THIS week's contributor is Angelo Di Sapia, head of sales & innovation at Lipa Pharmaceuticals.
HAVE you ever seen a great new product that you think is a genius concept only to later find out it has performed poorly in the market place? It happens a lot -- in fact there are numerous statistics on new product failure rates and the percentages are high. Why is that you ask? Well, Australian consumers are clever. If they are happy with what they are using they won't change, especially if the price of the new innovation is somewhat higher and doesn't offer any real tangible advantage -- if it ain't broke don't fix it, right? Fortunately, in the area of health there is a lot we need to fix, creating many opportunities for new product innovation.
At Lipa we see and help develop hundreds of new concepts and products every year. So what's the secret to success?
Innovators often get caught up in the romance of the idea and often forget that consumers need to understand the benefit and the price needs to be right. Consumers won't pay more for something they are happy with or are already getting (why use a stylus pen when you own a finger, 10 actually).
Fads will come and go. However, the Australian complementary medicine industry continues to grow, and you would be surprised at which simple concepts are often the most successful!
For more information on new product development for complementary medicines contact npd@lipa.com.au.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 31 Oct 16
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