GB FOODS Trend Challenge
To the international company GB Foods belong in Germany well-known food brands like Erasco, Heisse Tasse and Lacroix. These are popular for ready meals, soups and stews.
But how can the range of products, which enjoys great demand, especially in 2020, be wisely expanded?
In the seminar “Trend Research”, held by Prof. Ute Röseler, our students of the 2nd semester Brand Management were given the task of developing innovative product concepts that meet the spirit of the times as part of a practical trend challenge by GB Foods.
The Trend Challenge was supervised on the corporate side by Caroline Schmeißer, Brand Manager at Lena’s Küche and Brand University Alumna Julia Krüger, Junior Brand Manager at Erasco.
The “creativity” of the students was particularly required for the product categories ready meals and soups. As a basis for product development, the teams carried out extensive trend analyses and worked with the Trendexplorer tool. In this way they derived practical ideas for GB Foods from society’s mega and macro trends.
The presentations via zoom showed how different the social trends are that influence the convenience food market and can be taken up with new products to attract new target groups.
What conclusion does Julia Krüger draw?
“The Trend Challenge with the students of Brand University was a premiere for us and an inspiring addition to our internal innovation management.
The students derived numerous consumer-oriented trends and innovation ideas from their analysis work and professionally translated them into product concepts.
The ideas and derivations presented provide us with impulses and confirmation for our future-oriented work on the product portfolio, while the students were able to gain a practical insight into the complex work of a brand manufacturer with the project.”
As a thank you for their work, the students received goodie bags from Erasco, in addition to a certificate of participation in the practical challenge.
We would like to thank GB Foods for their cooperation in the Trend Challenge, which gave our students the opportunity to immediately apply their knowledge of trend research in practice.
