It’s entirely too easy to mistake a good idea for a good business. That’s probably why the start-up landscape is riddled with stories of dashed hopes and prematurely bankrupted businesses. It’s not that it’s impossible to translate a good idea into a good business, but it certainly cannot be done without allowing for one critical little step — market research.

And the first set of questions you should be looking to answer through your research is: Is there room in the market for your idea? Does your idea address a gap in the market, or perhaps cater to a segment not fully covered? Does this idea fit in with current and forecasted consumer behaviour?

On a side note, if you find that in-depth market research necessary to successfully promote your product to your target audience is already in place, chances are your idea isn’t all that fresh or innovative. Which then begs the question — is there still space for this idea to flourish?

Absolutely. As long as you bring something new to the market, something that is not just repackaged and ‘gimmicky’, but genuinely new and of added value to consumers.

Today’s marketplace is not just overcrowded — it also breeds cut-throat competition. And without ensuring that your product is unique and of the finest quality possible complemented by a reasonable price point, you will not have the necessary edge to compete, no matter how many big budget, brute-force marketing campaigns you dress it up with.

The food and beverage (F&B) sector has recently morphed into a hotbed for start-ups. This can be traced, in part, to healthy eating trends, which are understandably on an upswing. The consumer faction is constantly growing to include a younger generation that is a lot more conscious about their diets, fitness levels and overall health.

In fact, according to Nielsen’s latest ‘Global Health & Wellness Survey’, 83 per cent of UAE-based respondents said they were willing to pay a premium for foods with healthy attributes, 55 per cent believe they are overweight and 63 per cent are trying to lose weight. Unsurprisingly, the study goes on to predict that the obesity crisis and consumer desire to become ‘healthier’ could be a driver for manufacturers to better align their offerings to the consumer’s inclination for healthier food.

At this point, you might think trends by their very nature are transient. They are of the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ variety. This is true to some extent, but not always the case. Some have the potential to turn into lifestyles, and a sharp entrepreneur looking to inject his or her start-up into the market, must be able to spot these.

This brings us back to market research. Study consumer response to the trend — does the trend satisfy a basic need? In the case of the healthy eating trend, does it satisfy consumers’ nutritional needs.

Additionally, when launching a start-up in the F&B sector, one has to pay special attention to the distribution channel, especially when marketing a nutritional product. There cannot be a break in the integrity of the delivery chain, or this might affect the quality of the product.

From 2003 to 2013, the worldwide consumption of fresh foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, and eggs) grew by 20 per cent. Additionally, nearly nine out of 10 adults feel fresh foods are healthier, with 80 per cent believing they are tastier and 78 per cent making a strong effort to eat more fresh versus processed foods.

In the Gulf, with its significant food imports, the fresh food trend presents a particular opportunity for F&B manufactures. With the rise in availability of regionally grown or produced food products, fresh food is finally becoming an option for consumers. On the same note, consumers have become much more aware of what they are eating, with an increasing interest in organic and natural foods.

From a manufacturing standpoint this is also presenting new challenges with fresh foods requiring different equipment types and handling processes to be set up and operated.

A growing population base, affluence and rising tourist inflow within the GCC are some of the major factors fuelling demand on the F&B industry. Backed by macroeconomic drivers, food consumption is expected to grow at a 3.5 per cent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) between 2014 and 2019. Food consumption in Qatar and the UAE is expected to grow the fastest across the GCC. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, is the largest food-consuming nation in the GCC.

Incidentally, tourist arrivals are expected to go up as well at an annual average growth of 7.8 per cent between 2014 and 2024, adding to the demand for food and especially the dinning out trend. In fact, Dubai alone is set to draw over 25 million visitors during the Expo 2020s six-month run in addition to the projected annual international visitor traffic of 20 million by 2020.

Spurred by the emirate’s business-friendly and efficient regulatory and legal environment, its favourable demographic profile, its high tourist density as well as its culture of dining out, the F&B sector in Dubai, and in the UAE as a whole, is seeing steady growth. As per Euromonitor International, about 19,000 extra F&B outlets are expected in the UAE by 2019.

Essentially, the Middle East as a whole is a hotbed for F&B start-ups. Should you have your start-up in place, it makes for a strong market to grow your business footprint through the largely successful franchising model.

Within the MENA region, franchising is considered a low-risk, highly successful model for expansion, especially in F&B, which is geared for an annual growth of 7.4 per cent over the next four years, as per Euromonitor International.

Last year, the sector grew at 4.3 per cent and was worth an impressive $79.1 billion, making the MENA region’s F&B franchising sector the second-fastest growing in the world after Asia-Pacific.