Starting A Business
Marketing and Promotion

How do I develop and market my food product?

This site is a overview discussion on food product development and promotion. The discussion of this topic has changed considerably in the last five or six years since it was first started. No longer is product development a long-range plan of several years. It is not something that primarily occurs in the laboratory with a food scientist coming up with a brillant idea alone. Product development must be integrated into all aspects of the company and marketplace. Even at that, the problems and potentials of new food product success are small. There are many subtle aspects to product development and, ultimately, product sales. This site only will cover a few of these.

In fact, this author almost dispairs at covering the product development process, strategies and procedures. What is a product? Is it something entirely new or a brand extension or something else such as coparterning? How does one go about producing a new product? What are the strategies? What makes the product successful? What type of strategies will make it success? How limiting and unique is food product development? What is the product for? Who are the customers?

There are many market for food products. They range from the grocery store, to the speciality store, to the retaurant and to the institutional market, such as hospitals and care facilities. Within each of these market segments are factors such as ethnics, demographic, and unique trends and financial considerations.

Product development is approached through a process of both recipe development and through an adaptation of a "brand" name recipe . The techniques of product development from both viewpoints is important. Swientek (1997Mid-April) indicates that their product development does not exist in a vacuum. They have three principles of: defend, extend and build. That is product development includes defending a product through brand protection, food safety, scientific and regulatory affairs, environmental management and consumer relations. James R. Behnke (senior vice president technology of Pillsbury) indicates that the "extend" area takes the solid core and extend out from these core products. From this they can build on the product.

Food Engineering recently indicated the importance of putting together fundamental consumer research, consumer yield analysis and product performance research to make a successful product. Consumer research is a expertise. A number of private companies do this type of research. Such information is actually sold in the market place information on safety, quality control, marketing and a variety of other specialities is required. How does one maximize each aspect to get the product one wants.

There are many different strategies which have been purported to represent the pathway to a successful product. Some are relative simple such as that put forth by Harry Lawless (Anonymous, 1994) or Cornell. He essentially said that success in product development is simply an integration and overlap of fundamental consumer research, consumer yield analysis and product performance research. However, the proof of success is in the details of these three points. Dr. Lawless indicates that the use of the different aspects must be adjusted for each specific application.

Pillsbury (Swientek, 1997Mid-April) feels that their success rate for products is the result of cross-functional business teams, innovation and diversity. They put different teams together and all work to solve a problem. The discussion of copartnering includes this collaboration of different parts of a company as well with other divisions and companies. Although there are many other approaches to food product development; however, this particular course will explore the process discussed by Meyer and by Pedi and Moesta(1993) will be initially discussed.

Essentially, Kirk (1988) has reported that companies have observed that innovation has become the thrust for success. Those that successfully compete with new products, they have learned four principles

Innovation is technology. Innovation and bureaucracy don't mix. Successful innovators regard their customers and distributors as welcome partners. Creativity is highly valued and effectively promoted in creative companies.

He did feel that technical implmementation was the key for evaluation and development of products.

At the "fooddude.com" some of the strategies and thought processes required for food product development are plotted and described. The goal of this company is to assist producers and marketers of specialty food products.

Each of the processes start out with the idea. Generating ideas is difficult. At a recent workshop, Ann Price discussed processes to generate ideas.

Once an idea is generated, likely ingredients, packaging and even food engineering information and products will be needed to accessed to obtain optimum product quality. Anymore, access to suppliers is an important key to rapid product development. These supplies may have actually functional property information and may have information on market place.

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Updated: Saturday, August 16, 2008.