Observations - Stephen Lloyd

"Seek opportunities to meet universal consumer needs."

20 trends we will be living with in the 21^st Century
(and some implications for marketers)

	From		To
1	Group identity	ð	Individual identity
2	Role playing	ð	Assertive self
3	Nuclear family	ð	Diversified families
4	Traditional Expectations	ð	Personal Preferences
5	Focused commitment	ð	Expanding network
6	Obsession with work	ð	Balanced lifestyle
7	The company	ð	The work itself
8	The functional	ð	Ambient
9	Simple sensory	ð	Heightened sensuality
10	Real nature	ð	Information nature
11	Being healthy	ð	Feeling healthy
12	Information	ð	Information environment
13	Mass media	ð	Personalized media
14	Ascribed roles	ð	Role choice
15	Home/career choice	ð	Home/career accommodation
16	World as an international market	ð	Global economy
17	Economic animal	ð	Pleasure-seeking consumer
18	Things	ð	Experiences
19	Luxury purchase	ð	Luxury enjoyment
20	Famous brands	ð	Authentic/meaningful brands

Some implications for marketers:

The evolution and coming of age of baby-boomers
Increased likelihood of market fragmentation/product diversification - "My brand" – including brands for the older age segment
Continued high pressure on marketers for innovation - new product categories and new ideas in existing categories
Increased interest in the healthiness/wellness and quality of products
Authentic and natural products increasingly favoured
Importance of convenience (without guilt)
Growth of interest in lifestyle
Smaller households (young singles, the expanding older consumer base) favouring portion control/smaller pack sizes
Families with fragmented eating patterns
Continued internationalization of the typical diet
Ambient communication and innovative design/packaging
Sensuality of food
High expectations for the demand for authenticity.

The primary food industry need will continue to be innovation - driven by key needs arising out of global competition, distribution needs plus food consumption and lifestyle trends.

Continued globalization of the food industry will create increased concerns over the future of local/Australasian companies. Many will seek greater innovation and niche opportunities as a result of:

Global competition
Mergers/acquisitions and restructuring
Redefinition of core activities
Foresight planning
Consumer pull
Technology push
Fragmentation (e.g., retail food distribution)
Rationalisation of product portfolios/strategies for re-focusing.
Ability to attract and retain skills and capabilities
Training, re-training, re-deployment of people to develop new, pre-emptive capabilities
Ability to seek, to identify and to forge the right complementarities.

Critical Factors for Success

Ability to identify and to address key issues (e.g., to deal effectively with capability strengths, weaknesses and dysfunctionalities).