Well… we did what we said we would at Fi Europe this year; delivered key presentations, met with friends old and new, observed new trends from the show floor and even managed a glass (or two) of Champange. It was a very successful event for the Healthy Marketing Team. Our presentation links, summary of our Health Claims Special Report and key insights from the show can be found below.

Presentation Links: Module 4B – Health Claims: A Re-Evaluation

Health claims or not health claims? How to convert a health interest to a product purchase
– Presented by Peter Wennstrom

Case Study: Sustaining consumer trust when removing an ‘unofficial’ health claim
– Presented by Neal Cavalier-Smith

 
HMT Special Report: “Health Claims: How to convert health interest into purchase”

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Report Contents
– The Industry View: The perspective of Key Stakeholders.
– The impact of removing claims. What Really happens?
– Case Studies on products excelling without a health claim.
– How consumers see your claims.
– How you can sell more by making softer claims that hold meaning for consumers.

 
Key Insights and Observations at Fi Europe from the Healthy Marketing Team

Holding no punches

Neal Cavalier-Smith doesn’t hold back when expressing his views and as our Director of Consulting, he is usually right on the money. His observations on innovation at this years conference…

“Genuine new innovation appears to be on hold. Largely driven by duel forces of economic uncertainly and Health Claim uncertainty. The racing certainty is that people will still be eating next year and the lifestyle consumer will continue to demand ‘new new’! Brands smart enough to bring the highest trending lifestyle benefits into the early mass market will be heard more easily against a background of sameness and mediocracy coming from others with less courage!”

From the show floor

Sam wore out his shoes walking up and down the show floor, catching up with clients of old (and new) and picking up some treats along the way…

“On my first coffee run of the day I was offered a sugar-free muffin with no saturated fat, gluten, wheat, dairy, carbohydrate, mono sodium glutamate… or taste. The ‘muffin’ part sounded great, the rest didn’t. At the end of day consumers want to be confident they’re eating real food. Ingredient and technology companies need to keep a benefit focus vs ingredient (or lack off) to secure consumer trust.

This incident reminded me that Fi Europe (much like IFT in the US) has a very technical and B2B focus. Companies are still very ingredient centric which requires a big shift for the benefit to be understood by consumer. Even in B2B companies need to be able to communicate the benefit to their customers’ consumers in B2C.

Finally, it has to be said that in an ever-increasing digital age, it is far more productive and nicer to meet people in person!”

Locked in room… with a view of the future!

Locked in meetings rooms for two days, Aurore de Monclin’s engagement with our clients led to some game changing observations, notably a shift from consumer convenience to empowerment.

“Convenience no longer means ‘instant’, ‘ready to go’, ‘all in one’.

Consumers want the control back and a degree of emotional engagement with food & drinks brand. They also want less complexity, more affordability, proper nutrition and satisfaction!

A definite shift from convenience to empowerment:

Two concepts are delivering this successfully:
- Home-meal creation is a hit (Dr Oetker Café Gourmand): it enables the consumer to participate and deliver affordability & flexibility
- Slimsticks: how to control your appetite, the way you want”

If you have any questions or would like to contact us at the Healthy Marketing Team, please do so by emailing me or calling at +44 (0) 207 814 1917.