Laura Murray, Madrid Office, Bord Bia – Irish Food Board
Retail disruption has been one of the single biggest challenges to the food industry in recent years causing FMCG brands and retailers to quickly adapt to the consumer demands and trends happening around them. The growth of online retail, as well as an ever-growing popularity of alternative food and drink options, proves that innovation is as important now as it ever was and brands are learning to quickly pick up on new consumer patterns and promote a new type of shopping behaviour in order to stay relevant.
To find an example of how some retailers are adapting, we can look to Caprabo in the Spanish market – a retailer who launched its own gastronomic experience in its Barcelona store. ‘Chef Caprabo’ is a type of cookery school which offers classes and workshops to teach consumers about new foods and cooking techniques. The retailer offered 138 of these culinary workshops during the first quarter of 2018 alone and covered a wide variety of topics from how to make Tapas to Japanese cuisine to Paella, all with the goal of providing a new, innovative service to Caprabo customers. However, the idea will serve as a great way of attracting new customers to the store as well.
Another example of a retailer who is adjusting in order to avoid fading into irrelevance is Lidl in Dublin who are moving into the bar sector by building a pub next to one of its supermarkets in Tallaght. This move by Lidl perfectly demonstrates the ability for food retailers to think outside the box when improving shopping experiences for their consumers and adopt new strategies in order to survive in an ever-changing environment.
The majority of consumers are constantly on the look-out for ways to maximise their time, which is why it only makes sense that the best opportunities right now in the retail and FMCG industries are in making a consumer’s shopping and purchasing experience easier, faster, and more enjoyable. Given the changes mentioned above, it’s safe to say that the food industry will remain competitive and retailers will continue to defend their place against strong competitors like Amazon as retail disruption continues to develop.
