To propose something new, to invent oneself anew: sometimes it sounds paradoxical or difficult. But there are examples of success, such as Granarolo that three years ago introduced the 100% vegetal line of products, alongside the zootechnical-dairy products. Veronica Iannella – marketing, responsible for the Granarolo group – explained this in her intervention at the BEFE - Business Event For Experts - organised by Nunhems Italia, on the 19th of September 2018.
Veronica Iannarella
“We developed new skills, we reorganised implants and we tackled a new market. Some called us crazy, not everyone agreed with us. Yet, we did everything within few months. Now, we have a turnover of 27 million euros in this area: practically, we created a novel company”.
Andrea Fiorentini - Nunhems Italia - explains to the attendees how to answer the questions of the survey
The BEFE continued with an interactive workshop where the 110 attendees, provided with a remote control, could participate in the live survey conducted by Prof Enzo Baglieri of SDA Bocconi, Milan. The results showed a real cross-section, way better than the many expensive analysis surveys around Italy; it was a live service offered by the seed company. Probably, not all the participants were aware of that.
However, to the first question about innovation, 35% of the participants answered that it would be better to improve a given product adding more services, rather than change it constantly. Also, the second most chosen answer showed meaningful insights: the 24% claimed that there is not enough innovation, and the one that is pursued is not valorised sufficiently.
The professor highlighted, “be careful, you can die from innovation as well as from non-innovation. It is crucial to update, but it is necessary to align this with specific market demands.”
Regarding the aggregation, 35 % answered that to join the forces improves the competitiveness. On the other hand, 27% claimed that aggregations would be more useful if they were transversal to the production chain.
Baglieri also reminded the audience that is impossible to unequivocally frame the consumers, for they are not made in series, “You should satisfy them, yet you do not know them. The consumers’ conceptualization of quality oftentimes is different from your own. What is your relationship with the GDO? Distributors know consumers way better than you do”.
The 27% of the participants indicated the genetic resistance to diseases as one of the most interesting innovations of the last decades. Finally, Baglieri stated “I would have indicated the organic and the seedless fruit. Because the former is a good marketing move, and the latter because it satisfies a commodity desire of the consumers”.
