceral understanding of their reactions to the different things we’ve been testing. 

Because we work in innovation and we keep our client’s efforts a closely held secret, we don’t often get to announce the specific results of our Front End Innovation (FEI) processes and efforts… but recently we delivered 3 projects that outputted >60% of the concepts achieving an Outstanding probability of success as defined by Nielsen, many qualifying as SuperStar ideas with others as Brand Growers and Emerging Plays. Read more ot learn how we got there.

Not too long ago I had the opportunity to attend the final rehearsal for the Boulder Symphony as they were preparing for opening night of a concert. Here are three takeaways I gathered that apply to any innovation team building and launching new products.

We just found out that Inc. magazine today accepted Mission Field into its 38th annual Inc. 5000, the most prestigious ranking of the nation's fastest-growing private companies. The list represents a unique look at the most successful companies within the American economy’s most dynamic segment— its independent small and midsized businesses.

The Fourth of July is a time for flags, fireworks, and lots of great food! As we celebrate Independence Day, I thought it would be fun to look up what our Founding Fathers’ ate 243 years ago, to see if we whether there truly has been an American Food Revolution.

At Mission Field, we pride ourselves on being entrepreneurial in our approach while understanding and solving for the requirements of our “Big” established CPG clients.  And that includes understanding how to help overcome that “not invented here” syndrome.  Accepting innovation ideas from outside the organization can be challenging, especially for people in functions whose careers are built around inventing new things.

Come join us at the New Products Conference in Chicago from September 30th to October 2nd where innovators will be discussing the future of food at this 3 day event.

It was an amazing Expo West 2019! With record attendance of more than 86,000 in Anaheim from 136 countries all vying to see the 3,600 booths – it was a little bit of mayhem and loads of great energy. There were an impressive 600 new, first-time exhibitors this year. As someone who has been going to Expo for over a decade, it really was an amazing collection of better-for-you foods and top-notch entrepreneurs.

Read on for 8 top trends…

We at Mission Field are a curious bunch, and when our operations manager Ashley Butler went to NY fashion week in February, we had to hear her secrets! What was it like, what cool new trends did you observe, what fun and flowy materials might we see in future retail packaging?! Well… maybe not the last item, but here were Ashley’s 5 major takeaways on how fashion innovation is similar to consumer product innovation:

Happy Innovation Day 2019 – it’s a day to celebrate you, the innovator, and help you imagine new and better ways of innovating! We have 3 buckets of interesting and inspirational elements on our website including items to FUEL your creativity, FEED your soul, and FIRE up your body. And if you want a little extra inspiration, then go onto our innovation day 2019 landing page - www.mission-field.com/innovationday2019 - and request our free book offer.

As an innovator I think both depth and breadth of subject matter is important, which is what makes choosing between attending Expo West & SXSW each year so difficult.

Each January brings the inevitable messages and promotions for self-improvement.  And this year is no exception.  But in the “same old, same old” messages, I always find a few nuggets that end up resonating with me.  This year, in a short article I saw on LinkedIn about career lessons, I found this one that seems apropos to what I spend my time doing at Mission Field: Never Stop Learning.

My twist on this is, Never Stop Evolving.

My 2019 trend prediction is that we’ll see more and more food items moving from center store to the perimeter, we’ll see consumers adapt and embrace new behaviors in order to gain the benefits of better for you packaged foods and bold, fresh taste. 

Marketers have been complaining about the poor quality of concept-testing innovations since modern branding started. But does the fault with the methodology or the type of person being recruited? And does it matter whether those innovations are close-in or disruptive? Let’s examine both of those issues with three key quotes from academics over time:

Consumers’ expectations for how they learn about, try and purchase products is that discovery should occur in a way without undue effort on the part of the shopper. A great way to bring this concept to life is the phrase “route to me” - which said another way means: treat me as a unique individual and not as a cohort when suggesting exciting new products.

As consumer packaged goods shopping increasingly moves online, it raises a host of questions about how shopping behavior changes when it’s on screen vs. walking around a store. Recently we’ve been helping our clients better understand consumer shopping behavior in online channels, and as you might expect, it’s been fascinating!

Have you ever seen car manufacturers' test their future models with a crazy, eye-catching black and white camouflage meant to obscure both brand and design? This past weekend I was able to witness two of these examples being tested on Colorado’s mountain passes.... and they both provide a perfect analog to how Mission Field helps our CPG clients test their new product innovations in plain sight.