IGD convention 2014
Mark Winter
United Biscuits’ sales director for UK and Ireland discussed what made innovation disruptive enough to revolutionise the food and drink industry.
Winter: “Innovation is one of the highest priorities for ceos and the retail trade across Europe. Not only do we want it, consumers want it.
“So if we all want it and consumers want it, what’s going wrong? The paradox that we’re all facing is you can’t just ask people want they want. The saying from Henry Ford was if he’d asked his customers what they’d wanted, they would’ve asked for a faster horse.
“Technology is not the answer, or at least it is not the starting point. Disruptive innovation is about more than just new products, innovating the core is not just essential but can be just as disruptive.
“If the only constant in the market is change, if you don’t continue to make your product or core product more relevant to consumers’ lives then eventually you will die. We live in a very competitive market.
“Execution is ultimately the difference between success and failure. It’s a cliché, but a truth and it definitely is the difference between being truly disruptive and not working.”