Tools and techniques for more successful

New Product Development (NPD)

Introduction

New Product Development (NPD) is critical for any business, yet NPD can be extremely difficult and costly. 7 out of 10
products fail to live up to pre-launch expectations and the average life span of a grocery retail product (that makes it to market)
is 4 years.

Developing new products is seen by the Welsh Government as a key opportunity to grow the Welsh Horticulture sector,
however, as the majority of businesses are defined as small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), access to specialist
knowledge and resource is limited, therefore, the barriers to NPD remain high.

This project, which has been commissioned by Horticulture Wales, aims to highlight transferable processes and techniques
utilised by food and drink companies to support the Welsh Horticulture sector in developing new products.

The specific aim of the project is to:

produce a toolkit for NPD by identifying, and examining the application of an appropriate model for NPD for
application in the horticulture sector in Wales. The model should identify and examine the processes involved in
successful New Product Development, including relevant examples if appropriate. The report will also incorporate
information and explanation of the work of the three Food Technology Centres of Wales in relation to the different
stages of NPD identified

Introduction

This document describes a process, tools and techniques that growers may wish to utilise when developing new products. It is
meant as a practical guide to aid businesses.

We recognise that many small businesses typically do not follow a defined process when developing new products. This can
cause unnecessary cost and delay. Therefore, this document describes a four stage process for NPD from concept
generation to product launch in order to provide structure and organisation to the process.

A number of tools and techniques are identified and described. These are commonly used by product developers and their
application in the NPD process serves to increase the likelihood of new products getting to market and once on the market,
ensuring that they achieve business expectations.

The list of tools and techniques are by no means exhaustive (a great deal more could have been included). Users of
this document should exercise their own judgement as to which of these tools and techniques are relevant in the
context of their individual circumstances.

NPD requires the application of technical and marketing expertise and knowledge. It is unlikely that users of this document will
possess all of the skills, technology and expertise required to follow this process, therefore, external support is somewhat
inevitable.

Where specialist expertise and/or equipment is required, signposting to external organisations (such as the Welsh Food
Centres) is provided. A list of useful links and resources section is provided .

Using this document

Hyperlinks are embedded throughout this document to make it more user-friendly.

Clicking on the home symbol in the top right of the page, returns you to the contents page.

Clicking on the hyperlinks in the tools and techniques boxes will take you a description of that tool/technique and how
it can be applied.

Clicking on the hyperlinks in the case studies boxes will take you to the relevant case study pages.

Clicking on other hyperlinks will take you to external sources of information (such as food legislation).

Contents
Background..................................................................6
NPD process
overview................................................12
Discover.........................1
4
Define.............................2
1
Develop..........................2
8
Deliver............................3
8
Tools &
techniques......................................................43
Case study
examples..................................................78
Links /
resources.........................................................95

Background

In this section, we briefly outline the importance of NPD to business growth and identify some of the challenges.

We present statistics that:

Underpin the rationale for developing new products

Highlight the NPD success rate

Identify the main causes for new product failure

Redlove apple Fruit

Logistica Innovation Award
nominee, 2014

Why NPD is important

Branded Grocery Sales (UK) billion
New Product Development (NPD) describes
the complete process of bringing a product
to market. There is a start point, which is
defined by the idea generation stage and an
end point, which is defined by the launch of
the product into the market.

60

Over 12,000 new food and drink products

are launched into the UK grocery retail
market every year.

40

The average life-span of a grocery retail

product is 4-5 years and incremental sales
growth comes from new products, not
existing ones.

50

Innovation
Renovation
Discontinued
Core

30

20

10

0
2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Source: Kantar

Growth pathways
Growth matrix

More customers

New
products &
services

New
customer
s

Todays
business

1
Loyalty &
spend
More money from each customer

Businesses typically grow by attracting new customers or increasing

customer spend.
Developing new products and services is an effective way to achieve
both.
New products can attract new customers and they can encourage
existing customers to spend more (new products typically carry a
price premium).
NPD is especially important in mature markets like the UK where
growth opportunities are constrained by slow population growth, stable
volumes of food consumption and a high degree of loyalty to
manufacturer and retail brands.

Consumers like choice, dont they?

Numerous studies have shown that the
consumer does not want any more choice.
An average supermarket will sell
approximately 30,000 SKUs (stock keeping
units). But, over the course of a year
consumers will, on average, only purchase
approximately 300. That represents a
purchase of just 1% of all the products
available to consumers in store.
Overwhelming consumers with a vast array
of complex choices leads to confusion. If
consumers are confused they are less likely
to try new products. This makes the
challenge of new products succeeding even
more challenging.

Number that
consumers want to
buy...
1
1
1
1
1

Out of...SKUs1

Mushrooms
Fresh herbs
Apples
Potatoes
Salad dressing

22
39
32
39
57

Source: www.sainsburys.co.uk

Better NPD, not more NPD

NPD strategies that launch a vast array of new
product variations into the market in the hope
that one or two are successful, are costineffective and, in the long run, create
consumer confusion (especially for branded
products). This is ultimately to blame for the
high rate of failure for new product launches.
Evidence suggests that as many as 7 out of
10 new products fail to meet pre-launch
expectations. Given the investment in time
and resource dedicated to developing new
products, its a worrying statistic. This is partly
due to overly ambitious expectations (i.e.
inflated sales forecasts) and partly due to poor
product performance.

Product success rates (% of food and drink products still selling,

based on a sample of 3,877 products)

25

25

Died in Year 1
Died in Year 2
Dying (<80% of Y1 Sales in Y2)

7
Surviving (80-100% of Y1 sales in Y2)

Market research firm Kantar, tracked sales of

3,877 new food and drink product launches
over a two-year time period. They found only
one-third of new product launches were
surviving (i.e. achieving 80-100% of Year 1
sales in Year 2) or thriving (i.e. showing sales
growth in Year 2).

19
Thriving (growing in Y2)
24

Source: Kantar

10

Main causes of new product failure

Main causes of new product failure (%)
Technical problems

The main causes of new product failure were

attributed to inadequate market analysis (prelaunch) and in-effective marketing (during
and post-launch).

12

Poor launch timing

Relatively few product failures were attributed

to technical problems (as these tend to be
ironed out pre-launch) and poor timing.

14

Competitive strength or reaction

17

Higher costs than anticipated

This analysis clearly highlights the

importance in getting the market analysis
right (i.e. having a thorough understanding of
the need/benefit that the product meets and
of the competitive landscape into which the
product will be launched).

18

Ineffective marketing

25

Inadequate market analysis

44
0

10

11

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Source: Kantar

A process for new product development

In this section we describe a four stage process of NPD from concept generation to product launch.

We provide a detailed explanation of each of the four stages, explaining what each stage will help you to achieve.

We identify a number of tools and techniques that can be applied at this stage of the NPD process and provide links to further
information sources.

We also provide links to case studies that highlight relevant points.

ZEO Drinks Fruit Logistica

Innovation Award nominee,
2014

12

Four stages of new product development

Discover
Product concept & specification

Define

This model is based on four distinct stages, all

of which aim to guide you through the NPD
process from idea development through to
product launch.

Generate innovation idea(s)

There are many different processes that

companies use to develop new products. Most
are based on the concept of a funnel or stage
gate system.

