Discount grocer Trader Joe’s has been selected by consumers as one of nine food brands that they consider innovation leaders. This list is a subset of the 50 brands that merited recognition as innovators in the 2022 Most Innovative Brands survey, conducted by Brand Keys Inc., a New York-based brand loyalty and engagement consultancy.
“The 11th annual survey is the only assessment of brand innovation conducted entirely from a consumer perspective,” noted Brand Keys Founder and President Robert Passikoff. “When it comes to innovation, consumers are the ultimate jury. Their expectations are constantly on the rise, and true innovation takes place within that framework. Expectation is the gateway to innovation.”
Added Passikoff: “It really doesn’t matter to consumers how many promises are made on earnings calls or patents a brand holds or the profits they post. Consumers don’t look at innovation that way. When it comes to the food category, innovation provides social and cultural opportunities for brands to expand into new markets and helps to shape and evolve consumer shopping habits.”
This year’s top food brands, ranked by innovation acumen, were:
1. Beyond Meat
2. Pringles (Kellogg’s)
3. Doritos (PepsiCo)
4. Impossible Foods
5. Coca-Cola
6. Starbucks
7. Trader Joe’s
8. Oatly
9. Amy’s Kitchen
Other food brands that consumers thought of as innovative but that didn’t rank in the top 50 this year included Chobani, Pepsi, Puris, Sweetgreen and Tyson. Trader Joe’s was the only grocer to make the list.
This year, 7,420 consumers (50:50 male/female, 16 to 65 years of age) identified companies and brands they saw as the biggest innovators of 2022 for Brand Keys’ survey. The 50 brands fell into eight industry sectors: consumer goods, entertainment, food, health care, social networking, software, technology and transportation.
With more than 500 stores in 40-plus states, Monrovia, Calif.-based Trader Joe’s is No. 27 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.