How businesses can ensure continued growth post-covid
By Mark Joll, Co-Founder of Sponge
The food and drink industry is one of many forced to reconsider its strategy following the COVID pandemic.
Reduced consumer spending and changing purchasing habits have left many companies out-of-pocket, significantly slowing growth plans.
Mark Joll, co-founder of online cake retailer Sponge.co.uk, reveals what businesses in the food category can do to ensure customer demands are met in 2023, as well as identifying strategies to ensure continued growth for years to come.
Attract new customers by expanding your online services
Shopping online became the norm during the pandemic and for any brands that didn’t already have an online presence, it accelerated this process.
Many retailers with physical stores were forced to close at the height of the lockdown. During that time, consumers switched their spending to online.
This is nothing new, online shopping is more popular in the UK than any country and the evident, upcoming growth in online shopping was one of Sponge’s considerations when deciding to launch the company purely online. Nowadays, the evidence is clear – 82% of the UK population bought at least one product online in 2021 [1]. Whilst brick-and-mortar footfall has recovered somewhat, a far higher proportion remains online than before the pandemic.
To remain resilient and keep up with the times, businesses must ensure that a significant breadth of their products or services are purchasable online. Online shopping isn’t going away and if they haven’t already, it’s a fantastic chance to reach new audiences, as well as build stronger relationships with existing customers. The sponge was selling cakes online long before many and, for this reason, was well-positioned during the pandemic to continue serving customers across the country. The shift to online shopping delivered rapid growth for the Sponge team, allowing Sponge to stay one step ahead of the accelerating digital transformation.
Product development
Product innovation is a driving force for companies and can prove vital for both recovery and incremental growth.
The fact is, consumers will always demand more from brands, and if products and services don’t continue to expand, how can businesses expect to grow? Not only this, but NPD can allow businesses to become industry leaders and experts in the field, with a reputation for developing industry-changing products and bringing them to market.
This is why, at Sponge, the team is constantly testing new flavor combinations to ensure innovation and an uninterrupted release of new products for customers. Those in food and drink should ensure new products are aligned with the seasons – for example, Sponge launched its Summer Special available for a limited time only, both online and in retail partners up and down the country.
By aligning new products with various awareness days and celebratory events, there is a much greater chance of satisfying customer demands post-covid, as well as ensuring growth in the long term. For quick and helpful insight, Sponge often launches its new products to paying members of the ‘Sponge Club’. For just £10 a year, customers can be among the first to try the new flavors, while Sponge also gets feedback on the quality of the product before it becomes available nationally.
Engaging new audiences
Unfortunately, many businesses experienced significant changes in purchasing habits amongst customers after the pandemic, cumulating in reduced spending and some shopping elsewhere. It’s vital then, that if businesses want to stay on the path to growth, they have to engage new audiences and enter new markets. Sponge has always understood that it’s near enough impossible to keep every customer forever and to reach new customers, it must begin by diversifying the offering as early as possible.
This goes beyond new products, as it means changing up a range of ingredients, services, and brand messages in order to first engage, but then successfully sell to new customers.
Sponge now caters to thousands of customers following a ‘free from’ diet. Spotting an opportunity early to enter an entirely new audience and market, catering to dietary requirements has completely transformed the business, resulting in over 30% of the products being created now fitting within the gluten-free range.
Ultimately, there’s a range of tactics businesses can deploy to ensure that they remain on the right track after the pandemic. The cost of living certainly hasn’t made things easier for the food and drink industry, but Sponge would recommend strong investment where appropriate to ensure new products reach new audiences both in-store and online.
Uma Rajagopal has been managing the posting of content for multiple platforms since 2021, including Global Banking & Finance Review, Asset Digest, Biz Dispatch, Blockchain Tribune, Business Express, Brands Journal, Companies Digest, Economy Standard, Entrepreneur Tribune, Finance Digest, Fintech Herald, Global Islamic Finance Magazine, International Releases, Online World News, Luxury Adviser, Palmbay Herald, Startup Observer, Technology Dispatch, Trading Herald, and Wealth Tribune. Her role ensures that content is published accurately and efficiently across these diverse publications.