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New product development statistics
New Product Development Statistics: 110+ Figures on Launches, Failure Rates, Speed and Stage-Gate (2026)
Most new products do not fail, and most new products are not new. The failure rate everyone quotes has no study behind it; the panel data says a quarter of new consumer-goods items are gone after a year, and the launch data says the bigger problem is renovation crowding out invention. The figures below cover the whole arc: how many launches, how many survive, how long development takes, and what the Stage-Gate benchmarks say about why.
Each statistic links to its source with the year and the original wording. We compiled the list for our work with food, beverage and consumer-goods NPD teams, and we keep it updated in place.
The BOX is an AI innovation platform for F&B and FMCG NPD teams, built by Quartz Labs.
New product development statistics worth knowing in 2026
- Empirical studies since 1977 put the new product failure rate at 40% or less, and the "80% or higher" figure is a persistent myth, according to Castellion and Markham in the Journal of Product Innovation Management (Castellion & Markham, JPIM, 2013)
- One in four new US consumer-goods SKUs, 25%, is no longer being bought one year after launch, in a study of 83,719 launches across 31 categories (Victory et al., Ehrenberg-Bass, 2021)
- Almost two-thirds of new product launches are dead or dying by the end of their second year (Kantar, 2025)
- Only 35% of global CPG launches in the first five months of 2024 were entirely new products, the lowest share since Mintel's tracking began in 1996 (Mintel, 2024)
- In food and drink, just 26% of launches between January and May 2024 were new products, against 50% in 2007 (Mintel, via Grocery Business, 2024)
- The best companies started only 4.5 ideas to generate one product success, against 11.4 for the rest, in PDMA's 2012 study (PDMA, 2013)
- In the average business, only 44.4% of new-product projects are delivered on time (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011)
- In 2025, the 200 Pacesetters contributed 21% of dollar growth to total store sales (Circana, 2026)
- The top 25 US CPG manufacturers accounted for 59% of sales but only 2% of category growth (McKinsey, 2018)
- In about half of the businesses studied, gate meetings do not produce decisions (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012)
- Manufacturers using the Agile-Stage-Gate hybrid estimated roughly a 30% reduction in time to market and a 30% improvement in productivity (Cooper & Sommer, RTM, 2018)
- Only 19.2% of businesses rate their new-product efforts as very productive relative to R&D spending (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012)
What percentage of new products fail?
It depends entirely on what "fail" means, and the famous numbers never say. We give the headline claims first, with their provenance, and then the measured rates. If you need one figure for a deck, use the Ehrenberg-Bass panel study: 25% of new consumer-goods SKUs have stopped selling after one year, about 40% after two.
The claims that get repeated
The claim that about 30,000 new products launch each year and 95% of them fail is attributed to Clayton Christensen, but no Christensen study with that analysis has been found (attributed to C. Christensen, via Mintel, 2024[1])
Source wording
“After all, Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen, who developed the theory of "disruptive innovation", found that of the 30,000 or so new products introduced each year, 95% of them failed.”
A 70–80% failure rate for new grocery products is widely quoted, attributed to Inez Blackburn of the University of Toronto, with no underlying dataset published (I. Blackburn, via Food Processing, 2014[2])
Source wording
“The failure rate for new product introduction in the retail grocery industry is 70-80 percent.”
76% of new FMCG launches in Europe failed in their first year, meaning they did not reach Nielsen's commercial thresholds, in Nielsen's 2014 breakthrough study (Nielsen, via Marketing Week, 2014[3])
Source wording
“More than three in four (76 per cent) new FMCG product launches fail in their first year”
In Nielsen's 2015 global study, 55% of new launches were still on shelf at 26 weeks and only 24% reached a full year (Nielsen, 2015[4])
Source wording
“just over half (55%) made it to 26 weeks”
Almost two-thirds of new product launches are dead or dying by the end of their second year (Kantar, 2025[5])
Source wording
“Kantar's data indicates that almost two-thirds of new product launches are dead or dying by the end of their second year.”
What the measured studies find
Empirical studies since 1977 put the new product failure rate at 40% or less, and the "80% or higher" figure is a persistent myth, according to Castellion and Markham in the Journal of Product Innovation Management (Castellion & Markham, JPIM, 2013[6])
Source wording
“A persistent myth in product innovation and management is that the failure rate of new products is 80% or higher. How does this false idea continue to displace the conclusions of empirical studies since 1977 that the new product failure rate is 40% or less?”
One in four new US consumer-goods SKUs, 25%, is no longer being bought one year after launch, in a study of 83,719 launches across 31 categories (Victory et al., Ehrenberg-Bass, 2021[7])
Source wording
“We find that one in four (25%) new SKUs are no longer bought 1 year later—a rate that increases to approximately 40% 2 years post-launch.”
By two years after launch, about 40% of new US consumer-goods SKUs have stopped selling (Victory et al., Ehrenberg-Bass, 2021[7])
Source wording
“We find that one in four (25%) new SKUs are no longer bought 1 year later—a rate that increases to approximately 40% 2 years post-launch.”
61% of launched products succeeded in the market, in PDMA's 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study (PDMA, 2013[8])
Source wording
“61 percent of launched products succeeded in the market”
66% of 1,500 new food products tracked by Mintel between 2010 and 2012 were still on the market when checked (J. Stanton, via Food Processing, 2014[2])
Source wording
“66 percent of all new products that were sampled and reported by Mintel were SUCCESSFUL.”