Product development & testing

Develop
Product launch

Deliver
13

Discover
The purpose of the Discover stage is to develop credible new product ideas and
concepts. This is fundamental because it will justify why consumers will need or
want to buy your product.
Many business start the NPD process with idea generation. This is most likely to result in taking a product that is already on the
market and adding a twist. These products are most likely to fail (if they ever reach the market).
It is far more effective to start the process by identifying and understanding a specific problem or need that someone has. This is
the starting point for the Discover stage, as described below.

Key steps in the Discover Stage

Understand needs
& generate insight
What needs/wants do
consumers have?

Market analysis
Which products (if any)
are already on the market
and meet these
needs/wants? What are
their strengths and
weaknesses?

14

Evaluate current
product portfolio

Develop & evaluate

ideas

Do we need to adapt
existing products or develop
new ones?

How can we design and

develop better products to
meet consumer
needs/wants?

Understand needs & generate insight

Lasting innovation comes from understanding consumer needs and
gaining insight. Insight is an in-depth understanding of a particular need or
problem that a consumer might have, for example:
- How do I get my children to eat vegetables?
- I always have left-over bunches of herbs in the fridge that get
thrown away
- In a non-food example, I find vacuuming the stairs really difficult
Quite often, once consumer needs are understood, possible solutions
might seem clearer. For example, fun vegetable snack products for kids,
clearer plant maintenance instructions, re-sealable tubes of herb pastes,
an extendable stair attachment for a vacuum cleaner.
A good understanding of the market place is also required. Critically, are
there products on the market place that already help consumers to meet
this need? If so, is my product better and why would someone choose it
over one thats already on the market. If not, is there a good reason why?
Others may have tried and failed, so learn from their mistakes. You might
be first-to-market, in which case, you could be in an enviable position.

15

Tools & techniques for

generating insight
1. Market segmentation...define and
understand your target market. Click
here to read more
2. Focus Groups...in-depth exploration of
needs and motivations. Click here to
read more
3. Empathy Map...see the world through
the eyes of your target market. Click
here to read more

Case studies
Heinz Fridge Pack
Dyson
McCains Oven Ready Jackets

Market Analysis
Inadequate market analysis is the single biggest cause of new product
failure. It therefore stands to reason that if you want your product to
succeed, you need to build an in-depth understanding of the market.
- How is it (i.e. the market) defined?
- How big is it?
- Where is it?
- Is it growing?
- Who are the competitors?
- Which products are performing well and which are not?
- What trends are impacting the market?
- What might the market look like in 3-5 years time?
- Where are the gaps in the market?
- What are the opportunities and how can we use our
strengths to develop them?
This can help to inform the creative process. For example, if there is a
noticeable trend towards products that have convenience benefits that
can provide some direction to your thinking about the benefits your
product should deliver. It will also help you to evaluate the sales potential
for your new product, understand price points, evaluate competitor
strengths and weaknesses and identify a route-to-market.

16

Tools & techniques for market

analysis
1. Market analysis...define and measure
your target market. Click here to read
more
2. Category analysis...identify who the
competitors are and spot major trend
drivers. Click here to read more

Evaluate current product portfolio revolution or

evolution?
Do you need to develop entirely new products or do you need to adapt and
modify existing products? Revolution or evolution?
Not all NPD has to be the development of a completely new product
concept. Indeed, the majority of NPD is an adaptation/modification of a
product that already exists. For example, introducing a new packaging
format, adding a new flavour variant, a recipe reformulation and so on.
It can be useful to evaluate your current product portfolio before developing
new product ideas. Doing this will help you to understand whether a minor
change to an existing product or the development of an entirely new
product is required. There are pros and cons to both approaches:

Minor adaptations are generally quicker and more cost-effective to

implement but their impact on the market is relatively modest (i.e.
lower risk, lower reward)

New product innovations are higher risk, more costly to develop

and there are more uncertainties; however, they also have the
potential to have a bigger impact on the market (i.e. higher risk,
higher reward)

17

Tools & techniques for portfolio

analysis
1. BCG Matrix...evaluate your current
product range. Click here to read more
2. Ansoff Matrix...understand strategic
options. Click here to read more

Case studies
Twinings
Glenfiddich
Becel pro-activ
10 Meal Deal

Develop & evaluate ideas

Now is the time for idea generation. It is important to immerse
yourself and others in the process and use the information you have
gathered from consumer insight, market analysis and review of
available technologies to spark ideas. Using this information will help
to make sure that the ideas you generate are grounded; for example
- it meets a particular consumer need
- it takes advantage of a particular market opportunity
- it doesnt replicate a product that is already on the market
- it takes advantage of technological change
Most idea generation takes place in the form of a workshop and is
facilitated by the person in charge of developing new products. The
people attending the workshop are usually briefed with the
information gathered so far, in advance of the workshop, so that they
can focus on being creative.
However, there has also been an increased trend towards food
companies looking for ideas from outside the organisation. Its an
approach that is called Open Innovation because it describes a
process by which the company is open to ideas from people external
to the company, such as suppliers or customers.

18

Tools & techniques for idea

development and evaluation
1. Idea development workshop....How to
structure a workshop. Click here to
read more
2. Co-creation & crowd sourcing....Use
other peoples ideas and creativity. Click
here to read more
3. Kano Model...Identify winning product
attributes. Click here to read more
4. Storytelling...envisage how and why
consumers might buy your product.
Click here to read more

Case studies
Nescafe Australia
Coldpress

Protection of intellectual property and

confidentiality
It is worth protecting your Intellectual Property (IP) early on in the NPD process. According to the Intellectual Property Office:
Intellectual Property (IP) results from the expression of an idea. So IP might be a brand, an invention, a design, a song or
another intellectual creation. IP can be owned, bought and sold.
There are four main types of IP rights that can be used to protect your ideas, for example:

Patents: Patents protect the features and processes that make things work. This lets inventors profit from their inventions.
Designs: Design is all about the way an object looks: its shape, its visual appeal...it's all in the design.
Trademarks: Trademarks are signs (like words and logos) that distinguish goods and services in the marketplace.
Copyright: Copyright is an automatic right which applies when the work is fixed, that is written or recorded in some way.

For further information on how to protect IP go to the Intellectual Property Office website
It is also worth considering the use of Confidentiality Agreements (legally binding agreements for the non-disclosure of sensitive
commercial information). This is particularly relevant when testing your new product concept and is applicable to consumers and
businesses.

19

Discover stage check list

Before proceeding to the next stage, check that you have:
1. Identified a specific need or problem that your new product idea addresses......................................
2. Analysed the market, identifying:
- which products are already on the market..................................................................................
- who the main competitors are (and are aware of their strengths and weaknesses).................
- key trends and how they are influencing the market/consumers...............................................
3. Developed an idea(s) for a new product...............................................................................................
4. Have considered protecting your intellectual property and/or use confidentiality agreements..........
5. Evaluated your idea(s) for a new product and are confident that further development is justified......
If you are confident that you have achieved the above, proceed to the next stage. If not, go back and complete the objectives
before moving on.

20

Define
The purpose of the Define stage is to test the feasibility of developing your product
idea/concept further.
Applying practical criteria to your idea(s) will help to provide an early indication of how feasible the product is to develop and to
spot any potential development problems early, thus making the process time and cost efficient. Typical considerations at this
stage might include:
- Does the candidate product fit with our brand and product portfolio?
- Does the concept appeal to consumers?
- Does the product fit in the market place?
- Can we produce the product to meet customer specifications?
- Can we produce the product to generate acceptable margin returns to the business?
- Can we make the product? Do we need additional resources such as skills, knowledge, equipment?
- Are there any legal, safety implications that we need to consider?

