Last month I wrote about the requirements from new grocery products if they are to succeed with today’s consumer. First amongst these, is to set the bar high. Your new product needs to be considered by many consumers better than all the alternatives in your price bracket. Good isn’t enough – you need a really excellent product. But even that alone isn’t enough. You need an equally good, and a genuine, business rationale. Without one, you are unlikely to secure the support from the trade that you will need for a sustainable success.

We all know, even if we sometimes forget, that what this means is a category first rationale. The ability to demonstrate that if the product succeeds, it will be good news in the long term for the health and the growth of the category. But how do you show that to be true? It’s perhaps easiest to start with what “category first” it does not mean. “Because we can make it”. “Because we need to protect our share of space on the shelf”. “Because a competitor did something similar and it is hurting us”. “Because we have to be seen to be bringing some innovation to the trade”. Only an idiot would actually say these things, but beware! Whatever you say, if this is the real rationale, buyers have a habit of reading between the lines. They have seen a lot of innovation pitches.

So what is a genuinely good category first rationale? It needs to demonstrate at least one of the following three things.

First, the innovation can bring new buyers to a category. In other words, it appeals to people who are not currently buying the category. Take Craft Gin. Several new players have attracted new consumers (and younger consumers) in droves, with interesting products, smart design and great provenance stories. Which Spirits buyer isn’t going to be interested in Brands that can offer that kind of category rejuvenation?

Second, the innovation takes the category into new consumption occasions. Take Cheese. It has products designed for snacking, sandwich making, cooking and “foodie indulgence”. The more occasions a category fits, the bigger the category is. Cheese is a huge category because it has pervaded so many of our eating occasions, by designing products that fit.

Third, the innovation meets developing needs and trends. In this interconnected world, food fads and trends move faster than ever. Pace of response is essential. The category that can quickly offer the right ingredients (for example, Tumeric) and harness the right needs and trends (Veganism, Clean Eating) will grow faster than the Category which is still thinking about it.

So if you can genuinely argue a category first rationale – more consumers, more occasions or emerging needs – and if you have a great product, you are set fair for success. But it still isn’t always enough. There is one last piece in the jigsaw. You will need to support the launch and establishment of the innovation, to make sure it takes root for long term success. More on that next month.