About 40% of new products fail at launch, in Robert Cooper's review of the research (R.G. Cooper, n.d.[9])
Source wording
“About 40% of new products fail at launch”
In the average business, 53.2% of development projects succeed commercially (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“Success Rate 53.2%”
26.5% of development projects in the average business fail commercially, and the rest are killed before launch (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“Failure Rate 26.5%”
Why the numbers disagree. "Fail" can mean withdrawn from sale, below a sales threshold, below a profit target, or simply "not a breakthrough". The 76% and 95% figures use the strictest definitions or none at all. The 25–40% figures count products that stopped selling. Pick the definition before you pick the number.
How many ideas does it take to get one successful product?
Fewer than it used to, and far fewer at the best companies. The PDMA series has tracked the ratio since 1990. The gap between the best firms and the rest is not that the best have more ideas; they start fewer and kill earlier.
In 1990 it took, on average, 11 development projects to achieve one commercial success (PDMA 1990 study, via INSME, 1990[11])
Source wording
“In 1990 it took, on average, 11 NPD projects to achieve one commercial success”
By 1995 the ratio had improved to 6.6 development projects per commercial success (PDMA 1995 study, via INSME, 1995[11])
Source wording
“6.6 NPD projects to achieve one commercial success”
The best companies started only 4.5 ideas to generate one product success, against 11.4 for the rest, in PDMA's 2012 study (PDMA, 2013[8])
Source wording
“The best companies started only 4.5 ideas to generate one product success versus 11.4 for the rest”
The best firms' new-product success rate was 82.5%, against 53.8% for the rest (PDMA 2012, via INSME, 2012[11])
Source wording
“82.5% vs. 53.8% for the 'rest'”
Starting from raw ideas, the ratio to one commercial success is about 60:1, and from developed concepts about 7:1, according to Robert Cooper (R.G. Cooper, via Wellspring, n.d.[12])
Source wording
“If we started with raw ideas, it's 60:1”
Only one product concept in seven becomes a new-product winner, and 44% of development projects fail to meet their profit targets (R.G. Cooper, PMI, 2006[13])
Source wording
“Only one product concept out of seven becomes a new product winner; and 44% of businesses' product development projects fail to achieve their profit targets (Copper, Edgett, & Kleinschmidt, 2002a, 2003).”
For every four projects that enter the heavy-spending Development stage, only one becomes a commercial success (R.G. Cooper, 2021[14])
Source wording
“for every four projects that enter the heavy-spending Development stage, only one becomes a commercial success”
Do new products make money?
Not often enough to meet the plan. Cooper and Edgett's benchmark of 211 businesses found barely one in eight hitting its new-product sales or profit objectives, and the Simon-Kucher survey found a quarter of companies where no new product had met its profit target. Yet new products still carry a quarter of revenue.
Businesses averaged 27.3% of annual revenue and 25.2% of profits from products launched within the previous three years (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“Businesses participating in the study averaged 27.3 percent of annual revenue and 25.2 percent of profits from products launched within the previous three years”
Only 13% of businesses reported meeting their annual sales objectives for new products (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“only 13 percent of businesses reporting having met their annual sales objectives for new products”
Only 12.9% said their new-product efforts met the business's profit objectives (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“only 12.9 percent said that their new product efforts met the business's profit objectives”
Only 19.2% of businesses rate their new-product efforts as very productive relative to R&D spending (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“only 19.2 percent rating their new-product efforts as very productive relative to R&D spending”
The top 25% of businesses achieve almost 2.5 times the new-product performance of the bottom 25% (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“the top 25 percent of businesses achieve almost 2.5 times the performance of the bottom 25 percent”
72% of new products failed to meet their profit targets, in Simon-Kucher's global pricing study (Simon-Kucher, via Strategy Online, 2014[16])
Source wording
“72% failed to meet their profit targets”
A quarter of companies said not a single one of their new products had fulfilled its profit targets (Simon-Kucher, via Strategy Online, 2014[16])
Source wording
“A quarter of respondents said not a single one of their new products fulfilled profit targets”
Approximately 46% of the resources companies spend on new product development go to projects that do not succeed (R.G. Cooper, n.d.[9])
Source wording
“Approximately 46% of company's resources spent on NPD go to unsuccessful ventures”
How long does new product development take?
Around 18 months for a typical project in the benchmarks, and 18 to 24 months for a consumer-goods renovation that should take a fraction of that. Less than half of projects arrive on time. The agile-in-hardware results are promising and mostly single-company.
55.1% of businesses take less than 18 months, on average, from idea to launch (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“55.1 percent of businesses take less than 18 months, on average”
30.7% of businesses take two years or more for a typical new-product project (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“30.7 percent take at least two years or more”
In the average business, only 44.4% of new-product projects are delivered on time (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“Percent of projects on time 44.4%”
56.5% of new-product projects in the average business come in on budget (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“Percent of projects on budget 56.5%”
In consumer packaged goods, product renovations can run on 18- to 24-month development timelines (McKinsey, 2025[17])
Source wording
“In some cases in consumer packaged goods (CPG), we're seeing 18- to 24-month development timelines for product renovations.”
Companies embedding new technology tools and ways of working are accelerating those timelines by up to 60% (McKinsey, 2025[17])
Source wording
“We're now seeing that being accelerated by up to 60 percent when companies are embedding new technology tools and new ways of working.”
A B2B supplier in China cut its average time-to-market for new products by 20% within two years of creating more than 24 agile teams (McKinsey, 2023[18])
Source wording
“When a B2B supplier in China created over 24 agile teams, it reduced its average time-to-market for new products by 20 percent within two years of implementing the change.”
As early as 2017, three-quarters of surveyed leaders saw agile as a major short-term priority, but only 4% said their organisation had completed an agile transformation (McKinsey, 2023[18])
Source wording
“As early as 2017, three-quarters of leaders from surveyed companies saw agile becoming a major short-term priority, but only 4 percent said their organizations had completed an agile transformation.”
