FMCG Innovations and Trends by Sophia Nadur

What is Pokémon Go? Really, you don't know? Pokémon Go is a free smartphone app that was developed by Niantic Inc ., a San Francisco software development company that started life as an internal startup at Google . Since July 6th 2016, it's been downloaded by millions of folks all over the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand with launches in new countries happening weekly. In Pokémon Go , you take on the role of a Pokémon trainer in the search for 700+ Pokemons (fictional characters created in a mid-1990s Nintendo game for GameBoy ) to train to battle each other for sport. The augmented reality game uses your phone’s GPS location to place your character and other game elements in a map of of your current location. By changing your location (through walking, running or.....ahem....driving), you can virtually "catch" wild Pokémons that are near you, train them to make them more powerful, and later battle your Pokémons to take control of local gyms...

China a huge food & beverage market China is the world’s largest food & beverage market worth over £360 billion ($550 billion / €440 billion). Increasing disposable income and urbanization, an improving logistics system, growing concerns about food safety as well as an expanding taste for foreign foodstuffs are positive indicators for exporters wanting to capture a share of this exciting market. Of course its fragmented distribution infrastructure and growing local competition present a host of challenges to UK food & drink brands, however partnering with local experts and taking care to respect & nurture "guanxi" will go a long way to encouraging success.  Will the Great British Food Unit help turbo-charge UK exports? In 2015, UK food & drink brands exported £238 million ($357 million / €285 million) worth of tea, pork, processed milk and other food stuff to China, making the country a top 10 export market for the first time. Still, that o...

I met  Megan Hanney  in October during London's first  FoodTech  event which attracted the support of Google, Jamie Oliver and loads of folks working in the global food tech industry. Megan is also Chief Editor of a unique healthy food & drink entrepreneur focused blog titled " Clean Eats London " which  you can subscribe to by clicking  HERE  ( www.cleaneatslondon.co.uk ).  She recently interviewed me on my journey from the corporate world to startup and thoughts on the future of food & drink. The interview is reproduced in part below.  Megan:  You have had an incredible journey to becoming the co-founder of a healthy drinks start-up. What sparked your passion for healthier brands? Me:  I have always been a firm believer in eating well and as healthy as possible. I was lucky I guess to grow up in the Caribbean surrounded by lots of fresh fruit and vegetables - many of which we ate came from our backyard or from ...

Business most unusual for 1 Baby Boomer and 3 Generation X-ers Baby Boomer and famed rocker-turned-philanthropist  Sir Bob Geldof  issued last week a rallying cry to Millennials all over the world. His stirring speech at the  One Young World Conference  in Bangkok implored millennials to start "tweeting about serious things" and to "get real with your governments" and "get people of your age group to understand" about climate change, health, food education, security threats etc. (see it  here ).  Dr Aseem Malhotra , a cardiologist, founding member of  Action on Sugar   and Generation X-er, called on folks all across Britain to  " get angry about sugar ".  It is his fervent belief that it's only through public pressure that government will finally agree to taking important policy steps which could begin impacting positively on people's health right away (read more  here ). So...

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 (thanks in part to the British Library  Biz & IP Centre ) 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:...