Mairead Cassidy, Strategic Information Services, Bord Bia-Irish Food Board

Bord Bia maintains an extensive library of desk research which Irish Food Manufacturers can tap into, if you need help gathering information about consumer behaviour, individual sectors, or future trends on innovation.

An innovation opportunity should be based on a consumer need or want which you believe has potential to be a scaleable business opportunity. Stage 1 on the innovation journey is called GROUNDWORK. The Groundwork stage of the innovation process is all about stepping back and taking a look at the bigger picture. At this stage you need to pull together all the information that is available about the sectors and markets you want to develop, we call this information desk research. 

Here’s a great example of how the Kellogg Company, the world's leading producer of cereals used desk research in the development and launch of Crunchy Nut Bites, a more recent extension to the Crunchy Nut Brand. 

The objective of this innovation was to provide a new flavour and texture for consumers, helping Kellogg's extend its share of the breakfast cereals market. Desk research from [market research publications] was used to find out about innovation trends in the cereal market. It was also used to find out about new products, flavours and foods from around the world. Food developers at Kellogg’s used this information to come up with a number of new food ideas.

Kellogg's launched Crunchy Nut Bites in September 2008. Sales data shows it was one of the best performing brands to launch in the breakfast cereal category, with a sales value of £6.9 million in its first full year of sales (IRI sales data). This illustrates that the detailed market research (desk research and primary research) undertaken during the planning stages was invaluable. It helped to ensure that the product extension hit the spot with consumers straight away.

E-mail your desk research queries to the inquiry team at info@bordbia.ie

Bord Bia run an innovation programme foresight4food, read about it here