Keeping Pace with Curiosity: The Brand Response
When we built Product Hub, we had one goal in mind: simplify product testing to save you time and money. But we weren’t just streamlining processes, we were preparing for a revolution: the rising importance of discovery in people's daily lives.
Open up your TikTok or Instagram, and you'll be hit with an endless scroll of fresh trends. It’s no coincidence that modern consumers have become explorers, digitally wired to seek out the latest products to feed their active curiosity. Such dynamics cast a shadow over the future of mainstream brands: if they don’t keep up, they will inevitably fall behind.
Our own investigations have produced clear evidence that curiosity is indeed all around: global chatter around discovery has jumped by 11% in the last year alone - spanning everything from viral dance crazes to extreme skincare routines. Zooming in, we found that discovery related postings about food are up 23%. For beauty, the annual uptick is a colossal 72%. Everyone, everywhere is going crazy for what’s next!
Leading players must set themselves up to be beneficiaries of consumer discovery, rather than victims.
Meanwhile, a survey of over 2,500 shoppers worldwide - powered by MMR’s latest Q.Bot tech – has revealed many of the drivers behind this shift in purchasing patterns. It turns out that consumers are seeking breaks from the mundane, driven by FOMO and a quest for personal growth. For an increasing swathe of the population, new products are an accessible way to fuel self-discovery.
As a marker for what’s to come, Chinese consumers are now buying into 25% more brands than they did just four years ago – reflecting openness to explore multiple brands rather than sticking to tried and tested mainstreamers.
With the search for growth more pressing than ever, leading players must set themselves up to be beneficiaries of consumer discovery, rather than victims. Achieving this will require product portfolios that are more impulsive, necessitating an increase in fresh, buzz-worthy innovations that spark curiosity and fuel social sharing.
For food and beverage manufacturers, there is a further dynamic to counter. With GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy cutting cravings and demand for packaged foods, innovators will need to go beyond calories and conventional tastes to generate incremental sales. Generating cravings via extreme heat, unexpected sour bursts, unconventional textures, and flavors can work here.
To achieve true volume growth in the Discovery Era, brands must activate innovation that satisfies widespread curiosity and as a result – safeguards brand loyalty. Leading names like Lays, Magnum, McDonald’s, Dunkin’, Kellogg’s and Cadbury are already doing this well, confirmed by our poll of the ‘World’s Greatest Discovery Brands.’ Many others are seemingly stuck in a rut, missing the opportunity to capitalize on this macro shift.
For manufacturers ready to dominate this era of rapid change, Product Hub is your ultimate partner. We’ve configured our platform to monetize new innovations faster and more cost-effectively than ever, because in today’s hyper-speed market, the window of opportunity to cash in on the latest trends is decreasing. Plus, our ability to efficiently test core ranges ensures that your bread-and-butter products stay resilient against the relentless onslaught of attention-grabbing competitors, paving the way for an anti-fragile strategy.
The Discovery Era is here. The question is, is your product development and testing infrastructure ready? If you need to revolutionize your innovation game, Contact Us today and let’s talk strategy.
Catch us live in 2025 as we break down the future of discovery at IIEX Asia Pacific in Bangkok, IIEX North America in Washington, and IIEX Europe in Amsterdam. Made you curious?