J.M. Smucker's Analytical R&D Approach Supporting Company Expansion
Innovation Highlights
- Jif Squeeze: A bottle format with added convenience
- Jif Peanut Butter and Chocolate Flavored Spread: A new flavor innovation
- A Milk-Bone seasonal team focused on special occasions, such as holidays and birthdays
- An expanded presence in ready-to-drink and no-brew coffee through liquid coffee concentrates
J.M. Smucker is implementing a data-centered analytical approach to R&D that is keeping the consumer at the center as the company continues to grow. At the heart is extensive and diverse consumer intelligence.
Data from third-party intelligence, coordinated consumer visits, focus groups, and surveying is being used to drive decision-making with retail partners, supported by the company's in-house analytics and data science team.
“Through a comprehensive reporting strategy and diligent processes, we can arm those who support our retail customer relationships with self-service tools and platforms tracking performance and offering insights into opportunities,” a company spokesperson told CGT.
Also read: L'Oreal's Generative AI Lab Driving Content and R&D Personalization
J.M. Smucker has implemented tools that let it monitor micro and macro trends and consolidate product performance data across multiple sources to track evolving consumer behaviors and buying patterns.
At the No. 77 publicly-owned consumer goods company, data is also helping teams develop reformulations to overcome supply chain challenges, introduce operational efficiencies, mitigate cost pressures, and establish safety and quality measures.
Scaling R&D Innovation to Support Company Growth
These data-forward implementations at J.M. Smucker mark a longer-term strategy that includes amplified focus on convenient food and beverage to meet consumer preferences and needs across all parts of the day, per the company’s latest earnings call.
This includes the company's expansion into the snacking category with the acquisition of Hostess.
Technology, data, and analytics will help maintain growth momentum to deliver innovation for consumers more effectively and efficiently, the company said, as it plans for fiscal year 2025 to be a year of investment behind its brands and capabilities.
