Retailers and their suppliers routinely say consumer insight is crucial to their business. But if you ask what they really mean, the answer often lacks substance. Few leaders show a real understanding of how to maximise these insights to drive success.
So how can you make insight make a difference for your organisation? One good way is to work through the what, the why and the so what.
I’ll use Charlie Bigham’s as an example. How would you go about understanding Charlie Bigham’s within the context of its category? I don’t know the company well and don’t have access to the category data. So I’ll make some assumptions.
The what, the why and the ’so what’?
Start with the what. If you have the right data, this bit is easy. It’s about the facts.
You’d see that Bigham’s has grown steadily over 20 years. Reported revenue was £144m in 2024. You’d see that it built up from a stronghold in Waitrose through Sainsbury’s, Tesco and beyond. You’d find a high price per meal versus the category. You’d find Bigham’s attracting a more affluent shopper. You’d see good growth from meal deals. All this stuff isn’t insight – but it is important fact.
Then move on to why. Why is Bigham’s working? This bit is harder. Some of the answers may not be obvious even to the shoppers of the products. Start by using your imagination and intuition.
Perhaps the wooden trays are important to the brand’s success because they are different from the plastic that most meals use? Or is it that the meals can’t be microwaved or air-fried? Logically that should restrict their appeal, but psychologically it makes them seem more like wholesome, natural food. Is the focus on British staples like fish pie and macaroni cheese a key success factor?
Is it nothing more complicated than excellent recipe development and ingredient quality? These are the kind of questions you need to be asking. Don’t rule out hypotheses that can’t immediately be proven. On the contrary, encourage them. You can test your ideas later.
Finally, move on to so what – the hardest bit. If you’re Charlie Bigham’s, how do you preserve your essence and not get bored with the winning formula? If you’re competing or just looking to learn, how could you copy aspects of that formula, or better still leap-frog them? For example, what kind of pack would connote wholesome and natural even better? Or maybe you should take a different road entirely. As ad executive Rory Sutherland says, the opposite of a good idea can be a good idea. Maybe there’s potential in very adventurous, unfamiliar meals just for the microwave.
Insight is more than science. It is also art. Understand what, but focus on why and so what.
Jeremy Garlick is a partner at Insight Traction
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