TraceGains roundtables reveal fragmented data slows F&B innovation
New research from TraceGains, based on four executive roundtables held at Food Matters Live 2026, finds that food and beverage product development teams across Europe are struggling with fragmented supplier data, compressed timelines and rising compliance demands, even as appetite for innovation remains strong.
Six themes recur across the industry
The discussions, facilitated by
, brought together senior leaders from new product development (NPD), technical, packaging and operations functions. Conducted under Chatham House Rules, the sessions surfaced six consistent themes: misalignment between teams, a lack of trust in data, pace outstripping process, artificial intelligence adoption held back by weak data foundations, a disconnect between investment decisions and operational reality, and leaner teams managing greater complexity.
Amy Wilkinson, founder of Fearless Foodies
“Despite differences in company size, category and organisational structure, participants consistently highlighted the same underlying challenge,” said Wilkinson. “Innovation itself is not the problem. Rather, the greatest obstacles arise between teams, systems and processes as products move from concept through sourcing, development, compliance and launch.”
Bal Chand, Commercial GTM & Marketing Leader at TraceGains, said the roundtables identified consistent messages across all four sessions. On cross-functional handoffs, he noted: “Participants repeatedly pointed to project handoffs as the point where initiatives slow down or require rework. Teams often work from different versions of information, resulting in late-stage corrections, approval bottlenecks and avoidable delays. Packaging and artwork development were frequently cited as significant pressure points.”
Data volume is not the issue, trust is
The accompanying report, Winning the Shelf: Managing NPD Complexity from Source to Shelf, expands on the roundtable findings. It states that most businesses are not short of data, but short of data they can rely on. Ingredient information, specifications, compliance documents and supplier records are often held in separate systems, updated at different times and only partially visible to the people who need them.
Chand described the same dynamic in the press release: “While businesses have access to growing volumes of supplier, ingredient, specification and compliance data, participants reported that information is often fragmented across systems and functions. This lack of visibility leads to duplicated work, manual verification and slower decision-making.”
One unnamed participant, quoted in the report, offered a blunt comparison with other sectors: “I came from another industry. This one is years behind in how it uses technology and data.” The report adds that food manufacturing’s tools are available, but the “bigger challenge is whether organisations have the culture, investment and operating discipline to use them properly.”
Compressed timelines change behaviour, not appetite
According to the report, twelve-month development timelines are increasingly compressed into weeks, driven by retailer demands and fast-moving consumer trends. Retailers are also retaining more of the critical path themselves, leaving manufacturers less time for development work.
Chand said: “Retailers, consumers and trend cycles are compressing development timelines. Participants noted that organizations are increasingly expected to react within weeks rather than months, creating pressure throughout the product development process. Many also highlighted the need for earlier validation of sourcing, compliance and commercial viability to avoid costly surprises later in development.”
The report notes that supplier onboarding can take up to three months in some businesses, and that smaller manufacturers have discovered a product was not commercially viable only when completing submission forms the night before a deadline. The consequence, according to the report, is that teams under time pressure default to safer, more incremental development rather than pursuing more original ideas.
AI adoption limited by data foundations
Interest in artificial intelligence was strong across all sessions, Chand said, “with many businesses actively exploring AI-powered solutions.” However, he added that participants “consistently stressed that AI can only deliver value when built on accurate, connected and trusted data. Without that foundation, organizations risk amplifying existing inefficiencies rather than eliminating them.”
The report frames AI as a multiplier rather than a starting point, noting that without structured, connected data, AI tools risk creating additional validation work rather than reducing it.
Investment and resourcing gaps persist
Chand also pointed to a disconnect between those managing day-to-day NPD complexity and those holding budget authority: “Many attendees described challenges in securing support for process improvement and digital transformation initiatives. Participants noted that the complexity of modern NPD, supplier management and compliance processes is not always fully visible at leadership level, making it harder to prioritize investment in enabling technologies.”
Meanwhile, according to the report, NPD and technical headcounts have fallen in many organisations even as regulatory and sustainability requirements expand the scope of the roles, increasing reliance on manual coordination and institutional knowledge held by individuals rather than systems.
Connected data seen as the priority
Wilkinson said the findings point to a structural opportunity rather than a lack of expertise. “Across every session, participants demonstrated a remarkable level of clarity about the challenges they face. These are experienced professionals who know exactly where friction exists and what better looks like. The opportunity now is to create the alignment, visibility and ways of working that allow teams to move faster without increasing risk.”
Chand added that connecting supplier, formulation, specification and compliance workflows was central to the discussions: “By creating a connected foundation for supplier and product data, organizations can reduce friction, improve visibility and empower teams to innovate at the speed the market now demands.”
- The full report, Winning the Shelf: Managing NPD Complexity from Source to Shelf, is available as a free download from TraceGains:
https://tracegains.com/resource/what-food-beverage-leaders-say-winning-the-shelf
