Consumer Innovation October 22, 2020The only year in the past 15 that saw an aggregate decline in new product launches by consumer-goods companies was 2008. But going into the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry kept up the pace of innovation. Chart: The consumer-goods industry's innovation activity in the United States was muted during the last recession before exploding in the years that followed. Number of US product launches from 2005 to 2019 Year Product launches Year-over-year change 2005 167,000 2006 194,000 +16% 2007 238,000 +23% 2008 230,000 -3% 2009 255,000 +11% 2010 264,000 +4% 2011 269,000 +2% 2012 307,000 +14% 2013 326,000 +6% 2014 362,000 +11% 2015 397,000 +10% 2016 427,000 +8% 2017 440,000 +3% 2018 449,000 +2% 2019 455,000 +1% Notes Source: Mintel Global New Products Database, Mintel, mintel.com; McKinsey analysis. McKinsey & Company To read the article, see “Reimagining consumer-goods innovation for the next normal,” October 16, 2020.