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Succeeds commercially | 53.2% |
| Fails commercially | 26.5% |
| Killed in development | 20.3% |
| Delivered on time | 44.4% |
| Delivered on budget | 56.5% |
Source: Edgett, Product Development Institute / APQC benchmark of 211 businesses, 2011. Chart: Quartz Labs.
What do CPG launches actually deliver?
Circana's New Product Pacesetters track the 200 biggest US launches each year, which makes them a ceiling, not an average. The NIQ and Kantar data describe the rest of the field, including the quarter of launches that shrink the brand they belong to.
The biggest launches
The 200 US New Product Pacesetters launched in 2025 generated US$6.2 billion in combined year-one multi-outlet sales (Circana, 2026[19])
Source wording
“The 2025 Pacesetters achieved an impressive $6.2 billion in combined year-one multi-outlet sales.”
Median first-year sales of a 2025 Pacesetter reached US$19 million (Circana, 2026[20])
Source wording
“Median first-year sales of these products reached $19 million.”
In 2025, the 200 Pacesetters contributed 21% of dollar growth to total store sales (Circana, 2026[20])
Source wording
“In 2025, the 200 New Product Pacesetters contributed 21% of dollar growth to total store sales.”
Those 200 products represented just 1% of total store dollars (Circana, via The Shelby Report, 2026[21])
Source wording
“The 200 products on the list represent just 1 percent of total store dollars but are driving 21 percent of the dollar growth contribution to total store sales in 2025.”
New items contributed 4.2 percentage points of growth to total US CPG in 2025, while existing items dragged by 1.2 points (Circana, via The Shelby Report, 2026[21])
Source wording
“Circana data shows that in 2025, new items contributed 4.2 percentage points of growth to total CPG while existing items dragged by negative 1.2 points”
The 2024 Pacesetters generated US$8.4 billion in combined year-one sales (Circana, 2025[22])
Source wording
“The 2024 Pacesetters achieved an impressive $8.4 billion in combined year-one MULO+ sales.”
The 2023 Pacesetters generated US$6.1 billion in year-one sales, slightly below the US$7 billion of the 2022 class (Circana, 2024[23])
Source wording
“The 2023 New Product Pacesetters garnered a notable $6.1 billion in combined year-one sales, slightly less than the $7 billion achieved by 2022 Pacesetter sales”
The rest of the field
More than 230,000 new products are launched worldwide each year, while only 8% of consumers say they are committed to their current brand (NielsenIQ, 2022[24])
Source wording
“Around the globe, more than 230k new products are launched yearly, however, only 8% of consumers are committed to their current brand, according to NielsenIQ's research.”
Innovation launches fell 19% between 2019 and 2021 (NielsenIQ, 2022[25])
Source wording
“innovations, which fell by 19% from 2019 to 2021”
Brands that innovated grew share by 9% on average, and brands that did not lost 11% (NielsenIQ, 2022[25])
Source wording
“the majority of innovators grew (+9% on average) and non-innovators lost (–11% on average) share”
One in four new product launches shrinks the brand franchise it was meant to grow (NielsenIQ, 2022[25])
Source wording
“one in four new product launches has the unfortunate side effect of shrinking the brand franchise”
About 48% of launches were still growing a year or so in, and 34% were already declining; by year four, 38% were growing and more than half were declining (Circana, via The Shelby Report, 2026[21])
Source wording
“About 48 percent of products were still growing while 34 percent had already entered decline. By year four, about 38 percent remained in core growth mode while more than 50 percent were declining”
New products that decline in their second year had, on average, cut advertising support by half compared with those that held or grew (Kantar, 2025[5])
Source wording
“Kantar's data suggests that on average, new products that decline in their second year cut their advertising support by half compared to those that maintain or grow sales.”
60% of product relaunches do not recover from their downward trend (NielsenIQ, 2022[24])
Source wording
“We know that 60% of relaunches do not recover from their downward trend”
Two-thirds of new European FMCG products never reach 10,000 unit sales (Nielsen, via Marketing Week, 2014[3])
Source wording
“two thirds of products never even achieve 10,000 unit sales”
Of 12,000 European launches analysed between 2011 and 2013, just seven met Nielsen's criteria for breakthrough innovation (Nielsen, via Marketing Week, 2014[3])
Source wording
“Of the 12,000 products analysed, just seven met Nielsen's testing criteria for 'breakthrough innovation success'”
Of the 98 European breakthrough winners named over the previous decade, more than 90% were still on the market in 2021 (NielsenIQ BASES, 2021[26])
Source wording
“Of the 98 European winners named in the report over the last decade, over 90 percent are still in the market today.”
NIQ's 2024 Southeast Asia breakthrough winners achieved four times the sales velocity and double the distribution of their category averages in launch year (NIQ BASES, 2024[27])
Source wording
“four times higher velocity and double the distribution in their launch year compared to category averages”
Are new products really new?
Mostly not. Mintel's global database puts the share of launches that are entirely new products at 35% across consumer goods and 26% in food and drink, the lowest since it began tracking in 1996. The rest are line extensions, new flavours, new packs and relaunches. In the UK, packaging redesigns now outnumber new products.
Only 35% of global CPG launches in the first five months of 2024 were entirely new products, the lowest share since Mintel's tracking began in 1996 (Mintel, 2024[1])
Source wording
“just 35% of global CPG launches (i.e. across food, drink, household, health, beauty, personal care and pet care) are genuinely new products.”
65% of global CPG launches are renovations: line extensions, reformulations, new packaging or relaunches (Mintel, 2024[1])
Source wording
“65% of launches are 'renovation' i.e. line extensions, reformulations, new packaging or relaunches.”
The share of new-product launches in CPG fell from 42% in 2019 to 35% in the first five months of 2023 (Mintel, 2024[1])
Source wording
“total CPG innovation declined from 42% in 2019 (the year pre-COVID-19) to 35% in the first five months of 2023.”
