Increased lifestyle fragmentation, pressure for productivity, along with a desire for optimisation and self-stability are resulting in strong growth in the importance of a need states mindset among consumers seeking to bring precision and effectiveness to their consumption. Category-, occasion- and substance-agnostic consumers are focusing ever more consciously on the desired outcome of their consumption behaviour, representing a step change in purchasing motivators that makes it vital for brands, retailers and their supply chain partners to understand, decode and quantify the need states landscape.
No single framing of individual need states will ever be conclusive, and the detail of maps of benefit territories will vary by company, category and consumer mindset. However, most conceivable need states will fall within a spectrum which stretches from more classically emotional or mental on the one hand (mood, calm and comfort) through to more distinctly physical on the other (hydration, maintenance and optimisation), with an intermediate space occupying a hybrid of these two poles (recreation, energy and reset).
New Euromonitor International Need States Framework
Using internal and external expert input, Euromonitor International has developed the need states framework shown below, which we believe is a comprehensive and meaningful representation of the consumer universe, and can be aligned with other views and frameworks.
While need states do not always align with traditional product categories, analysing their relationship can reveal market value. However, this requires assumptions to estimate a category’s true value in addressing a specific need. To truly understand consumers’ behaviour, we must explore their motivations at the point of purchase and consumption. Surveys and focus groups can help uncover these needs, but rely on consumers accurately understanding and articulating their own potentially complex and intertwined motivations.
Euromonitor International’s sizing approach blends web scraping and expertise
In order to address the question of need state value and addressable market, Euromonitor International’s methodology combines cutting edge web scraping technology with consumer insight and industry expertise. Our approach uses hundreds of millions of scraped SKU-level datapoints to identify implicit and explicit need states positioning. We can then overlay these with comprehensive market share information and consumer and expert insight to produce a view of need states size of prize.
We utilised this methodology to measure the size of each core need state within the soft drinks market in five key countries – the US, the UK, France, Germany and Japan – as outlined below. 
Need states mindsets will become widespread
This exercise enables us to assess the share of need states within and across soft drinks categories, the predominant need states by market, and where individual categories may be under-indexing in share of need state, or, conversely, where there may be scope for an individual need state to claim more of a category’s sales. This approach can be readily directed at multiple categories and industries to provide an increasingly holistic view of the total addressable market and white space for individual need states.
Looking forward, the shift towards outcome-orientated consumer mindsets will accelerate as lifestyles fragment and traditional brand loyalty fades. This trend will create a cycle where consumers, increasingly focused on needs, push brands towards an outcome-based positioning.
As outcome-orientated consumer mindsets become widespread, there is expected to be significant growth in emerging need states, driven by evolving lifestyles and increased openness to addressing personal issues through consumption
Source: Euromonitor International
This will be supported by novel ingredients, including those previously taboo, traditional remedies and innovative (bio)synthetics.
To learn more about consumer need states read Euromonitor International’s latest briefing Need States Across FMCG.