UK supermarkets saw a decline of 6.5% in sales of 'new' branded products last year, according to retail research group IRI.
The figures for the twelve months ending February 2017 equate to losses in revenue from new product development (NPD) of £99.6 million.
There were 8% fewer new branded items launched last year, and the number of new private label products fell by 2%.
Market Performance
IRI says that new products are finding it hard to achieve distribution in multiple retailers. Only around 14% of new products launched last year achieved more than 75% distribution in the major UK supermarkets.
Asda cut its ranges of new products by 9.8%, while Tesco and the Co-operative reduced their product ranges by 8.3%, Sainsbury's by 1.7%, and Waitrose by 2.7%.
Frozen food retailer Iceland, however, increased its range by 6.1% and launched a new line of luxury products.
Challenges To Manufacturers
"It’s becoming harder for manufacturers to stay on shelves as well as get new products into stores, so they are finding it more difficult to get the high level of distribution they need to make a success of NPD and cover the expense of innovating.“ said Tim Eales, strategic insight director at IRI.
"The challenge of achieving a sales rate for new product launches, that is greater than most of their direct competitors, makes most of them vulnerable to delisting in some stores. Ultimately securing distribution is the most important changing variable in the NPD landscape.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
