Princes Group has announced that it is will invest £5 million over the next three years to accelerate its innovation efforts.
Princes Group – whose brand portfolio includes Princes tuna, Napolina, Batchelors and more – has partnered with specialist innovation agency Cubo to accelerate new product development (NPD), opened a new innovation kitchen at its Liverpool headquarters, and formed a new innovation unit called Innov8 by Princes.
According to the company, six new senior staff will join Innov8, which will collaborate with Cubo for innovation projects focused on brand creation, product design and development, packaging, commercialisation and channel strategy. Existing NPD teams at Princes Group will also be supported by the Innov8 unit.
Princes Group has also merged its Research and Insights team and its Innovation department, in order to create a centralised marketing hub that will gather consumer insights to support and drive the company’s innovation strategy.
Alan Eriksen, marketing director at Princes Group, said: “Along with all other food and drink businesses, we are adapting to constantly evolving consumer needs. We’ve changed the way our brands look and feel. We’ve invested in our sites to build for the future. And now we’re reimagining our innovation and NPD process, and putting it right at the heart of our business.
“Innov8 by Princes and the Cubo partnership will deliver strategic food and beverage blue sky innovation. It is an industry-first initiative and we expect this will redefine how we approach innovation and new product development. It will see our business adopt a new, agile approach to inspiring change, challenging the norm and driving success. Crucially, we’ll amplify the voice of consumers, who sit right at the heart of all the NPD decisions we take.
“Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically altered consumer behaviour and shopping patterns, so now is the time to listen and innovate as quickly as possible to respond to the changing needs of shoppers.”
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