Product
specification design

Concept test

21

Feasibility
assessment

Legal and safety

sense check

Product specification design

Describing and visualizing your idea can be an extremely powerful way to define the specifications of your product idea. This can
help turn concepts into something that is more tangible and easier to communicate to internal and external stakeholders. This can
be achieved by developing a product description, which might include the following:
- Brand, product name
- Ingredients
- Flavours
- Pack size, format, materials
- Visuals (e.g. logos, typography, colour schemes, images)
- Target price point
- Target market
- Consumption occasion (e.g. out-of-home, dessert, snack etc)
- Product proposition (e.g. indulgence, health, convenience)

Concept Board Example

A product design template can be found by clicking here

You might also want to create a Concept Board as visual stimuli can
be a powerful way to communicate your ideas effectively see example
opposite.

Source: www.finedesign.ltd.uk

22

Concept testing & development

One of the critical components of NPD is to test the concept with consumers.
Testing your new product concept early on can help to identify weaknesses that
can be fixed pre-launch and identify strengths that would enhance the success
of the product.
Most concept testing is done with a combination of qualitative research (e.g.
using focus groups) and quantitative research (e.g. using questionnaires and
surveys) . These are valid techniques and have been used extensively by all
types of businesses. Tips to improve the effectiveness of concept testing
include:
1. Do not expect to get product ideas right first time
2. Involve consumers early on, so you have chance to implement their
feedback
3. Inform consumers about the whole product experience, not just the
product itself
4. Use exciting and visual stimuli (e.g. your concept board); limit the
amount of text and description of product features
5. Use consumers as co-creators (i.e. use them to develop and refine
your ideas), not as judge and jury

23

Tools & techniques for

concept testing &
development
1. Focus Groups...In-depth exploration
of what consumers think about your
product. Click here to read more
2. Questionnaires and surveys....
Canvas broad opinion. Click here to
read more
3. Non-traditional methods...Use
creative opportunities to test your
product in a non-traditional
environment. Click here to read more

Case studies
Innocent Smoothies
Zeo

Feasibility assessment
Feasibility is a key consideration at this stage of the process as whether you are able to implement your idea will have significant
bearing on how you proceed. Some of the points you may wish to consider are as follows:
- Can we implement our product idea with our current resources?
- What additional resources might we need e.g. equipment?
- If additional resources are required, what impact will capital expenditure have on the business?
- Which partners can we work with to develop the product?
- How long will the development process take?
- When can we expect to get our product to market?
- How much will product development cost?
- Will the new product deliver an acceptable margin to the business?
Applying a feasibility assessment to your new product ideas will help to determine the likelihood of getting your product through the
development process in an efficient and cost-effective way. If there are a number of new product ideas, it can also be used to
prioritise which of these you wish to develop further.

24

Costs & returns

The justification for developing a new product is often underpinned by an
expectation that it will generate higher sales, either by charging consumers a
price premium or driving increased purchases (or both).
However, the expected increase in sales (over the products life cycle) must be
evaluated in light of the development costs for the business to be able to
evaluate:
a) Whether it is feasible to develop the product in the first place
(particularly relevant if investment in new assets, such as
manufacturing equipment, is required)
b) The impact of the cost of development trials
c) Whether the expected increase in sales will deliver the level of growth
required by the business (i.e. it may be more cost-effective to grow
the business in other ways)
Having a clear picture of the expected costs and returns of new product
development is fundamental as it will need to generate sufficient profit to the
business for it to be considered a feasible proposition.

25

Tools & techniques for

evaluating costs and returns
1. Return on Investment (ROI)
analysis...budget costs and returns
for developing new products. Click
here to read more

Legal and safety sense check

A legal and safety sense check of the product concept can help to identify major barriers that might be encountered further down
the product development process. For example, the use of some foods and food ingredients may be regulated by
Novel Foods Regulation use of such foods and food ingredients may be subject to approval by regulatory authorities at EU level.
This can add significant time and cost to the NPD process. An early warning of such potential issues may therefore help to
evaluate the attractiveness and feasibility of developing new product ideas.
Other potential legal issues to be considered at this stage include:

Labelling requirements (e.g. best before and use by dates, country-of-origin, ingredients declaration)
Any functional health claims that you intend to make (health claims are legislated against by EFSA the European Food
Safety Authority
Any sensory and/or marketing claims that you intend to make (click here for guidance on making sensory claims and click
here for guidance on general advertising claims)
Guidance on allergens labelling requirements

A safety sense check would raise considerations as to:

Potential safety and shelf-life considerations that may need to be taken into account. This could, for example, impact on
packaging and distribution channels

As such, it may be appropriate to commission an independent scientific body (such as the Welsh Food Centres) to carry out a
literature review, highlighting potential safety risks. See Links/resources section for further information.

26

Define stage check list

Before proceeding to the next stage, check that you have:
1. Developed the specification(s) for your new product idea(s)...........................................................
2. Tested your new product idea(s) with consumers/end users and are confident that
further development is justified........................................................................................................
3. Assessed the feasibility of implementing your new product idea(s) and are confident
that you can progress........................................................................................................................
4. Carried out a legal and safety sense check and are confident that there are no major
obstacles that would prevent further development of the product ...................................................
If you are confident that you have achieved the above, proceed to the next stage. If not, go back and complete the objectives
before moving on.

27

Develop
The purpose of the Develop stage is to produce and refine a prototype product so
that it is ready for commercial launch.
This stage of the process is likely to be iterative. Like a building project, you are trying to execute a design/blueprint and it is
unlikely you will get it exactly right first time. The ingredients may not react in the way you expected them to and you may need to
change the recipe; the production process may require adaptation; feedback from consumers might highlight things you had not
previously considered.
There is no definitive way of knowing exactly when a product is ready for launch and there are risks of launching or not launching:
- The product may be launched onto the market but is not ready and fails to meet expectations
- The product continues to be developed incurring financial, time and opportunity costs
Ultimately it is down to the individual, based on the evidence gathered in the NPD process, to determine whether further changes
are required or whether the product should be launched.

28

Develop
Key steps of the Develop stage
Yes

Yes

Production
trial

Likely to be:
Small scale
Developing multiple
versions/varieties
Testing multiple
processes

Test

Test

Are changes
required?
Yes, go
back. No,
go forward

Are changes
required?
Yes, go
back. No,
go forward

Consider tests such as:

Analytical tests
Sensory tests
Consumer tests
Financial costings

29

No
Scale up

Likely to be:
Large scale
Developing few (one)
versions/varieties
Testing few (one)
processes

Consider tests such as:

Analytical tests
Sensory tests
Consumer tests
Financial costings

No

Launch
strategy

Production trials
This is a critical part of the process. Here you are testing the ability to develop your new product and evaluate not only the final
result, but the individual processes involved in its production. There is no generic template that can be applied as the production
process will be unique to each product.
One of the challenges of developing certain horticultural products (as opposed to added-value processed products) is the time
scales that are involved and the impact of seasonal growing conditions. The development of new fruit varieties, for example, may
take several years from planting the rootstock to harvesting the first fruits and then several more years of adaptation to produce a
version that is ready for commercial launch.
Businesses can overcome this limitation by implementing ongoing development programmes i.e. varietal development is not a
one-off but a constant business activity. It may also be advisable to work with breeding organizations (e.g. seed companies) as
they will be developing new varieties of horticulture products and be looking for commercialization opportunities.
Some of the key things you might want to consider during production trials are as follows:
1. Volume and yield
2. Disease and pest resistance
3. Quality
4. Care and conditions (e.g. optimal soil conditions, water, light, heat etc. that are required for growing)

Case studies
Fioretto

30

Scaling up
If production trials are successful, the next step is to evaluate whether production can be scaled up to the levels required for
commercial volumes. This is particularly the case for manufactured products when moving from a test kitchen to manufacturing
plant environment .
Testing full scale production at this stage is of benefit because:

New/different ingredients, equipment and processes may be required, all of which may impact the quality of the product
and its efficiency of production (bearing cost implications)
Scale production problems can be spotted and rectified prior to commercial launch
The business may need to invest in new equipment and/or technologies testing them at this stage will minimise financial
risk to the business
The suitability of the land and climatic conditions can be evaluated (e.g. if moving from a greenhouse test bed to open
field production)

By trialing full scale production, you will be able to refine the production process, making it as efficient and trouble-free as possible.
It is important to test the products that are produced at this stage to check that they meet the required specifications. This may
involve any number of analytical, sensory and consumer tests as required.

