DuLynn Dornblaser of Mintel Research says that the failure rate among new products launched in the USA has now reached an astonishing 90%. In other words only one in ten new products succeeds in the marketplace. By ‘succeeds’ she means ‘is still on the shelves 3 years after being launched’. Her sample is from big brands launched by big companies. Think how hard it must be for new small firms to break in.
Although the research was based on US markets, the same figures are plausible in Britain. In The Grocer (1 October 2011) Emma Brock of the brand design agency Coley Porter Bell said there have been ‘no fewer than 2,000 new confectionery launches in the past 5 years’. Yet she considers the last genuinely innovative new chocolate confectionery launch to be Double Decker back in 1976. She regards most of the recent 2,000 launches as ‘mash-ups’ derived from existing brands, rather than true innovations. Examples would include Mars Triple Choc or Aero Bubbles (bite-sized round balls).
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