IHA checked in with Joe Derochowski, home industry advisor at NPD Group to learn about his latest research into how consumers are shopping for food and cooking at home, which he will address at the 2018 International Home + Housewares Show. At the Show, the Innovation Theater will feature 21 presentations over four days. Topics discussed will include smart home, consumer shopping preferences, branding and global market trends
Joe, what is the most exciting or rewarding part of your work?
Seeing the home industry grow.
What fuels your inspiration?
I believe we have an opportunity to help improve the lives of the American consumer for many generations to come if we seize the opportunity in front of us.
Can you name a pivotal event or project that impacted your career or company?
My first analyses using our Food Data that tracks how consumers eat, drink and prepare meals helped me appreciate and understand the power of allowing consumers’ needs to drive an organization.
In the past few years, what has changed most in your business?
The shifting dynamics between online and brick and mortar stores along with increasing difficulty for custom research have created many new innovations to track behavior and gain consumer insights to help retailers and manufacturers make better decisions.
How has your company met these challenges in the way you do your work?
We have developed many new services to help track consumer behavior and mindsets that are more passive and less obtrusive such as receipt scraping from your email accounts.
Grow with Urgency: Maximize Opportunities Now and Anticipate the Future
Monday, March 12 9:30 –10:20 a.m.
Innovation Theater, Lakeside Center, Room E350
Why did you choose to speak at the International Home + Housewares Show?
I want to help our industry grow and I believe I can help inspire creative thought to help identify growth opportunities.
Tell us what you will be speaking about and how this topic is important for Show audiences.
I believe we have a narrow growth window and I want to help our industry pursue that aggressively. I believe that in a few years we will be back to conditions as in the 1980s and ‘90s when finding growth was more of a challenge. I will be painting a picture of how changes in eating behavior are opening up new opportunities for growth in the home Industry, as I hope to inspire creative thinking about how to better meet consumer needs. I will use our history of eating and preparing foods to help illustrate the growth opportunities in front of us and to provide urgency to act now.
You’ve presented in the Innovation Theater before. What are you looking forward to most from speaking at the Innovation Theater?
It is my sincerest hope that next year someone stops me to say thanks for helping inspire a new idea that helped them grow their business.
What do you see as consumers’ biggest concerns regarding housewares products or how to shop for them?
I think consumers need help connecting the dots on how products can help them live a healthy life, entertain others and make their lives easier.
What are some of today’s trends or issues that new product development professionals and/or retailers face in the housewares market?
The move to online is impacting the launch process for new products, margins for existing product and relationships between manufacturers and retailers. All of this is making it difficult to focus on the consumers and their needs. Consumers are making more meals at home and each one of these meals means that consumers experience many “I wish, I hate, I love” moments that we can solve. All these issues mean it’s a fantastic time to be in the home Industry.
Thank you, Joe, for your enthusiasm and insight. You’ve seen many developments in your years of studying consumers and their food and beverage choices. We look forward to learning from you about what’s ahead for cooking at home at your presentation on Monday, March 12 at 9:30 a.m. For more information, contact Joe Derochowski or visit their website to learn more about NPD services.
Learn from experts about how to invigorate your new products and services by enhancing your innovation efforts. Critical issues such as global design trends, branding, the needs of distinct consumer age and gender groups, and questions about smart/connected devices in our home environments all impact the home goods market. Be sure to attend the free executive-level educational sessions at the Innovation Theater. These programs will give you a fresh perspective as you walk the Show and will inspire, inform and improve your business. All programs will be audio-recorded and will be available at www.housewares.org after the Show.