North America ranked next-to-last among regions, with only 29% of its CPG launches in early 2024 being new products (Mintel, via Food Processing, 2024[28])
Source wording
“North America was next-to-last in innovation in the first five months of this year, its 29% innovation rate”
In food and drink, just 26% of launches between January and May 2024 were new products, against 50% in 2007 (Mintel, via Grocery Business, 2024[29])
Source wording
“Innovation has declined the most in food and drink, which launched just 26 per cent of new products between January and May 2024 compared to 50 per cent in 2007.”
Entirely new products were 16% of UK food and drink launches in the year to September 2023, down from 33% in 2014 (Mintel, via FoodNavigator, 2023[30])
Source wording
“the share of retail food and drink launches which are entirely new products (eg as opposed to new flavours, new packaging etc) has slumped to just 16% of all launches in the year to September 2023, down from 33% of all launches in the year to September 2014.”
Across Europe, the share of new food and drink launches fell to 26% from 42% over the same nine years (Mintel, via FoodNavigator, 2023[30])
Source wording
“the share of genuine new food and drink launches has slumped to 26% from 42% over the same period.”
Packaging redesigns rose from 20% to 31% of UK food and drink launches between 2014 and 2023 (Mintel, via FoodNavigator, 2023[30])
Source wording
“the share of UK launches which are packaging redesigns has jumped from 20% to 31%, and the share of relaunches has increased from 4% to 10%.”
Relaunches rose from 4% to 10% of UK food and drink launches over the same period (Mintel, via FoodNavigator, 2023[30])
Source wording
“the share of UK launches which are packaging redesigns has jumped from 20% to 31%, and the share of relaunches has increased from 4% to 10%.”
Brand extensions made up 54% of US food and beverage Pacesetters in 2022, and new brands 46% (Circana, 2023[31])
Source wording
“brand extensions represent 54% of total food and beverage Pacesetters, while new brands represent 46%.”
The number of innovations launched in European CPG fell 20% in 2024, and sales from new products fell 17%, from €28.9 billion to €24.1 billion (Circana, 2025[32])
Source wording
“The number of innovations fell by 20% compared to 2023, while sales from new products were down 17%, from €28.9bn in 2023 to €24.1bn in 2024.”
Only 5.2% of all European CPG products on sale in 2024 were innovations, down from 6.2% the year before (Circana, 2025[32])
Source wording
“Only 5.2% of all CPG products were innovations last year, down from 6.2% the previous year.”
In the UK, 7% of edible product sales came from new product development in 2024 (Circana, 2025[32])
Source wording
“The UK remains the most important market for innovation, however, with 7% of new edible product sales coming from new product development (NPD).”
Sales of innovations in edible categories fell 28% in the UK and 43% in the Netherlands between 2023 and 2024 (Circana, 2025[32])
Source wording
“The UK saw sales of innovations in edibles categories decline 28% between 2023 and 2024, while the Netherlands fell 43% over the same period.”
| Item | 2014 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Entirely new products | 33% | 16% |
| Packaging redesigns | 20% | 31% |
| Relaunches | 4% | 10% |
Source: Mintel GNPD, reported by FoodNavigator, 2023. Chart: Quartz Labs.
Who wins at new products: big companies or small brands?
For most of the last decade, small brands. The 2018 McKinsey figure is the one to remember: the top 25 US manufacturers had 59% of sales and 2% of category growth. Circana's Pacesetter data shows large companies clawing back launch dollars in 2024, so treat this as a contest, not a verdict.
The top 25 US CPG manufacturers accounted for 59% of sales but only 2% of category growth (McKinsey, 2018[33])
Source wording
“the top 25 manufacturers are responsible for 59 percent of sales but only 2 percent of category growth”
44% of category growth came from the next 400 manufacturers (McKinsey, 2018[33])
Source wording
“44 percent of category growth has come from the next 400 manufacturers”
Of the new brands launched in 2013, only 25% were still around four years later (McKinsey, 2018[33])
Source wording
“only 25 percent were still around four years later”
Between 2017 and 2019, large US CPG brands lost volume at 1.5% a year while small brands grew 1.7% (McKinsey, via MediaPost, 2021[34])
Source wording
“large brands in the U.S. lost volume at the rate of 1.5% a year. At the same time, small brands grew 1.7%.”
Manufacturers with sales under US$500 million made up 59% of 2023 New Product Pacesetters by count, up from 41% in 2022 (Circana, 2024[23])
Source wording
“Manufacturers with sales under $500 million represent 59% of New Product Pacesetters by count, up from 41% in 2022”
Those sub-US$500 million manufacturers took 43% of Pacesetter dollars in 2023, up from 18% in 2022 (Circana, 2024[23])
Source wording
“accounting for 43% of New Product Pacesetter dollars (up from 18% in 2022)”
Big companies' share of Pacesetter dollars fell from 50% in 2021 to 35% in 2022 (Circana, 2023[31])
Source wording
“Big companies' dollar share dipped from 50% in 2021 to 35% in 2022”
Extra-large and large manufacturers rebounded to 64% of Pacesetter dollars in 2024, and from 23% to 32% of Pacesetter products (Circana, 2025[22])
Source wording
“Extra-large and large manufacturers made a rebound of sorts in 2024, increasing their dollar contribution to 64% of all Pacesetters and increasing the number of Pacesetter products from 23% in 2023 to 32%.”
In frozen foods, disruptor brands drove 11% of growth over five years (McKinsey, 2026[35])
Source wording
“In frozen foods, over the past five years, disruptors have driven 11 percent of growth.”
