From New Partnerships to New Channels: 3 Ways SPINS is Innovating Now

The natural and wellness market has never been more competitive and in need of innovation—and that’s not only because of COVID. Shoppers have chosen healthier lifestyle choices more and more with each passing year, proving that natural and organic items are staples, not trends. However, just because shoppers are looking for healthy and nutritious options doesn’t mean they don’t still care about convenience. This year’s pandemic amplified the importance of our industry and accelerated the need to offer easy sources of immunity boosters and rich nutrients. This is a unique moment to reach shoppers—both old and new—and rethink how we fit into their lives today and in the future.

That’s a challenge to all of us: brands, retailers, brokers, and distributors. SPINS is committed to creating an environment where your innovation can succeed and shoppers can enjoy the benefits.

The only way for innovation to succeed in our industry is with a path to market that allows for new ideas and disruption. New products need adequate exposure, time to grow, market testing, and refining. Which markets are best for which product? Which shoppers are choosing one flavor over another? Why are some sizes in demand in one location but not in another? Everyone wants and needs the space to learn.

For over 20 years, SPINS has been supporting the full ecosystem of innovation by supporting brands and retailers through access to market, benchmark, and product intelligence data. We want the next 20 years to be just as transformative. SPINS remains committed to investing in its talent and infrastructure to ensure our partners have access to information they need to flourish:

That’s why SPINS is expanding its channel offering from natural and specialty to include regional grocery and pet. This summer we are excited to provide partners with a comprehensive view of these growing markets and bringing insights that no one else is offering. We know shoppers spend a considerable amount of their dollars with regional grocers and build unique relationships with them over time. Likewise, pet owners are looking for healthy and quality products for their pets with the same care that they have for themselves. We’re also expanding our data to include outlets and comparative markets, such as vitamins and supplements, as well as eCommerce. We believe that in order to understand shoppers and the innovative items they want and need, our partners deserve a complete picture of the market.

From the start, we have believed in providing insights that reveal more about the shopping experience than a simple sales report can. We are investing even more in SPINS Product Intelligence to ensure you’re receiving the most accurate, forward-looking, and detailed insights possible. We’re taking a granular approach to categorizing product information so that identifying new trajectories and trends is even easier. And we’re benchmarking products at the subcategory level, which uncover insights you wouldn’t otherwise see.

Identifying trends and rising categories is fundamental to who we are. SPINS was coding organic products before organic was a movement—even before the Organic Trade Association existed. Earlier this year we unveiled our shopper-centric attributes, which provide a closer look at which ingredients and lifestyles—such as Keto, plant-based, or grain-free—are influencing purchasing decisions. We believe the best way to identify, respond to, and anticipate trends is to look beyond just what goes in a shopping cart and find the reason.

Over the past 4 weeks we’ve announced new partnerships that enrich what our data can do for you and are powered by our product intelligence. Each partner has the same focus on innovation and success that we do, and together we know our solutions are going to help retailers and brands reach new levels of success in this competitive market.

• Inmar Intelligence: Together with SPINS Product Intelligence, a common language can be used across the grocery product industry, helping retailers and brands have a richer engagement with shoppers online and in-store.
• Innit: This partnership connects retailers and brands to shoppers’ kitchens by enabling recipe- and nutrition-driven shopping, personalized eCommerce, improved product recommendations, and step-by-step cooking assistance using SPINS attributes and Innit’s platform.
• GrocerKey: Retailers can elevate their brand, build customer loyalty, and improve shopper engagement with custom experiences, personalized shopping, merchandising, and engagement.

These partnerships come from listening to the pain points our retail and brand clients tell us about, and they are just the beginning of our commitment to providing you with best-in-class solutions to succeed in today’s competitive market.

As we continue to find ways to strengthen our partnership with you and reimagine how our industry operates, we’ll be sharing more on these enhancements as they roll out. If you have ideas or feedback, we encourage to reach out and let us know. Innovation is the only way forward and we are excited to be with you on this journey.