Some manufacturers believe that their best hope for future development lies in regional focus.
However, maximizing the scale economies of global or regional brands while ensuring adequate responsiveness to local preferences within Europe is especially challenging. It has proven essential to ensure that perceived acquisition synergies and cultural match are high. New product development has fostered a greater understanding of consumer needs and thinking outside of existing product categories. Innovations have been spurred by the mega-trends of health, pleasure and convenience. Indeed, fast growth in functional foods has prompted successful new product concepts and the crossing of industry perimeters into new competition with pharmaceutical companies.