Where do new products come from? Think of all of the innovations that have appeared in your lifetime: mobile phones; biotechnology; email and the internet. All of these were developed because the technology was there and the customer wanted it even though they may not have realised it beforehand! The world of food products is also changing constantly. In the past, slower communications and local rather than international competition meant that product development was slow. Products tended to change because of developments in technology or improvements in the manufacturing processes. Now the time taken to develop a new product has been reduced from years to a few months. This means that the life of the product is often also reduced. Two major reasons for new products being developed are sometimes called market pull and technology push. Market pull refers to the marketplace pulling companies into action to produce what the market wants. For example, more vegetarian food products, organic foods, more children s foods, quick-cooking ready meals, healthy foods, and easy-to-use packaging. In contrast, the development of new technologies leads to product innovations being pushed out to establish a new market. For example, biotechnology gave us bio-yogurts, pasteurisation gave us longer-life milk and the dehydration process gave us dried soups. Manufacturers generate ideas for new products in many ways: Brainstorming - this is usually done by the New Product Development (NPD) team within the company Keeping track of competitors new products globally Inventors, who sell ideas or new materials and processes Employing specialist consultants Fashion trends (just like clothes and shoes) Looking at foods eaten abroad Health trends or government guidelines on eating and drinking.
What is market research? Market research is about finding out about people's needs and wants. Everyone needs to eat, but each person may want to eat a different food. Who are the customers? Market research helps us to find out the types of people who are likely to buy a product. Several groups of customers may be revealed. These are segments within the total market. Once the characteristics and buying behaviour of these groups is known, the marketing can be directed at particular target groups. These will contain the most potential customers. A company establishes its market position by concentrating its marketing effort on the segment of the market most likely to provide the best sales for its products.
Activity 1 Marketing a dairy product Unique selling points Any marketing strategy is based on the 4 P s: Product - The product that is being marketed Price - Setting the price at the right level Promotion - Advertising Place - Who are you selling to? How will the product be distributed? How will the product be sold through retailers, directly to the customer, through a catalogue? If a product is to succeed, it must have features that make it stand out from the competition Unique Selling Points (USPS). 1. Choose a food product that exists in a very competitive market; that is, a product where the customer has a wide range of alternative products from different companies. For example, yogurt or milk shakes. 2. Find out about the range of products available. 3. Identify how some manufacturers have attempted to make their product appeal to a wide range of customers through particular features. 4. Identify how other manufacturers have developed their products to meet the needs of an identified target market. 5. Find out about how the product has developed over time. Look for: the use of new technologies, manufacturing methods and materials additional features to meet or create new customer needs and wants any improvements in quality and how they have been achieved.
Activity 2 Design a new flavoured milk drink You have been asked to develop a new idea for a flavoured milk drink, to meet a current trend. Product development is all about ideas not one big idea, but lots of different (wacky, sensible, imaginative, creative) ideas that put together food ingredients that are not necessarily associated. Where could you to get ideas for your milk drink? 1. Starting out Look at recipe books new and old! Tried and tested ideas, and those from other times and cultures, may provide inspiration Watch television programmes about food or famous chefs Look at food magazines in libraries or on the internet Look at books that specialise in foods from different regions in the UK or abroad Tell your family about your project and get them to help you with ideas. 2. Investigate further Ask questions about what the product will be like and who will drink it Look at what competitors are doing in the same area Evaluate a range of existing and similar products Use brainstorming Use attribute analysis considering the attributes or characteristics of existing products, e.g. texture, key flavours, appearance Use market research ask your likely group of consumers what they need and want. 3. Put together a mood board which illustrates how an existing product, or product range of your choice, could be updated or extended to appeal to current tastes and trends in eating. 4. Think about the following: How will it be produced? Can it be produced using existing technology or will a new production line be needed? What will it cost? Does it meet consumer needs and trends? Is it likely to sell? How will it be advertised?
Activity 3 Making sure it looks and tastes good! How many times have you refused to eat something because you did not like the look or smell of it? Aesthetics play an important role in our choice and enjoyment of food. In simple terms, aesthetics describes the way we respond to food with our senses sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. That bread smells good at the entrance of a supermarket It s irresistible beautiful layered dessert/yogurt - It melts in the mouth biscuit] To check that the food product appeals to the senses, food designers carry out a number of different types of tests during the planning and making of products. These can be consumer preference tests or sensory analysis. These tests check that consumers like the taste, smell, look, and feel of the product. We all differ in the things we like or dislike. Ask your friends to name a food product they dislike. You will find a wide variety. Ask them why and they will probably point out reasons to do with the texture, taste and colour of the food. Any testing which relies on people s likes and dislikes is known as subjective because the response varies from person to person (subject to subject) according to their preferences. Guess the flavour Have a bit of fun fooling your friends! Set up a taste panel to see how people link colour and flavour. Make sure you check that people are not allergic to colourings before tasting. You will need A large tub of plain yogurt, a bottle of carbonated water, or a carton of milk Food colours (for example, red, yellow, blue) Food flavourings (for example, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry)
1. Divide the yogurt, carbonated water or milk into 3 or 4 samples 2. Mix a few drops of colour into each sample 3. Mix colours and flavours that do not usually go together. For example, instead of the red sample being strawberry flavoured make it chocolate flavoured. Ask your panel to look at each sample and say which flavour they think it will be. Then ask them to taste and identify the flavour. Think about: Were they always right? Did the colours confuse their taste buds? Did they like the samples, or did some colours put them off?