Case studies
Artisanal antipasti product

31

Analytical (instrumental) tests

There are a range of analytical tests that can be used to evaluate food products depending on the purpose of the test. These are
sometimes called instrumental tests because they require the use of instruments. Some of these (and a brief explanation) are
outlined below:
- Brix test: Degrees Brix (Bx) measures the sugar content of an aqueous solution. It can be measured using a
Refractometer and is used to assess the sweetness of fruits and vegetables.
- Viscosity: Viscosity is a measure of a fluids resistance to flow. The viscosity of a liquid product (e.g. salad dressing,
smoothie) can impact the performance of the product (e.g. does the dressing evenly coat the leaves) and consumer
perceptions (a thick smoothie = better value for money, whereas a thin smoothie = poor value for money).
- Chemical analysis: Chemical analysis of a product can be used for many purposes from identifying contaminants and
allergens to profiling vitamin and mineral content. Chemical analysis requires specialist equipment operated by trained
practitioners.
- Colour assessment: Colour has a major bearing on consumers initial assessment of food products (e.g. green
tomatoes = lack of ripeness). Analytical methods can provide an objective measure of prototype products, which can be
particularly valuable if consumer perceptions are heavily influenced by visual appearance (e.g. flowers, fruit, vegetables
etc).

32

Analytical (instrumental) tests cont...

-Shelf-life assessment: Food Labelling Regulations require businesses to identify the saleable life of the product using
Best Before or Use By dates. As a result, testing may be necessary, in which case specialist expertise/equipment may be
required. For long shelf-life products accelerated shelf-life testing with heat, light, temperature and humidity controlled
units can be used.
Post-harvest processing, treatment, storage and distribution can have a significant impact on quality and freshness. It is
therefore worth considering testing the product once it has gone through these processes, not before, as it will be a more
accurate reflection of the product the consumer will purchase.
-

Food safety tests: Article 14 of the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 stipulates that food shall not be placed
on the market if it is unsafe. Food is deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be:
- injurious to health
- unfit for human consumption
Article 14 also indicates what factors need to be taken into account when determining whether food is injurious to health
or unfit.

33

Sensory evaluation
Sensory science is a scientific discipline that uses a wide range of techniques to
analyse and evaluate the sensory characteristics of food products i.e. taste,
texture, appearance, smell and sound. The senses have a significant impact on
our overall liking of food products, for example:

We use sight, smell and touch to evaluate the ripeness of fruits and
vegetables
We expect crisps to be have a crunchy texture (by contrast soft crisps are
perceived as stale)
A schhh sound when we open a canned drink tells us that it is
carbonated and gives us a specific mouth feel expectation

Sensory evaluation is carried out by scientists that are trained to use their senses
as an instrument to objectively analyse food products.

Tools & techniques for

sensory evaluation
1. Sensory profiling...build a sensory
profile of your product. Click here to
read more
2. Preference Mapping.... A powerful
way to combine sensory profile and
consumer acceptance data. Click
here to read more

Sensory evaluation can aid the product development process by:

Evaluating the quality characteristics of the product (e.g. sweetness,

bitterness, crunchiness etc) and,
Benchmarking the product against current or competitor products (e.g. to
evaluate whether the quality characteristics of the new product are
superior)

34

Case studies
Albert Bartlett

Consumer evaluation
Obtaining consumer feedback is vital as they are the end users of the
product. Earlier tests should have confirmed that the concept/idea of the
product is worth developing. At this stage of the process, consumer tests
can help you to understand what they think of your new product, for
example:

Is it as good as or better than competitor products?

Is it as good as or better than previous formulations?
What is the likelihood of purchase and price expectations?
How, where and why might they buy and consume the product?
What marketing and communications support might be required?

Listening to consumer feedback prior to launch can help to refine the

development of the product itself (e.g. allowing you to make recipe, format
and flavour adjustments) and to the marketing of the product (e.g. sales
channels, price, advertising and promotion, consumption occasion etc.).
Critical to successful consumer evaluation is testing the product with
consumers that match your target market profile, not the general population.
For example, if you are developing a premium prepared salad, test this
product with consumers that are most likely to buy this product (e.g. cash
rich, time poor, higher socio-economic group, urban dwellers, health
conscious, regular salad eaters, 80% female 20% male, aged 25-55).

35

Tools & techniques for

consumer evaluation
1. Consumer Hall Tests...benchmark
your product against competitor
products and/or previous
formulations. Click here to read more
2. Focus Groups...In-depth exploration
of what consumers think about your
product. Click here to read more
3. Questionnaires and surveys....
Canvas broad opinion. Click here to
read more
4. Non-traditional methods...Use
creative opportunities to test your
product in a non-traditional
environment. Click here to read more

Launch plan
Your launch strategy should clearly set out how you intend to introduce
your product to the market, taking into account your target market, pricing,
distribution and sales channels and promotion.
A carefully planned and executed launch strategy will maximise the
potential for success of a new product once released into the market.

Tools & techniques for

developing a launch plan
1. A framework for new product launch.
Click here to read more
2. Considerations for product launch
marketing. Click here to read more

Key elements to the launch plan include:

Product description
Benefits and positioning
Pricing
Target market
Distribution/sales channels
Promotion and marketing support
Timings
Post launch Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Case studies
Kit Kat
Soffrito mix

36

Develop stage check list

Before proceeding to the next stage, check that you :
1. Have tested the production process at a scale required for commercial trial..................................
2. Have spotted and rectified any major production problems.............................................................
3. Have evaluated the product using a combination of analytical, sensory and/or consumer
tests, incorporating feedback and recommendations.......................................................................
4. Are confident the product is ready for market...................................................................................
5. Have a developed launch strategy that can be implemented immediately......................................
If you are confident that you have achieved the above, proceed to the next stage. If not, go back and complete the objectives
before moving on.

37

Deliver
The objective of this stage is to launch the product as efficiently and effectively as
possible.
There are some technical pre-launch checks that should take place, for example due diligence checks such as:

Label checks and

Safety tests

A significant amount of resource should be dedicated to implementing a marketing and communications plan. There are four
basic principles that can enhance the success of a new product:
1.
2.
3.
4.

New products need to be seen before they can to be purchased

New products need to be understood before they can to be purchased
Consumers need to be incentivized for them to try new products
Minimise the risk of trial to the consumer

The process does not end once the product has been launched. Businesses should monitor and review key performance
indicators (KPIs), such as sales performance, customer feedback/complaints, competitor activity and so on. Spotting and
rectifying problems early on can enhance the potential success of the product.