Roughly 37% of US consumers tried a new brand in the past three months (McKinsey, 2026[35])
Source wording
“roughly 37 percent of consumers have tried a new brand in the past three months, and 40 percent say they plan to splurge or treat themselves soon”
92% of food manufacturers' quarterly reports in 2025 mentioned innovation, up four points on the prior year (Circana, via The Shelby Report, 2026[21])
Source wording
“92 percent of food manufacturer quarterly reports in 2025 mentioned innovation, up four points from the prior year.”
Do consumers want new products?
They buy them, which is a different thing. More than half of shoppers picked up a new product on their last trip, and a third now use AI to find them. Reformulation, the quietest kind of NPD, is where UK manufacturers are putting real R&D money.
57% of consumers said they purchased a new product during their last grocery-shopping trip (Nielsen, 2015[4])
Source wording
“more than half (57%) say they purchased a new product during their last grocery-shopping trip”
71% of shoppers say they have bought a new product because of its packaging (NielsenIQ, 2022[25])
Source wording
“71% of shoppers claim to have purchased a new product based on its packaging”
34% of US consumers now use AI to explore new CPG options, and 25% have bought something on a personalised AI recommendation (Circana, 2026[19])
Source wording
“One in three consumers (34%) now use AI to explore new CPG options, while 25% have made a purchase based on a personalized AI recommendation.”
Of 218,174 brands in Asia Pacific, only 3,857 grew more than 10% in volume with at least 1% share in 2023 (NielsenIQ, 2024[36])
Source wording
“out of 218,174 brands in Asia Pacific, only 3,857 grew more than 10% in volume and had at least 1% share in 2023”
Products made by UK Food and Drink Federation members now contribute 18% less salt, 19% less sugar and 17% fewer calories to the grocery market than in 2021 (FDF, via FoodBev, 2026[37])
Source wording
“products made by FDF member companies now contribute 18% less salt, 19% less sugar and 17% fewer calories to the British grocery market compared with 2021.”
UK manufacturers put an estimated £167–200 million of R&D spending into healthier innovation in 2024 (FDF, via FoodBev, 2026[37])
Source wording
“manufacturers allocating an estimated £167 million to £200 million of research and development spending to healthier innovation in 2024 alone.”
Does Stage-Gate work?
The companies that use it well outperform; most companies do not use it well. Robert Cooper's own benchmarks are the sharpest critique of Stage-Gate in print: in half the businesses studied, gate meetings produced no decision and gatekeepers failed to show up. The Agile-Stage-Gate hybrid reports 30% gains, almost all of them self-estimated.
Adoption
88% of US firms involved in new product development use Stage-Gate to manage projects from idea to launch, per an APQC benchmarking study (Stage-Gate International, 2025[38])
Source wording
“A major APQC benchmarking study found that 88% of U.S. firms involved in NPD apply Stage-Gate® to manage their projects from idea to launch.”
A more recent PDMA global study found about 54% of firms worldwide use Stage-Gate or a similar structured process (Stage-Gate International, 2025[38])
Source wording
“A more recent global study by PDMA found that about 54% of firms worldwide use Stage-Gate® or a similar structured process.”
Nearly 60% of firms in PDMA's best-practices study use some form of Stage-Gate process (PDMA, via R.G. Cooper, 2006[13])
Source wording
“The PDMA's best practices study concurs: 'nearly 60% of the firms surveyed use some form of Stage-Gate® process.'”
Over 73% of US companies and over 90% of German and Scandinavian companies have implemented a Stage-Gate system, according to Robert Cooper (R.G. Cooper, via Wellspring, n.d.[12])
Source wording
“over 73% of US and over 90% of German and Scandinavian companies having implemented a Stage-Gate system”
Only 49.1% of firms reported a formal, cross-functional NPD process in 2012, down from 69% in 2004 and 58% in 1995 (PDMA, 2012[8])
Source wording
“In 2012, only 49.1 percent of the respondents reported to have a formal, cross-functional process for NPD”
In PDMA's first study, in 1990, only 54.5% of participating firms had a well-defined NPD process (PDMA 1990 study, via INSME, 1990[11])
Source wording
“only 54.5% of enterprises that participated in the study had a well‐defined NPD process”
Best performers versus the rest
90% of best-performing businesses have a clear, defined new-product development process, against 44.4% of the worst performers (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“Nearly all of our best performers (90 percent, compared to only 44.4 percent of worst performers) have a clear, defined new-product development process”
Only 44.9% of businesses report heavy use of their development process (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“Less than half of all participants—44.9 percent—indicated a heavy use of their development process”
60% of best performers say they really use their NPD system; 18.5% of worst performers do (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“60 percent of the best performers reported that they really use their systems, whereas only 18.5 percent of worst performers indicated that they do”
85% of best-performing businesses use specific go/kill criteria at their gates (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“Almost all best performing businesses (85 percent) employ specific go/kill criteria”
Only 14.8% of worst performers are confident in the quality and objectivity of their gate decisions (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“only 14.8 percent of whom indicate confidence in the quality and objectivity of their gate decisions”
47.7% of the best companies redesign their NPD process on an ongoing basis, against 28.6% of the rest (PDMA, 2012[8])
Source wording
“Nearly half of best companies, 47.7percent, redesigned their NPD process on an ongoing basis compared to 28.6 percent for the rest.”
Best firms that monitored external sources produced breakthrough products almost twice as often: 67% against 35.3% (PDMA, 2012[8])
Source wording
“The best firms monitored external sources, which resulted in breakthrough products almost twice as much as the rest (67 percent vs. 35.3 percent).”
