The boss of a leading brand design agency says he expects drinks companies to make serious attempts at bringing innovation to UK supermarket drinks fixtures in 2005.
But Paul Foulkes-Arellano, managing director of Wren & Rowe, the agency that used to handle Safeway’s wine and spirits exclusive-labels, said brand owners were still being put off by what they see as closed door buying policies of the leading retailers.
“I think we’re going to have a crack at the retailers this year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot more innovation projects this year and if the major retailers don’t take them, we’ll find another route to market.”
Foulkes-Arellano said Tesco alcohol director Mark Murphy’s criticism of levels of drink innovation (The Grocer, November 20, p68) indicated that the barriers could come down in the near future.
He added: “Consumers vote with their feet. If retailers start to carry interesting things people will go there and seek them out. In the past, Tesco has been an innovator in many areas of the supermarket and I think it’s in the Tesco mentality to start doing it again.”
One area that could see a lot of activity is Russian vodka, with producers queuing up to enter new markets. But Foulkes-Arellano said the US remained a more fertile environment for NPD.
“We had one vodka client that set up a UK office but found it so hard to get into the big retailers that they closed it and went to set up in Miami instead.”
But Paul Foulkes-Arellano, managing director of Wren & Rowe, the agency that used to handle Safeway’s wine and spirits exclusive-labels, said brand owners were still being put off by what they see as closed door buying policies of the leading retailers.
“I think we’re going to have a crack at the retailers this year,” he said. “We’ve got a lot more innovation projects this year and if the major retailers don’t take them, we’ll find another route to market.”
Foulkes-Arellano said Tesco alcohol director Mark Murphy’s criticism of levels of drink innovation (The Grocer, November 20, p68) indicated that the barriers could come down in the near future.
He added: “Consumers vote with their feet. If retailers start to carry interesting things people will go there and seek them out. In the past, Tesco has been an innovator in many areas of the supermarket and I think it’s in the Tesco mentality to start doing it again.”
One area that could see a lot of activity is Russian vodka, with producers queuing up to enter new markets. But Foulkes-Arellano said the US remained a more fertile environment for NPD.
“We had one vodka client that set up a UK office but found it so hard to get into the big retailers that they closed it and went to set up in Miami instead.”
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