Driving growth through innovation: Key insights from Circana’s Emily Mayer

Audrey Ashworth, Director of SIAL Paris recently took part in a webinar led by Emily Mayer, Director Business Insights at Circana. Around 450 participants heard insights on innovation for sustainable success and how retailers and brands can use it as a source of growth. The SIAL Paris Newsroom recently spoke with Ms Mayer as she looked back on some of the key takeaways from the event.

Could you give us a brief overview of the webinar?
The idea of the webinar was to give insights to both retailers and manufacturers to help them achieve success with their innovations. We are seeing that innovations are becoming less and less successful in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) markets. Innovation is no longer a major driver of growth, as new products are generating less turnover than before. After a period of high inflation and ongoing geopolitical instability, the market is facing real challenges. Growth is slow and we need both volume and value growth. Innovation plays a key role in this: new products can generate additional sales and often command higher prices than existing ones, adding more value. We created these webinars to provide a kind of recipe for success when launching new products on today’s FMCG markets.

How would you define “innovation for sustainable success”? What does this mean in practical terms?
When we talk about sustainable innovation, we’re not referring to environmental sustainability. We mean innovation that succeeds beyond its first year on the market. Launching a new product requires significant investment—R&D, media, promotions, and more. So the real goal is to ensure that the innovation survives in the medium and long term. Unfortunately, most new products disappear within a few months of launch. The aim is to keep innovations on the market for as long as possible—turning them into essential, must-have products.

What do successful and resilient brands do differently when it comes to innovation?
There are two key factors behind successful innovation. First, it’s about the value it brings to the consumer. As Audrey Ashworth said during the webinar, innovation means offering something new and different to the consumer, the category, and the retailer. Best-sellers often focus on indulgence, practicality, and wellness. Consumers are willing to pay more, but only if the benefit is clear and the price remains reasonable—especially in today’s environment.

Second, in-store execution is critical. Even a great product can fail if it’s invisible on shelves. We found that top-performing innovations have strong shelf presence and are clearly promoted—often placed at store entrances or in high-traffic areas. Visibility is what turns innovation into actual sales. If shoppers don’t see it, they don’t buy it—the story ends before it starts.

Are there any segments where innovation is under-exploited?
Innovation is severely underexploited across FMCG. In France, only 0.8% of FMCG turnover in 2024 came from products launched that year—down from nearly 3% a decade ago. This shows a significant decline in innovation’s role in driving growth.

Some categories still have more potential than others. Beauty and household products, for example, offer more room for innovation with new formats, segments, or functionalities. However, categories like beverages are harder to innovate in, with fewer options beyond new flavours or formats.

What can we learn from innovation in the out-of-home food sector that might translate to success in supermarkets?
The out-of-home (OOH) sector is a great source of inspiration for FMCG. It’s highly creative, with fast-moving trends and frequent innovation. I always tell my clients: watch what’s happening in OOH, because those trends often reach FMCG shelves a few months later. For example, American-style pastries—like donuts, brownies, cookies, or hybrids like the cronut—are booming in coffee shops and starting to appear in supermarkets. Another strong trend is world cuisine, including Tex-Mex, Asian (especially Korean), and African food. These categories were growing in OOH years before hitting retail.

So, if you want to stay ahead in FMCG, look at what’s working in out-of-home today.

Are there any other trends you’re seeing right now?
Besides world cuisine, protein-rich, energy-boosting, and plant-based products are booming, driven by changing diets in France. Snacking—both sweet and savoury—is on the rise, especially among younger consumers.

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