38

Due diligence check

It is recognised as best practice that a series of pre-launch legal and safety checks be carried out prior to launching a new
product. We have called these a due diligence check. Whilst many of these tests may have been carried out in earlier stages of
the NPD process it is important to consider a final due diligence check because:
1. The formulation and/or production/processing techniques used to make the product may have changed during the
Develop stage and this may impact on the safety or shelf-life of the product as well as any marketing claims that it
makes
2. There may have been changes to legislation and codes of practice, for example:
a) Some ingredients may no longer be permitted for use in food products (or the threshold levels have been
changed)
b) There may have been changes to certification standards (such as Red Tractor, Organic, Fair Trade), which may
affect how the product can be labelled and marketed
c) There may be changes to labelling requirements (e.g. changes to display until, best before or use by dates)
A pre-launch due diligence check can help to avoid costly alterations to a product once in the market . It does not necessarily
require a full legal and safety analysis, quite often it can be a routine process, but will need to be carried out by experts.

39

4 point plan to maximise launch effectiveness

1. Be in the right
place

Identify where your product has the best opportunity to sell. For example, consumers may be more
willing to try a new product if they buy it from a specialist store (such as a Delicatessen) or food
service channel as opposed to a supermarket where purchases are more automatic

2. Visibility

Make your product stand out and be seen by the consumer. Use packaging and merchandising to
spotlight your product

3. Clarity of
communication

4. Reduce risk of
trial

Spell out a clear reason why consumers should buy your product
Use simple but engaging communication
Use visual stimuli a picture paints a thousand words

Reduce financial risk with price promotion

Promote with complimentary products (e.g. salads and salad dressings)
Use endorsements
Use social media to sell positive experiences and maximise word of mouth referrals

40

Post launch monitor & review

It is a common misconception that the launch phase marks the end of the product development process. This is often the case in
large organisations where people perform functional roles i.e. the product developers hand over to the commercial team once
the product is in the market. From a company perspective, however, it is important to monitor and manage post-launch activity as
new products typically require intensive support for them to achieve their potential. The statistics presented in the background
section highlight that 25% of new product launches fail because of ineffective marketing support.
There are many key performance indicators that could be used to monitor performance. Some of these are highlighted below:

Actual versus forecast sales

Actual sales growth versus market average growth
Customer/consumer complaints (volume and nature of complaints)
Surveys and interviews with customers (e.g. buyers) and/or consumers. Useful for more qualitative feedback, such as
what aspects of the product they like/dislike
Competitor activity
Promotional effectiveness
Pricing analysis (is the product still competitive in the market)
Sales channel effectiveness

The purpose of monitoring the product post-launch is that it highlights changes that can be made to the marketing of the product
in order to enhance its overall success (either troubleshooting problems or identifying opportunities). Therefore, collecting the type
of information described above is only effective if actions are put in place .

41

Deliver stage check list

Before proceeding with the launch of your product ensure that you :
1. Have carried out pre-launch due diligence checks....................................................................................
2. Have developed a launch plan, with implementable actions that will help improve the
chances of success for your new product..........................................................................................
3. Know how to measure the performance of the product once it has been launched........................

42

Tools & techniques

This section contains a number of tools and techniques to support NPD.

Whilst some of these can be carried out by the users of this document others may require the support of external experts.
Where this is the case we have aimed to provide a non-technical summary to improve understanding.

Eisberg Fruit Logistica

Innovation Award winner, 2014

43

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix

This tool was developed by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a globally recognised management consultancy firm, to evaluate a
business current product portfolio. It is designed to help businesses identify how their products are performing and inform their
product development strategy. It is a tool that is applicable to all types of businesses and is commonly used by all industry sectors.
How to use the BCG matrix:
There are two axes. The horizontal axis measures market share from low to high; the vertical axis measures market growth from
low to high. Apply this criteria to each product you sell in order to plot them on the chart. Wherever possible use market and sales
data; for example, you could compare growth in sales against the growth in the total market. In the absence of data, use your best
judgement.
Once you have plotted your products on the grid, evaluate the following:

Do you have any cash cows? These are consistent sellers and typically generate higher profits, which can be used to fund
development of new products. Cash cows are good because they provide stability but are unlikely to deliver high growth
Do you have any stars? Stars are high growth, high market share products. Stars are valuable because they provide
growth but require intensive support. Stars tend to turn into cash cows
Do you have any dogs? These are under-performing products. If so, is there potential to turn them around? If not, consider
divesting these
Do you have any question marks? These could be valuable to the business because they are in growth but with a low
market share their overall impact may be marginal

By undertaking this exercise, you should better understand your current product portfolio and generate ideas for new product
development.

44

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix cont

High
Question Mark

Star

Low market share and high

growth. Value to business
uncertain

High in market share and

growth. Likely bestperforming product in
portfolio. Nurture sales

Dog

Cash Cow

Low in market share

and growth. Consider
renovating or divesting
product

High in market share, low

in growth. Use profits to
fund NPD

Market Growth

Low
Market Share

Low

45

High

Ansoff Matrix
Developed by Russian-born mathematician Igor Ansoff in the 1950s and still widely used today, the Ansoff Matrix evaluates the
need to develop new products, new markets or both. It can help to determine your overall business strategy and the role of NPD
within it. Ansoff identified four main ways in which a business can grow:

Market penetration: Selling existing products to existing markets (customers)

Market development: Selling existing products to new customers
Product development: Selling new products to existing customers
Diversification: Selling new products to new customers

How to use the Ansoff Matrix:

Use the matrix to help you consider your strategic options and determine the necessity for new product development. For example,
your market analysis may conclude that there is plenty of opportunity for selling your current range of products to your current range
of customers by penetrating the market with promotional strategies, such as multi-buy offers, to build loyalty.
It may, however, reinforce the necessity to develop new products if your market analysis concludes that there are limited
opportunities to selling your current range of products.
Whilst all strategies incur a certain amount of risk, diversification strategies are the riskiest of them all.

46

Ansoff Matrix cont

New

Market development

Diversification

Selling existing products to

new customers

Selling new products to

new markets

Penetration

Product development

Selling more of your

existing products to
existing customers

Selling new products to

existing customers

Markets

Existing

Existing

47

Products

New

Empathy Map
A good way to understand consumers is to use an Empathy Map. The Empathy Map helps you to understand more than
consumers demographic characteristics and understand their environment, behaviour, concerns and aspirations. Doing so should
help you to develop products that more accurately meet their needs and wants.
How to use the Empathy Map:
First, brainstorm to come up with all the possible customer segments to whom you might want to sell your product. Choose the
customer that you think is most likely to buy your product. Give them a name and some demographic characteristics, such as
marital status, income, children and so on. Then, using the diagram answer the following six questions:

1.What does he/she

2.What does he/she
see?
hear?
Describe what she sees
Describe how her
in her environment
environment influences
her
What does it look
like?
Who surrounds her?
Who are her friends?
What types of offers is
she exposed to?
What problems does
she encounter?

What do her friends

say? What does her
spouse say?
What influences her,
how?
Which media channels
are influential?

48

3.What does he/she

think and feel?
Try to sketch out what
goes on in her mind
What is important to
her?
What keeps her up at
night?
What does she say and
do?
Imagine what she might
say or do in public

4.What does he/she

say and do?
Imagine what she might
say or do
What is her attitude?
What could she be
telling others?