The best firms were almost twice as likely to follow a first-to-market strategy: 47.7% against 24.8% (PDMA, 2012[8])
Source wording
“The best were almost twice as likely to follow a first-to-market innovation strategy as the rest (47.7 percent vs. 24.8 percent)”
Where gates break down
In about half of the businesses studied, gate meetings do not produce decisions (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“in about half the businesses studied, gate meetings do not produce decisions”
In about half of businesses, gatekeeper no-shows and gate-meeting cancellations were common (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“the fact is that in about half of the businesses studied, gatekeeper 'no shows' and gate-meeting cancellations were common”
Only 37.3% of businesses report high-quality contributions from their gatekeepers as a rule (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“only 37.3 percent reporting high-quality contributions from gatekeepers as a rule”
The average business kills 20.3% of projects during development (Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2011[10])
Source wording
“Kill Rate 20.3%”
78% of businesses do not conduct a proper post-launch review (R.G. Cooper, PMI, 2006[13])
Source wording
“Exhibit 12 shows that a PLR is part of the Stage-Gate® process, but it is missing in most businesses: 78% of businesses don't even conduct a proper Post Launch Review!”
Only 26.9% of businesses use strategic buckets to allocate new-product resources (R.G. Cooper, PMI, 2006[13])
Source wording
“In spite of its intuitive appeal, the use of strategic buckets is a decidedly weak area overall with only 26.9% of businesses developing strategic buckets, as shown in Exhibit 2.”
Only 27.6% of businesses develop product roadmaps (R.G. Cooper, PMI, 2006[13])
Source wording
“Although gaining in popularity, especially in high-technology businesses, the use of roadmaps is a weak area generally, with only 27.6% of businesses developing product roadmaps (also shown in Exhibit 2).”
73.2% of companies had revamped their idea-to-launch process within the previous three years (Cooper & Edgett, PDI/APQC, 2012[15])
Source wording
“most companies in the study had revamped their processes recently, 73.2 percent within the past three years”
Agile-Stage-Gate and the reported gains
Manufacturers using the Agile-Stage-Gate hybrid estimated roughly a 30% reduction in time to market and a 30% improvement in productivity (Cooper & Sommer, RTM, 2018[39])
Source wording
“They estimated approximately a 30 percent reduction in time to market and a 30 percent improvement in productivity.”
Most of those firms were using the hybrid on about 20% of their projects (Cooper & Sommer, RTM, 2018[39])
Source wording
“Most firms estimated using the hybrid system on about 20 percent of projects.”
Only one of the six case-study firms had implemented formal metrics to measure the improvement (Cooper & Sommer, RTM, 2018[39])
Source wording
“only one of the six case-study firms had implemented formal metrics to gauge performance improvements”
Chamberlain Group estimated a 20–30% cycle-time reduction, because there is much less redo in projects (Cooper & Sommer, RTM, 2018[39])
Source wording
“a 20–30 percent cycle time reduction because there is much less 'redo' in projects now”
Research-based scoring models predict new-product outcomes up to 83% accurately, according to Robert Cooper (R.G. Cooper, 2021[14])
Source wording
“research-based scoring models have been developed that predict new-product outcomes reasonably well, as high as 83 percent accurately”
Companies adopting Stage-Gate report cycle times often reduced by 30%, per the method's trademark owner (Stage-Gate International, 2025[38])
Source wording
“These companies reported benefits such as improved cross-functional teamwork, higher success rates, stronger early detection of failure, better launch outcomes, and significantly shorter cycle times – often reduced by 30%.”
A rigorous stage-and-gate system increases a company's sales performance from new products by a factor of 6.5, according to an AC Nielsen study cited by Robert Cooper (R.G. Cooper, via Five i's, 2013[40])
Source wording
“Thus, according to an AC Nielsen study in 2010, a rigorous stage-and-gate system increases company sales performance from new products by a factor of 6.5 times.”
Read the adoption figures with care. The 88%, 73% and 90% numbers come from the method's trademark owner and from vendor blogs, and "Stage-Gate" in those surveys may mean any gated process. The PDMA figures (49–60%) are the independent ones. The 6.5× sales claim cites a 2010 AC Nielsen study that we could not locate.
Questions people ask
What is the real failure rate for new products?
Measured studies put it between 25% and 40%, depending on the definition. The Ehrenberg-Bass panel study of 83,719 US consumer-goods launches found 25% had stopped selling after one year and about 40% after two. Castellion and Markham's review in the Journal of Product Innovation Management found every empirical study since 1977 at 40% or lower. The "95% of new products fail" figure has no traceable study behind it.
How many new products are launched each year?
NielsenIQ puts the number at more than 230,000 new products launched worldwide each year. The oft-quoted 30,000 is a US consumer-goods figure of unknown origin.
What percentage of new products are actually new?
Mintel found that only 35% of global CPG launches in early 2024 were entirely new products, the lowest since 1996, and just 26% in food and drink. The rest are renovations: line extensions, new flavours, packaging changes and relaunches.
How long does new product development take?
In the Product Development Institute / APQC benchmark, 55.1% of businesses average under 18 months from idea to launch and 30.7% take two years or more. McKinsey reports 18- to 24-month timelines for consumer-goods renovations, and up to 60% acceleration where new tools and ways of working are in place.
What percentage of companies use Stage-Gate?
Independent PDMA surveys put formal, structured NPD processes at 49–60% of firms. The method's owner cites an APQC study at 88% of US firms. The numbers differ because "Stage-Gate" in some surveys means any gated process.
Does Agile-Stage-Gate improve time to market?
The manufacturers in Cooper and Sommer's 2018 study estimated roughly 30% faster time to market and 30% higher productivity, but only one of the six firms had formal metrics. Treat the gain as plausible and self-reported.
Which CPG launches are most successful?
Circana's 2025 New Product Pacesetters, the 200 biggest US launches, generated US$6.2 billion in year-one sales with a median of US$19 million. Those 200 products were 1% of store sales and 21% of store dollar growth. See our food and beverage page for how we use this data.
