Redoing the entire shopping experience is a must: G K Suresh

Giving insight on categories like product and packaging, consumer understanding and merchandising aids, G K Suresh, VP Marketing - Foods Business, ITC, spoke in length about the various opportunities available in the present modern trade scenario for marketers.

Speaking at In-Store Asia 2015 on the topic "Crafting Clutters-Breakers in a Crowded FMCG Retail Environment", Suresh shared his experience at ITC and stated that unconventional packaging has always worked for brands. "Be it jars, cartons, shelf ready packs or even channel special SKUs, innovation is the key word for them all. In terms of merchandising aids, use of colours, communication at shelves, and co-creation -- amphitheatre, lightweight, contemporary -- are extremely important and the only way to break clutter."

He said that consumer understanding, reminding consumption, occasions like sampling, educating and providing an experience to the them are some of the vital elements which must be looked at for higher levels of innovation at re-crafting the shelf. "Redoing the entire shopping experience is a must. However, there are many miles to go before this is done. For this we need to have a tunnel vision because consumer is king," Suresh commented.

He ended the session on a high note by saying that engendering trust and free-sharing of information are two aspects to keep in mind and it is time to move from transaction to problem solving.