5.What is his/her pain?

What are her biggest
frustrations?
What obstacles stand
between her and her
needs and wants?
Which risks might she
fear taking?

6.What does
he/she want to
gain?
What does she
want to achieve?
How does she
measure success?

Empathy Map
What does he/she THINK AND FEEL?
What really counts
Major preoccupations
Worries and aspirations
What does he/she HEAR?
What friends say
What boss says
What influencers say

What does he/she SEE?

Environment
Friends
What the market offers

What does he/she SAY AND

Attitude in public
Appearance
Behaviour toward others

DO?

PAIN

GAIN

Fears
Frustrations

49

Wants/needs
Measure of success

Market Segmentation
Market segmentation is a commonly used tool to define a sub-set of the population that represents your customer base. By
segmenting the market you can better understand who your customers are, discover their needs and wants, understand what drives
their behaviour and, ultimately, more effectively target them with new products. There are many ways to segment the market, such
as:
- Demographic segmentation: Dividing people into groups based on age, gender, income, occupation, religion.
- Geographic segmentation: Dividing people into groups based on geographic variables such as country, county, town,
postal code etc.
- Behavioural segmentation: Dividing people into groups based on their perceptions, attitudes and behaviours toward a
certain product or service.
- Segmentation by occasions: Dividing people into groups based on how and when consumers use a product or service
(e.g. people tend to buy poinsettia for Christmas but not at other times of the year. It is, therefore, an occasion driven
market).
There are advantages and disadvantages to each method of segmentation. Demographic and geographic segmentation methods
are effective in describing who your customers are and where they live but do little to tell you why they might buy your product (or
not). These are the advantages of behavioural segmentation and segmentation by occasion. They can often give you a richer
insight into consumption behaviour and enable the development of more effective products.

50

Category Analysis
Price

Positioning claims/trends

What is the price range in the category (lowest highest)?

What is the average price in the category?

Does the price premium change according to the size of the

product?

Packaging formats types & materials

What are the common claims made by products in the category

for example, no added sugar, GM free, perfect for lunchboxes,
5-A-Day etc?

What are the key themes of the claims health, convenience?

Consumption Drivers

What is the most common pack size in the category?

Are products sold individually or in multipacks?

If products are sold in multipacks what is the number of

products in a pack?

Do multipack format products differ in size to those sold

individually?

What material is used for packaging?

51

Are the products packaged and sold in a way to encourage

single-serve consumption or sharing?

Is there focus on the convenience of the product?

Do health claims encourage the consumer to purchase the

product if so what are the health trends focused around losing
weight, added vitamins?

Example of Category Analysis Fresh Juice

Products

169 products in category (2 new)

Tropicana dominant brand (23% of products in range)

followed by own label (19% of products in range);
Innocent (13% of products in range)

Most popular format 1L carton (at home consumption)

Price

Price range

Multi-pack cartons 4 X 200ml format (out of

home consumption)
Single serve formats 235ml 330ml

Smaller serve sizes achieve significant price

premium (100%+)

Flavour range

Apple/orange dominate
Tropical flavours popular
New veg/fruit combinations (e.g. tomato &
strawberry)
Coconut water + fruit (e.g. with peach,
pineapple)
Beetroot/pomegranate

Promotion

110 products on promotion (~65% of category)

High 9.16 per litre (Nosh Raw Fruity

juice drink)
Low 1.25 per litre (Waitrose Essential
1L carton)
Average 1.50 - 2.50 per litre
Leading brands price range 2.00 2.50 per litre

Multi-buy deals to drive volume purchase e.g. buy 3

for 4 (premium OL) or buy 3 for 5 (branded)

Limited price discount

No cross-category promotions (e.g. linking juice

product to other breakfast items such as Croissant)

52

Packaging formats types & materials

1L carton formats

Plastic bottle (750ml, 900ml, 1.25l, 1.35l)

Multipack cartons (pouch and box format with

straw)

Single serve bottles / cartons 250ml 330ml

Positioning claims/trends

Not from concentrate

No added sugar

Reduced sugar

Natural

Fresh

GM free

5-A-Day

Contains vitamins and minerals

Recyclable (packaging)

Perfect for lunchboxes

Kids

Free from artificial additives/preservatives

Cold pressed

Contains antioxidants

Organic

Serve size suggestion

Consumption drivers

Volume driven - at home with family (e.g. 1L

juice cartons)

Convenience driven e.g. Lunchbox multipack cartons

Health driven e.g. coconut water, beetroot,

pomegranate

Market Research
In order to make an informed decision about how to progress your business and its products and services further, it is important to
look at what is currently happening in your business sector. Market research is a way of gathering information about a product or
market to provide greater insight and is often at the heart of most business strategies. A range of information sources for gathering
and analysing market data can be found in the Links/Resources section.
Step-by-Step Market Research
Data needs to be gathered on your chosen area. Quite often this can be collated through free, online resources. Some examples of
free resources are detailed below:
Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture
This is an annual survey conducted by the Welsh government which details facts and figures for both the agricultural and horticultural
sectors in Wales.
Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Prices
A weekly data collection by DEFRA which details the latest wholesale prices in England for a range of fruit and vegetables. Historic
data is also available for comparison purposes.
Horticulture Wales Market Analysis
On the Horticulture Wales website, they offer a dedicated market analysis page which provides details of a number of key resources
for market research data.

53

Market Research
Once market data has been collected, it is important that this is filtered to show the specific market that you are trying to target. For
example it is interesting to note sales of strawberries in the UK but how does this data look when it is split by county, or city, or local
area? Strawberry sales may be high in the UK but in your local area they may be low or non existent meaning trying to start a PYO
strawberry farm may be more difficult.
You may wish to consider finding answers to questions such as:

What is the population in my target market?

If you are looking to sell your product in a local farm shop, you should consider how many
people live in the local area around the shop, is there much chance of passing trade from
those not in the area? The idea of local can be subjective and is open to interpretation,
typically ranging from a radius of 10 miles to 30 miles, depending on how rural your location
is.
How many people fit in with my target profile?
Your segmentation analysis will have identified a group of core target consumers for your
product. You need to consider whether this group is represented in the data you have found.
For example, if your product is aimed solely at women, this needs to be considered when
looking at data showing strawberry consumption patterns for the population in general.
What is my target market willing to pay for my product?
Understanding what typical retail prices are in your market will provide you with an insight
into what customers are likely to pay for a similar product. If you multiply this figure by your
potential target market size, you are able to work out the value of your potential target
market.

54

10 x

= 25

= 1,000
25 x 1,000 people
= Potential market
size of 25,000

Idea development workshop

The idea development process can take many forms. Here we describe a best practice approach to running an idea development workshop using
several people from across the business. If it is not feasible to follow this fully, try to implement the principles of running the workshop.
1. Preparation
Following some basic ground rules will help the workshop to go more smoothly.
Set an aim & objectives. It is important to be clear about the aims and objectives of the workshop. Be specific about what you are trying
to achieve and make that clear to the participants. Having an outcome can help to give clarity and focus e.g. by the end of the day we
want to have generated some exciting new product ideas.
Timing. Allocate ample time for the workshop, ideally this should be a whole day and not less than half a day to allow enough time for
people to think creatively.
Location. If possible, off-site locations tend to work better as they have fewer daily distractions. Somewhere that is comfortable, informal
and relaxed will encourage people to participate.
Capturing information. Consider how you are going to capture the discussion in advance of the workshop and bring adequate resources
and materials (e.g. flip chart paper, Post-it notes etc.) for people to use.
2. Team composition
Assembling the right team is essential to generating new and diverse ideas. Resist the temptation to only include senior members of the business
and, instead, invite people with a diversity of age, seniority, position, technical knowledge etc.
You are trying to develop an atmosphere of creative thought and discussion as well as identifying practical considerations (e.g. ease of
implementation, finance etc) so consider inviting people with a range of job roles. Also consider group dynamics; if there is a particularly loud
member of the team how will you manage them?

