So much of this industry is about creating meaningful connections. Successful products that generate long-lasting repeat purchase patters resonate with their consumers. At first, those products need to stand out on the shelf—to catch the shopper’s attention. And then they need to deliver on expectations. Competition is fierce. These aspects of product development guide so much of how I see the industry.
During my interview with Jeffrey Sanfilippo, CEO of John B. Sanfilippo & Son—the fourth generation of family leadership at the company—for this month’s Snack Producer of the Year cover story, at one point, he said something that really stuck out to me, “We can’t just launch the same items as our competitors.”