Small and medium-sized businesses are responding to the recession by innovating and creating new products, according to data released by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

The survey of 10,000 small businesses revealed that 53% of businesses introduced new or improved products and services last year and 51% intend to continue innovating next year.

This innovation is helping many small companies survive the recession, with 30% of the respondents saying their sales volume had increased over the last financial year.