Market research often goes hand in hand with ideation, and can occur concurrently - knowledge you gain during your market research can feed back into more educated ideation sessions. There isn’t a hard and fast rule as to which comes first.
Market research is critical to do before you dive too deeply down the path of development. You may have an excellent product, however if it doesn’t align with consumer trends or if it is identical to something else that already exists, you could find yourself with an expensive personal pantry instead of a thriving business. It can also feel feel overwhelming - where do you start? How far do you go?
Let’s break it down.
There are two types of market research: primary and secondary.
Primary market research is new information that is collected solely for the purpose of the project at hand. This occurs through things like surveys and focus groups, even going out to your local grocery store and seeing what is available.
Secondary market research is existing information that is repurposed to inform decision making. This occurs through reports and articles that have their own studies. Both are essential in product development, however they are featured more dominantly in different parts of the creation and launching process. Let’s walk through where to conduct this research and when.
Secondary market research is a really great place to start to understand the current food and beverage landscape.
- Understanding the current market: What are the current food trends? What kinds of products have been blowing up recently, and which have been on the decline?
- Understanding your market segment: What category would your product fall into? How large or saturated is that category?
- Defining a target audience: Who are you trying to sell your product to? What are the most important things to know about your audience?
- Competitive analysis: What similar food or beverage products already exist? Which ones will you be directly competing with, and what woulda make a consumer choose your product over another one?
Once you have an idea, start gathering information on current trends and products to help guide you in determining how to make your product different from your competition. Maybe go back for a second round of brainstorming!
Once you have a clear idea, it’s time to get cooking.