On the show today, we have Eric Pierce, Director of Strategy and Insights at New Hope Natural Media. We’re talking 2017 trends that are affecting natural products and CPG companies. While this interview may be more geared toward our CPG marketing nerds out there, the macro and cultural shifts Eric covers really apply to anyone with a business model that relies on selling what people eat or drink.
Restaurant marketing nerds, there’s knowledge for you to be gained here too.
Eric and his team are extremely tapped in to the industry, and having just released their 2017 Trends and Opportunities Forecast, it was the perfect time to have him on the show. You'll get to hear about the report in this episode.
If you're interested in where the industry is headed, new categories of products that are starting to emerge, or are looking for potential areas of opportunity for your brand, you're going to take a lot away from our interview with Eric.
In our conversation, Eric tackles the latest trends and how as a marketer you can make the most of what's going on. Here are just a few topics we touch on in the interview:
What categories within natural products industry are most rife with opportunity in 2017 and beyond? (Eric and his team's ability to see and contextualize macro level data puts them in a unique position to catch trends ahead of the market. I think you'll enjoy hearing his answer to this question.)
What are the biggest 2017 trends food and beverage companies should watch out for? (With their 2017 Trends and Opportunities Forecast hot off the press, Eric shares findings from what he and his team have been working on.)
What are some of the driving forces behind the shifts in consumer taste? (The food industry is changing, and Eric connects the dots between a few trends in technology that may have a correlation to why we demand different food than we did just a decade ago.)
Links discussed in the episode:
Books:
Blue Ocean Strategy
The Dorito Effect by Mike Schatzker
The Third Plate by Dan Barber
The End of Plenty by Joel K. Bourne
Gaining Ground by Forrest Pritchard
The Soil Will Save Usby Kristin Ohlson
The Good Gut by Erica Sonnenburg and Justin L. Sonnenburg
The Hidden Half of Nature by Anne Biklé and David Montgomery
Life's Engines by Paul Falkowski
Links:
http://newhope.com/
http://nextforecast.com/
Food, Inc. (documentary)
Fat Sick and Nearly Dead (documentary)
http://foodmarketingnerds.com/beyond-traditional-food-marketing-will-schafer/
http://whatsnextinnatural.com/