In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:

Do you have an idea that feels like “the next big thing?” Or maybe you’d like to build on an existing idea to tweak or enhance it. When it comes to the product development process, there are plenty of use cases where it can be applied. And for the entrepreneurs and businesses that apply it well, the outcomes can be incredible.

But there’s a big obstacle: for many, the product development cycle can be wildly intimidating and even mysterious. It can be hard to know what applies where and which steps to take at the right time.

In this article, we’ll go over the basics of the process, some examples, and six key steps to product development, including:

Idea generation Product and market research Product and business planning Prototyping Sourcing and manufacturing Product launch

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What is product development?

Product development refers to the overall process of taking a product from concept to market. This includes conceptualizing the item, identifying audience needs, collecting feedback, building the product roadmap, and launching the item. For some companies, product development covers revamping an existing product and introducing an old product in a new market. …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

Starting a business can be one of the most rewarding experiences of someone’s life, and the satisfaction that comes with owning a successful business can be life-changing. It isn’t all easy, but seeing your labor bear fruit can be worth the effort.

Starting a retail business, in particular, is one of the most popular small business concepts and can be highly profitable if done correctly. Fashions and trends change, markets shift, but one thing remains true: people will always want or need to buy products, and a customer-focused retail operation can empower people to find the products that are going to improve their lives regardless of the current trends.

Simply put, a retail business is one that sources, aggregates, and then sells goods or services directly to consumers. The specific goods or services are what make your retail business unique and can include anything from products in a small convenience store to a major department store, high fashion boutique, or an online business. The goal of the business, whatever the product, is to generate profit from selling the products and services offered. Retailers are rewarded with growth, profit, and repeat business if they are able to provide their customers with …

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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

Before you launch your brand in the United Kingdom, it’s important to know what’s going on in today’s U.K. retail market as it may differ from the markets your brand currently has a presence in. Whether the British market is familiar territory or completely new, here’s a deep dive into understanding the U.K.’s marketplace, retailers, and how your brand can understand a new set of consumers.

Understanding the U.K. retail market

Over half of the £456bn industry is dominated by supermarkets, presenting a lot of opportunity for food and beverage brands looking to expand into the U.K. market. For years, the “big four” retailers have been Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons, but discount supermarkets like Aldi are quickly expanding in the market. Now that Aldi is outperforming Morrisons in terms of the country’s grocery market share, the “big four” are no more.

As we’re seeing in many countries, rising costs due to inflation are changing consumer behavior and the U.K. market is no exception. Inflation of grocery prices is up 14.4%, causing consumers to gravitate even more towards private label or store-owned brands over name brands to cut down their weekly spending costs. It comes as no surprise that the …

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In: Dropshipping|Last Updated:
Food Photography: How to Capture the Best Photos of Your Food

There’s nothing like looking through a restaurant’s menu, website, or social media and finding shot after shot of mouth-watering goodness. Good food photography isn’t just pleasant to look at—it’s also critical for the livelihood of your food business.

Think about it: Have you ever seen food photography that looks unappetizing or boring, only to write off the brand? That’s what makes it so important to give some special attention to your photos.

But don’t worry—there’s no need to spend thousands hiring a professional food photographer or buying sophisticated equipment. In this article, we’ll go over some key food photography tips to help you take the best photos, no matter your budget.

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1. Arrange your food

Arranging your food, called “plating” in the restaurant industry, is a key part of what builds someone’s first impression of your food. It builds the baseline for the aesthetic you’re creating with your food pictures.

Here are some tips for great plating:

Make sure your food is the star of the photo. Generally speaking, the food you want to capture should be in the middle of your photo. You can accent this by putting it …
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In: Retailing Tips|Last Updated:

One of the most persistent trends of the last 30 years of CPG marketing has been SKU (Stock-Keeping Unit) proliferation – the addition of more products and a variety of products based on changes to the market, such as adding several new flavors of a top-selling beverage. However, this trend is coming to an end. 

Over the next five years, we will see a contraction in the number of SKUs in the typical food retail store, driven by several factors: retailers’ desire to free space for more service-intensive, higher-margin products; the need to use space more efficiently with faster turning, more popular items; and to reduce supply chain and store labor costs.

The reduction will be concentrated in the 20 or so large categories containing the most SKUs with duplicate attributes, such as those stocking 60 SKUs of vanilla ice cream or 30 SKUs of blueberry yogurt. A shopper seeking vanilla ice cream or blueberry yogurt simply does not need this many options.

As the person who literally wrote the initial efficient item assortment protocol for the CPG industry as part of the development of category management in 1994, I can assure you that retailers can provide adequate attribute choices …

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