How we built this list
We built this page from a library of 301 statistics on innovation, R&D and new product development compiled for our own work with food, beverage and consumer-goods NPD teams. For each figure we opened the source page, copied the sentence containing the number, and recorded the organisation, publication and year. A second pass re-opened a random 30% of the sources to check the wording.
Two source families need a caveat. Robert Cooper's and Scott Edgett's benchmarks (211 businesses, APQC and the Product Development Institute, 2011–2012) are the richest NPD process data in print, and the PDFs we link to are hosted by third parties because the journal copies are paywalled; the figures are theirs and we quote them as published. Circana's New Product Pacesetters cover only the top 200 launches each year, so they describe the best launches, not the average one.
Where a figure comes from the Stage-Gate trademark owner, a software vendor or a consultancy case study, the "source wording" under the statistic shows exactly what was said, and we say so in the text. Corrections and additions: hello@quartzlabs.ai. The page is updated in place; the "last updated" date changes only when the content does.
Cite this page
APA: Kahan, J. (2026, October 1). New product development statistics: launches, failure rates, speed and Stage-Gate. Quartz Labs. https://quartzlabs.ai/new-product-development-statistics
MLA: Kahan, Jonathan. “New product development statistics: launches, failure rates, speed and Stage-Gate.” Quartz Labs, 1 Oct. 2026, https://quartzlabs.ai/new-product-development-statistics.
Chicago: Kahan, Jonathan. “New product development statistics: launches, failure rates, speed and Stage-Gate.” Quartz Labs. October 1, 2026. https://quartzlabs.ai/new-product-development-statistics.
You are welcome to reuse any figure or chart from this page with a link back. Each statistic belongs to the organisation named beside it; please cite them too.
Sources
40 sources, in order of first appearance. Where we could only reach a figure through a second-hand page, the entry says “via”.
- Clayton Christensen (via mintel.com), In 2024, global CPG innovation reaches an all-time low (Mintel, 9 Jul 2024), 2024. https://www.mintel.com/insights/consumer-research/role-of-innovation-future-cpg-industry/
- Inez Blackburn , as cited (via foodprocessing.com), Market View: New Product Success Rate Higher Than Most Believe (Food Processing, 27 Mar 2014), 2014. https://www.foodprocessing.com/new-food-products/article/11330194/food-product-marketing-new-product-success-rate-higher-than-most-believe
- Nielsen (via marketingweek.com), '3 in 4 FMCG launches fail within a year' (Marketing Week, 9 Sep 2014), 2014. https://www.marketingweek.com/3-in-4-fmcg-launches-fail-within-a-year/
- Nielsen, Looking to achieve new product success? (Global New Product Innovation Report), 2015. https://develop.nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/report/2015/looking-to-achieve-new-product-success/
- Kantar, What makes or breaks a product launch? (11 Feb 2025), 2025. https://www.kantar.com/inspiration/agile-market-research/what-makes-or-breaks-a-product-launch
- George Castellion & Stephen K. Markham (via metatoc.com), Perspective: New Product Failure Rates: Influence of Argumentum ad Populum and Self-Interest (Journal of Product Innovation Management 30(5)), 2013. https://metatoc.com/papers/19715-perspective-new-product-failure-rates-influence-of-argumentum-ad-populum-and-self-interest
- Victory, Nenycz-Thiel, Dawes, Tanusondjaja & Corsi, How common is new product failure and when does it vary? (Marketing Letters 32(1), 17-32), 2021. https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/mktlet/v32y2021i1d10.1007_s11002-021-09555-x.html
- Stephen K. Markham & Hyunjung Lee, The Best vs. the Rest: Key Findings from PDMA's 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study, 2013. https://community.pdma.org/knowledgehub/bok/tools-and-metrics/best-vs-the-rest
- Robert G. Cooper, Successful Product Innovation: Key to International Competitiveness (presentation), n.d.. https://researchmoneyinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Successful-Product-Innovation-Robert-Cooper.pdf
- Scott J. Edgett, Product Development Institute & APQC, New Product Development: Process Benchmarks and Performance Metrics, 2011. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/new-product-development-process-benchmarks-and-performance-metrics-edgett/281306788
- INSME (via insme.org), Insights to Improve Product Innovation Practice in SMEs, 1990. https://insme.org/?p=183
- Wellspring – Robert G. Cooper, Innovation and New Product Development (NPD) Q&A with Bob Cooper, n.d.. https://www.wellspring.com/blog/innovation-and-new-product-development-npd-qa-with-bob-cooper
- Robert G. Cooper, Winning at New Products (PMI Research Conference, Montréal), 2006. https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/winning-new-product-development-projects-8049
- Robert G. Cooper, Unlocking "Pipeline Gridlock": Effective Portfolio Management is the Key, 2021. https://isbm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cooper-2021-Unlocking-pipleine-gridlock.pdf
- Robert G. Cooper & Scott J. Edgett, Best Practices in the Idea-to-Launch Process and Its Governance (Research-Technology Management), 2012. https://media.transformanceadvisors.com/pdfs/Best-Practices-Idea-to-Launch.pdf
- Simon-Kucher & Partners (via strategyonline.ca), 72% of all new products fail: study (Strategy Online, 10 Sep 2014), 2014. https://strategyonline.ca/2014/09/10/72-of-all-new-products-fail-study