55

Idea development workshop cont

3. Immersion
Ideally the people attending the workshop should be briefed with the research and insight that you have gathered so far (e.g. market and consumer
research). The more the participants are aware of this information, the more they are likely to generate ideas related to the problem opportunity
facing the business.
4. Expanding
During this phase you will be trying to get the group to develop ideas. This is usually a Brainstorming session, which may be more effective by
adhering to the following rules:
Set and enforce rules: e.g. one conversation at a time, no idea is a bad idea, be visual.
Stay focused on the task: it is useful to have the aim of the workshop pinned to the wall to remind people of the purpose of the workshop if
conversations get side-tracked.
Think visually: Pictures can be extremely powerful so encourage people to contribute diagrams and illustrations as well as words.
Be prepared to get things started yourself: It is worth preparing some questions in advance to get the discussion going, for example, so
how do we develop a new product that makes meal preparation in the home easier?
Capture information: It is vital to capture all ideas on paper so they can be recorded.
5. Criteria selection
Once the team have created a wide range of ideas ask them to define the criteria against which they should be evaluated to reduce them to a
manageable few. This should be specific to your business so consider things such as implementation cost and time, brand fit, skill, expertise and
competence and so on.
6. Prototyping
Use the criteria developed by the group to evaluate each of the ideas to generate a shortlist of ideas. This will provide a more robust evaluation of
new product ideas as well as improving team buy-in to the decision making process.

56

Storytelling
Storytelling can be an extremely powerful way to visualise your new product idea through the consumers eyes. This can be a useful way of
evaluating the extent to which your new product idea meets their needs and wants. It can also provide practical guidance in terms of helping
to understand where s/he might buy the product, why, how much they paid, what they used it for, what they thought of it and so on.
Example
Elaine rushed to Waitrose to pick up a few ingredients for dinner (spaghetti bolognese) before picking up her kids Jack (aged 5) and William
(aged 7), from school. Her shopping list included: minced beef, tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, garlic, beef stock, onions, carrots and
celery. As she walked through the vegetable aisle, she saw a bag of pre-prepared Soffrito (onions, carrots and celery - see case study).
The label said it was ideal for making bolognese and she immediately put it in her basket. At 99p she didnt think much about the price and
reasoned that she could spend the time it would have taken to slice the vegetables herself unpacking the dishwasher. She got the rest of
her ingredients, paid at the checkout and picked up the kids from school. When she got home she immediately unpacked the shopping and
put a pot on the hob with some olive oil to heat through. She then opened the bag and emptied the contents into the pan to soften for 5
minutes whilst she unpacked the dishwasher and made herself a cup of tea. She then added the remaining ingredients and left the dinner to
cook whilst she caught up with Jack and Williams day at school.
The story contains lots of marketing clues: for example:
Product benefits/attributes speed and convenience, premium, quality
Product usage as meal base (pairs well with minced beef dishes and stews)
Price - 99p is a significant premium (perhaps 100%+) on cost of buying individual items separately. Value for money trade-off
between cost and preparation time
Target market people with high interest in cooking but limited on time (e.g. busy mums and dads, young professionals)
Distribution channels premium supermarkets
Promotion highlight time-saving aspect of product, spend more time with kids not cooking, ease of use, versatility, cross-category
promotion (Soffrito with olive oil, tinned tomatoes, minced beef etc.)

57

Storytelling cont
How to use storytelling
Using words, pictures, videos etc construct a story around your new product idea. Think about the following details:

Who is buying the product and who is using the product?

Why did they buy/use the product?
What benefit did they get?
How much did they pay, how did they pay?
Where did they purchase it from (where else might they purchase it from?)
What else did they buy? Was it a single-purchase, part of a weekly shop or for a specific meal occasion?
What other choices did they have (e.g. buy ingredients separately, choose another meal and set of ingredients etc.)
What would make them buy it again?

Use your story to evaluate your new product idea. You can also use the story to communicate your idea to others in a more creative and
engaging way.

58

Co-creation & crowdsourcing

Co-creation and Crowdsourcing is a form of marketing where a company looks to people external to the business for innovation ideas. It is
thought that by engaging consumers in the development of new products and services they are more likely to meet their needs and wants
and therefore be more successful.
It is a technique that has been pioneered by high-tech industries, such as software developers, for example Microsofts Im a PC and
Windows 7 is my idea campaign. Microsoft invited users of its software to suggest incremental improvements to its software, which it
incorporated into Windows 7. It is an approach that has been also embraced by the food industry.
Crowdsourcing platforms, such as Eyeka (https://en.eyeka.com/), publish contests on their websites, issued by fast moving consumer
goods companies. Contests vary but usually ask for creative ideas for new product concepts, advertising campaigns and so on. The
company pays a financial reward to consumers if their ideas are used.
Other companies advertise competitions via their own website and promote it via social media (e.g. Kingsmill
http://www.kingsmillbread.com/competitions/ and Walkers Crisps Do us a flavour competition asking for ideas for new crisp flavour ideas).

59

Co-creation & crowdsourcing cont

Competitions and contests are a good (and fun) way to generate ideas for new products using the principles of co-creating and
crowdsourcing. These can be implemented on a small or large scale using websites, social media, local businesses (e.g. farm shops, pubs)
and so on. To set up a competition you will need to:
1. Create a brief (i.e. what is it you are looking for? how should people submit their ideas? what other rules do they need to obey?
closing date for applications)
2. Establish a reward. This could be financial or non-financial
3. Identify who can take part. This may be for legal and/or practical reasons (e.g. competitions involving new alcohol products
should be restricted to those of drinking age or mums submitting ideas for baby food products)
4. Promote it (e.g. via social media)
5. Close the competition, judge entrants and award a winner

60

Kano Model
Developed by Noriaki Kano in the 1980s, the Kano Model is a theory of product development and customer satisfaction. The model is divided into
three distinct categories:
1. Must be (basic) attributes. These are taken for granted attributes that the product must have and if they are unfulfilled consumers may
be dissatisfied
2. One dimensional (performance) attributes. These result in customer satisfaction when fulfilled and dissatisfaction when not fulfilled
3. Attractive (excitement) attributes. Their absence does not cause dissatisfaction but their presence can delight customers
To explain further, we have applied the principles of Kano to a consumer purchasing a bunch of cut flowers.
1. Must be (basic) factors. The flowers are sold wrapped in protective plastic and displayed in water to enhance freshness. This is a
basic requirement which, even if fully met, is unlikely to add value to the consumer. However, the absence of protective wrapping and
water is likely to have a significantly negative impact on consumer perceptions
2. One dimensional (performance) attributes. Flowers that last longer are a key performance indicator for fresh flowers which
consumers value highly i.e. flowers that stay fresh for 7 days or more are perceived as good value for money but flowers that only last a
few days are perceived as poor value for money. Developing products along this dimension is likely to improve overall consumer
satisfaction
3. Excitement quality. The bunch of flowers contain a new and unique type of lily that the consumer was unaware existed. Now that they
have discovered this new variety the consumer is delighted and immediately chooses this bunch over the other available bunches. As this
is an unexpected surprise absence of this new lily variety would not have lead to disappointment

