Innovative Brands: How Consumers Perceive Innovation

Abstract

The perception of innovation and innovative brands may be a differential advantage for the development and survival of many businesses. This paper aims to analyze how innovation impacts brand perception of Brazilian consumers of food products and processed beverages, in addition to identifying brands considered innovative in this sector as well. A total of 369 respondents contributed to the survey, offering 1255 features grouped in 10 categories from the content analysis: Entrepreneurship; Marketing and Communication; Product Mix; Practicality and Functionality; Packaging and Design; Consumer Relations, Management; Social and Environmental Sustainability; Technology and R & D; and New + New Experience. The results were compared to works that address innovation wich could be related to the food and beverage industry, as Domingues (2008), Oslo Manual (OECD, 2004), Tidd, Bessant e Pavitt (2008), Pleschak and Sabisch (1996) cited by Guo and Yin (2014), and Schumpeter (1982, 1985, 2005). Cross-analysis showed that, in general, the innovative brands have a mixing process or combination among the ten characteristics, with emphasis on three: Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Communications and Product Mix. Overall, this study showed that innovative brands are creative, confident and bold, present interesting advertisements, are affordable, value quality of their products and seek to satisfy desires, often still unknown by consumers.