- McKinsey & Company, Top trends disrupting how companies develop and commercialize products (21 Jul 2025), 2025. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/top-trends-disrupting-how-companies-develop-and-commercialize-products
- McKinsey & Company, It's coming home: The return of agile hardware product development, 2023. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/its-coming-home-the-return-of-agile-hardware-product-development
- Circana, Circana Unveils 2025 New Product Pacesetters (press release, 21 May 2026), 2026. https://www.circana.com/post/circana-unveils-2025-new-product-pacesetters-as-top-innovations-drive-6-2-billion-in-year-one-sales
- Circana, 4 Themes from Circana's New Product Pacesetters Report, 2026. https://www.circana.com/post/4-themes-from-circana-s-new-product-pacesetters-report
- Circana (via theshelbyreport.com), Circana: AI, Social Media Reshape Discovery (The Shelby Report), 2026. https://theshelbyreport.com/2026/06/24/circana-ai-social-media-reshape-discovery/
- Circana, Circana's 2024 New Product Pacesetters Report (17 Jun 2025), 2025. https://www.circana.com/post/circana-s-2024-new-product-pacesetters-report-highlights-continued-cpg-commitment-to-innovation-and
- Circana, Circana's 2023 New Product Pacesetters Report (6 Jun 2024), 2024. https://circana.com/intelligence/press-releases/2024/circanas-2023-new-product-pacesetters-report-reveals-innovation-is-meeting-consumers-in-new-moments
- NielsenIQ, NielsenIQ: 60% of Product Relaunches Don't Pay Off (press release, 9 Feb 2022), 2022. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220209005150/en/NielsenIQ-60-of-Product-Relaunches-Dont-Pay-Off
- NielsenIQ, Innovate today, win tomorrow: How to achieve breakthrough success (13 Oct 2022), 2022. https://nielseniq.com/global/en/insights/analysis/2022/innovate-today-win-tomorrow-how-to-achieve-breakthrough-success/
- NielsenIQ BASES, UK Reaps the Rewards of the Most Breakthrough Innovations in Europe (press release, 8 Nov 2021), 2021. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211108006202/en/UK-Reaps-the-Rewards-of-the-Most-Breakthrough-Innovations-in-Europe-According-to-NielsenIQ-BASES-Annual-Breakthrough-Innovations-Report
- NIQ BASES, NIQ BASES Reveals 2024 Breakthrough Innovation Winners (press release, 6 Dec 2024), 2024. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241206519543/en/NIQ-BASES-Reveals-2024-Breakthrough-Innovation-Winners-and-Top-Trends-Driving-Growth
- Mintel (via foodprocessing.com), Is New Product Innovation at an All-Time Low? (Food Processing, 24 Jul 2024), 2024. https://www.foodprocessing.com/new-food-products/news/55128433/is-new-product-innovation-at-an-all-time-low
- Mintel (via grocerybusiness.ca), CPG food and beverage innovation declines nearly 50%: Mintel (Grocery Business, 23 Jul 2024), 2024. https://www.grocerybusiness.ca/cpg-food-and-beverage-innovation-declines-nearly-50-mintel/
- Mintel (via foodnavigator.com), Mintel data reveal more declines in new food and drink launches (FoodNavigator, 13 Nov 2023), 2023. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2023/11/13/mintel-data-reveal-more-declines-in-new-food-and-drink-launches/
- Circana, Circana's 2022 New Product Pacesetters Report (7 Jun 2023), 2023. https://www.circana.com/post/circana-s-2022-new-product-pacesetters-report-reveals-that-a-commitment-to-innovation-drives-cpg-sal
- Circana, Circana reveals smaller brands innovating at scale (European New Product Pacesetters, 10 Sep 2025), 2025. https://www.circana.com/post/circana-reveals-smaller-brands-innovating-at-scale-to-deliver-the-most-significant-cpg-sales-growth
- McKinsey & Company, From lab to leader: How consumer companies can drive growth at scale with disruptive innovation (7 Sep 2018), 2018. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/growth-marketing-and-sales/our-insights/from-lab-to-leader
- McKinsey & Company (via mediapost.com), Small But Mighty: The Rise Of Smaller CPG Brands (MediaPost, 28 Dec 2021), 2021. https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/369790/small-but-mighty-the-rise-of-smaller-cpg-brands.html
- McKinsey & Company, What consumer-packaged-goods companies can learn from disruptor brands (26 Jan 2026), 2026. https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/consumer-packaged-goods/our-insights/what-consumer-packaged-goods-companies-can-learn-from-disruptor-brands
- NielsenIQ, NielsenIQ: Innovation Is Key to Unlocking Sustainable Growth Among Asia Pacific's FMCG Brands (6 Nov 2024), 2024. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241106104057/en/NielsenIQ-Innovation-Is-Key-to-Unlocking-Sustainable-Growth-Among-Asia-Pacific%E2%80%99s-FMCG-Brands
- Food and Drink Federation (via foodbev.com), UK food manufacturers cut salt, sugar and calories by nearly a fifth (FoodBev, 8 Jun 2026), 2026. https://www.foodbev.com/post301/uk-food-manufacturers-cut-salt-sugar-and-calories-by-nearly-a-fifth-new-fdf-data-shows
- Stage-Gate International (via stage-gate.com), The Stage-Gate Model: An Overview, 2025. https://www.stage-gate.com/blog/the-stage-gate-model-an-overview/
- Robert G. Cooper & Anita Friis Sommer, Agile–Stage-Gate for Manufacturers (Research-Technology Management 61(2):17-26), 2018. https://www.five-is.com/download/agile-stage-gate-for-manufacturers
- Five i's Innovation Consulting – Robert G. Cooper (via five-is.com), Stage-Gate – origin, status quo and future (interview with Robert G. Cooper), 2013. https://www.five-is.com/download/stage-gate-origin-status-quo-and-future
Keep reading
Half of gate meetings decide nothing. Yours can.
The BOX runs new product development for food, beverage and consumer-goods teams, from signal to stage gate, with reviews assembled from data the platform already holds.