The Institut Cerdà’s Mass Consumption Innovation Observatory, formed by a panel of independent experts, presented this morning the main innovations in the sector in 2023, among which Mercadona’s new transparent film cutting system stood out. The award recognizes that the product has improved by incorporating a guillotine system that facilitates precise cutting and prevents the film from sticking and being cut in unwanted ways, and contributes to reducing plastic waste.
Mercadona had developed this innovation after detecting the need in its clients with the help of the specialist supplier Plasfesa Products, which manufactures it in its facilities in Oliva. As highlighted in the seventh edition of this Observatory: “Mercadona has thus transferred to mass consumption a faster and more precise cutting method previously reserved for the professional segment.”
Mercadona explains that its corporate culture is based on “service excellence and continuous quality improvement that drives innovation transversally throughout the company.” The company has a pioneering Co-Innovation Model in which it has been working since 2011 through its so-called Apron Strategy.
In this way, it shares with customers experiences and habits of food and beverage consumption, home cleaning, personal grooming and pet care, later transferring them to specialist suppliers to promote direct collaboration to develop an effective assortment. The company has a network of 24 co-innovation centers in Spain and Portugal, product development ‘laboratories’ where Mercadona specialists are in charge of capturing customer needs and contrasting the quality of the company’s assortment.
