FMCG Innovations and Trends by Sophia Nadur

The new "sweet spot" for soft drinks today After many years' marketing/innovating brands for global food & drink companies (including Coca-Cola and Unilever), I opted to launch a beverage #startup in order to respond quicker/better to evolving health & wellness trends. After reviewing numerous consumer, retailer & market research data and chatting with folks up and down the country on what they were looking for in a healthier drink while testing prototypes, it is clear that consumers are looking for 3 things these days from their beverage choice, namely (i) less of the "bad stuff", (ii) more innate, natural functionality, and (iii) something that can be "daily habit forming". Being able to deliver on all 3 consumer "wants" is in my view the "sweet spot" for a soft drink today. The essence of this "sweet spot" is shown here: A retailer response that would make Marie Antoinette proud Getting to...

65% of high-potential start-ups fail as a result of conflict among co-founders or between founders & other members of the management team.  In a  Financial Times  article, founders - including Tg Green Tea's co-founder Sophia Nadur, discuss why agreeing a ‘pre-nup’ can avoid a cocktail of conflicts. https://www.ft.com/content/2e5f512a-88df-11e7-afd2-74b8ecd34d3b

I am pleased to be presenting at the Food Vision Asia conference in Singapore 26th April 2017, on the topic of "East meets West meets East. Tapping plant wellness for new beverage segments" which will also showcase Tg green teas  - considered a leading beverage platform for translating ancient TCM wellness traditions into mass-market drinks. East meets West meets East. Tapping plant wellness for new beverage segments People instinctively know the value of consuming plant-based food and drink; they feel it’s good for their health and for the planet, its animals, climate and the environment.  In recent years, however, increased availability of highly processed products, largely marketed by Western companies, has broken the connection with indigenous plant-based diets for Asia’s millennial consumers.  At the same time, on the other side of the world the West is experiencing a fundamental consumer shift towards vegetarian, vegan and other plant-based formulations. S...

Where will you be 19-21 April? If you are a global innovator and/or brand owner targeting Chinese & other Asian consumers, you must attend the Food & Beverage Innovation Forum 2017 (FBIF): Global Innovation, Powering the Future (FBIF2017食品饮料创新论坛：全球力量，领变未来) in Shanghai. Keeping the food & drink market growing in 2017 and beyond will require new & deeper partnerships In Asia, China and India have created a huge new consumption market with the buying power of the two leading "E7 emerging economies" set to exceed that of any G7 economy by the next decade. Yet, both food & drink markets are dissimilar in logistical and demographic terms to a typical G7 market which, coupled with faster adoption of technology particularly in China, demand a very different approach to growth in most food & drink categories. The ways global behemoths like Coca-Cola and Nestle penetrated developing markets in the past simply do not work anymore. Collaboration with loc...

Kantar continues to report folks manage to eat on average just over 3 fruits & vegetables a day despite years of encouraging folks to aim for 5 a day. Now, researchers from Imperial College London are urging folks now to up fruit & veg intake to 10 per day [link to research press release ]. 10 a day. Researchers risk folks doing little more than throwing in the towel in despair, especially in the short term. In any event, looking just at fruit & veg's impact on cardiovascular health is too narrow a research focus in my view.  It would be more helpful if researchers looked at a broader basket of food & drink especially green tea , whole grains, spices and certain nuts. This might give us a better chance at improving overall health & wellbeing! Sophia Nadur www.drinktg.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophianadur/