Mintel, the experts in what consumers want and why, has announced the Indian Consumer 2022, uncovering the key trends that will shape the future of the Indian consumer market including their preferences for and expectations from brands across food, drink, and beauty industries.
Mintel, is a global market intelligence agency that has helped brands understand the dynamic consumer trends and helped brands engage with them. At the helm of Mintel’s India and Sri Lanka as Country Manager is MurtazaBakir who is responsible for the overall growth of Mintel in this region.
In an exclusive interaction with Medianews4U, Murtaza Bakir, Country Manager – India & Sri Lanka, Mintel speaks to us on the new innovations, the need for research and much more.
In the new normal what are the innovations Mintel is bringing to service clients?
Our roadmap over the next two years is to accelerate our expert-led strategy in helping businesses and people grow. From deepening our data science and analytics capabilities to providing enhanced customer experiences, and to expanding our global consumer intelligence with bolder and new insights, these are some of the key areas that will allow us to bring even more value to our clients in India and across the APAC region as they navigate an ever-evolving business landscape.
For example, in helping clients keep tabs on the changing market and consumer trends, Mintel’s Global COVID-19 Tracker looks into the impact of COVID-19 on consumer sentiment and behavior, whereas our economic issues tracker focuses on how these shifts are being shaped by the economic slowdown.
In addition, our Mintel India Reports continue to provide our clients in the FMCG sector a holistic view of the Indian consumer market and what these mean for their product innovation roadmap.
Today be it fashion/ FMCG have got into the e-commerce business, what is your take on this?
Amid a volatile economic landscape, the pandemic has triggered the shift to digital or e-commerce platforms as Indian consumers look to alternative channels to make purchases. This trend towards e-commerce uptake seen in 2020 is likely to be sustained during this period of recovery which presents new opportunities for FMCG players to innovate their offerings.
Our Mintel research observes that Indian consumers — having endured lockdowns and financial constraints — are eager to break out of their confines, explore and embrace novel experiences including in the purchasing process. With increasing smartphone ownership among urban Indians, retailers can adapt their services to reflect the market growth in digital or cashless payments and cater to consumers’ desire for a seamless and convenient online shopping experience.
When you say Mintel is a leading market intelligence agency, can you elaborate on this? Today, there are many market intelligence agencies, what is Mintel’s USP?
Mintel has been delivering world-class and market-leading expertise since 1972. Today, our global presence spans across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions and we are proud to be working with some of the leading consumer-facing brands across many industries in India by providing them with a deeper understanding of the local market and where it’s heading. At the core of our offerings is our purpose: to help businesses and people grow.
Our expertise in what consumers want and why is backed by high-quality and proprietary data as well as a rigorous research methodology to provide our clients with fresh perspectives and insights into the unique trends that are impacting the market landscape. Our Mintel Global Consumer, which is a bi-annual survey of 35,000 people across 36 markets globally, allows clients to deep dive and compares consumer attitudes and behaviour by identifying global trends that they can apply locally.
Further, our Global New Products Database (GNPD) monitors product innovations in 86 markets worldwide with more than 40,000 new products in FMCG are added every month. GNPD offers unrivaled coverage of new product activity to find and forecast innovation trends. But we don’t stop there. We review those predictions and how they are playing out in today’s consumer landscape in our “You Heard it Here First” thought pieces. For example, after spotting that the ampoule format will be a hit in China’s skincare market, the category saw a double growth in ampoule launches in 2020. This is one of the ways Mintel can help clients make use of the data and tools we offer so they can stay ahead of the competition.
Do you think that research now is a very important market tool for companies across the board?
The business landscape is rapidly evolving and has to adapt to new technology and changing consumer behaviour — market research can help it do that. Our clients use our market intelligence solutions for different reasons and contexts. But one thing that is always of value is that it helps them to see the bigger picture.
For example, marketers might use it in benchmarking to see how their product is performing compared with the rest of the market while product development teams can also use it for inspiration. Our Global New Products Database (GNPD) mentioned earlier can tell them, for instance, how the plant substitute trend can have a big impact on the food industry, and learn from other markets on how they are communicating it through innovation in product labeling or packaging. Our Indian analysts who are specialists in categories like food, drink, beauty, and personal care can help them make sense of these market and consumer data.
Whatever the company’s size, market research can give them this broader perspective, a way to challenge preconceptions, and help to open the world for new opportunities that they might not even have had the chance to consider before.
What are the trends you are seeing in 2022 not only in the Asian market but also globally?
We recently launched our 2022 Global Consumer Trends, which highlights the trends that are set to impact global consumer markets this year including:
- In Control: In times of uncertainty, consumers crave a sense of control over their lives. Brands can deliver the information and options that consumers need to feel like they’re in the driver’s seat.
- Enjoyment Everywhere: Having endured lockdown, consumers are eager to break out of their confines and explore, play and embrace novel experiences, both virtually and in the ‘real’, physical world.
- Ethics Check: While many brands have made their voices heard on controversial topics, consumers want to see measurable progress against their goals.
Backed by Mintel’s robust consumer and market data, predictive analytics, action-oriented insights, and expert recommendations, we put everything into context to better understand what it means for—and how it could inspire—our clients’ business decisions especially in this period of economic uncertainty.
Focus for 2022 for Mintel and where do you see yourself in the next 3 years?
In addition to the strategic roadmap that will help accelerate our innovation and market intelligence expertise to maximize the impact we bring to our clients, we are investing in our people. Mintel is not just a client-centric but also a people-centric company.
Strong company culture is a driving force behind our business, and the next two or three years are also about embracing an environment where our employees can all grow and develop. In the future, we also expect to see our local teams grow in India being one of the key growth markets for Mintel in APAC. Taken together, this will continue to position Mintel as the world’s leading market intelligence agency in the years ahead.