61

Kano Model cont

Satisfaction
High

New/unique type of flower

Excitement
attributes

Performance
attributes

Freshness guarantee

Achievement
High

Achievement
Low

Basic
factors
Sold in water
Protective wrapping
Sachet of food

Satisfaction
Low

62

Focus Groups
Focus groups involve bringing together a key group of participants to hear their thoughts and opinions on a selected topic. A focus group
may be useful if you have plans to develop a new product as you have the opportunity to ask the group about key features of the proposed
product and gain instant feedback.
Focus groups encourage dialogue amongst participants. When one participant speaks, it triggers another to input their opinion and so forth.
As such, the focus should be on the participants rather than the person (the facilitator) leading the focus group as the group should not
become susceptible to bias from the facilitator.
Setting up a focus group
To conduct a focus group you ideally need to have a facilitator and a note taker. These two roles can be combined together but having two
separate people means that each person can concentrate effectively on their own role.
The facilitator will be the person who will guide the discussion with the participants. They will need to remain impartial throughout the
duration of the discussion to ensure that the participants are not influenced by his or her own opinions. A discussion guide should be
prepared prior to the meeting, and could be structured as a questionnaire with open ended questions to allow greater feedback from
participants. It is important to try and stick as closely as possible to the guide to ensure that the discussion does not flow off topic.
Running a focus group
Probing and clarifying questions can be used by the facilitator to obtain greater detail about what a respondent has said and to help clarify
any particular points of interest. For example, neutral probing and clarifying questions could be Please tell me more about that. or Could
you explain what you mean by

63

Focus Groups cont

The note taker will record notes and observations throughout the discussion ensuring that they capture as much data as possible. If necessary a
focus group discussion could be recorded or filmed if consent is given from all participants involved. As well as recording the actual thoughts of
participants it may be useful to note down changes in body language and behaviour as this too can give an indication towards a participants
feelings about a certain topic.
The focus group itself should be clear about the purpose and projected outcomes of the discussion at the start of the process. You may want to
consider getting the participants to sign confidentiality agreements so that they are clear about who the information is intended for. Participants
should feel comfortable throughout and confident enough to provide their own views on a topic area. If participants feel relaxed they are more
likely to provide you with their thoughts. All members of the group should be included in the discussion. If necessary the facilitator can direct
questions at less vocal participants to bring them into the conversation.
Some additional factors to consider with regards to focus groups are:

Costs professional firms may charge up to 5K+ per focus group (although there are economies of scale for multiple groups). Other
organisations e.g. universities, may be cheaper
Recruitment the focus group should reflect the target market population that you are trying to sell to
Discussion guide be clear as to what information you want to find and structure the discussion accordingly
Duration there is no set length for a focus group but they typically last from 45 minutes to 2 hours (focus groups are an in-depth
methodology and timing should be appropriate to allow full exploration of the discussion guide)
Timing most people work office hours Monday Friday. Consider evening and weekends
Rewards most focus groups pay the participants for their time
Facilities these should be quiet, comfortable and neutral. Professional research facilities have audio-visual recording facilities and
viewing rooms with one-way mirrors but this is not always necessary
Recording the information consider audio-visual recordings and note taking
Permission all participants should be informed and give consent to be part of a focus group (see Market Research Society
Code of Conduct)

64

Using questionnaires
You may want to discover why your customers buy your products, are there any changes they would like to see to your offerings and are
there things that they like and dislike in relation to your product.
One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a questionnaire to share with consumers. One of the key points to remember when
developing a questionnaire is to consider what you are trying to find out. Once you have decided upon the point of the questionnaire you
must keep this in mind when developing your specific questions. For example, a vegetable box supplier may want to develop a new box so
would need to ask questions relating to what consumers like and dislike about their current boxes, or asking about produce they would like to
see in future boxes.
Getting responses from questionnaires can sometimes be difficult, especially if your customer cannot see a direct benefit to themselves. As
such you may want to think about including a prize draw for those that do respond. For example, on a pick-your-own farm, everyone who
completes the questionnaire could be entered into a draw to win a free pick-your-own session or perhaps win a voucher for 10% off their
next purchase with you.
Some key considerations in using questionnaires are as follows:

Sample population this should reflect your target market

Sample size the number of people sampled in your survey should be statistically representative to your target population (to
improve reliability). There are a number of online tools to help you calculate sample size click here for an example
Timing the time of day, weekday or time of year can all affect the number and quality of responses you receive
Recruitment there are some businesses that manage panels of consumers. This ensures you are more likely to be able to target
your sample population but there is a cost involved. It is also possible to buy lists of consumers contact details (providing they have
opted in to being contacted for survey purposes). You may have your own list of consumer contact details
Permission all participants should be informed and give consent to be part of a questionnaire (see Market Research Society
Code of Conduct)

65

Using questionnaires cont

Printed Questionnaire

Online Questionnaire

Face to Face Questionnaire

Printed questionnaires will cost money to print

and the layout of the questionnaire will be
important as you will not be with the customer
when they answer the questions.

Online questionnaires can be developed

for free via websites such as
www.surveymonkey.com and
https://uk.toluna.com/ . These online tools
allow you to create your own questionnaire
and send it out to your customers via a
personalised website link.

If you or your colleagues have the time

available, you could go through your
questionnaire on a face to face basis
with your customers. This would allow
you to further expand on questions to
get an understanding about why a
customer might think a certain way.

Once your responses have been collected

these online tools have the ability to
analyse your responses for you by putting
them into tables and graphs. Alternatively
you can download this data yourself and
conduct your own analysis of the results.

You could also make sure that you

cover a wide range of your customer
groups in terms of different age, sex,
occupation if this is important to your
findings.

This type of questionnaire is useful if you

have a collection of customers email
addresses which you can use to send the
survey to. Alternatively you could promote
the survey at the point-of-sale, ensuring
that your customer has details of the web
address they need to go to.

When conducting a face to face

questionnaire, the questionnaire
should still be prepared beforehand so
that you are covering the same
questions with each customer. If
necessary, you can change the order
of the questions as you go through if a
response leads you on a different
course.

The questions should be clearly set out

without being crammed to fit on one side of
paper. There must also be adequate answer
space for questions. This is most important if
asking open ended questions where
responses will most likely be longer.
These questionnaires could be distributed to
current customers when they next make a
purchase. For example, including the
questionnaire in a customers next vegetable
box, or telling them about it at the point of sale
and asking for help to fill it in.
If sending out questionnaires, you may wish to
consider whether you want to include prepaid
return envelopes to encourage more
responses. However, this can be costly as
postage will need to be paid on all return
envelopes even if the customer does not
return the questionnaire.

66

Using questionnaires cont

Designing your questionnaire:
When designing your questionnaire, there are a number of key factors you should consider:

Short and snappy time is precious to your customers, so the shorter and simpler you can make your questionnaire the better. A
questionnaire does not necessarily have to be long and complicated to be of benefit to your business

Simple language questions, like the overall questionnaire, need to be simple to understand and written in plain English with no jargon or
acronyms to confuse your customers

Question choice there are two main styles of questions that you can choose to include in a questionnaire, each with their own
advantages and disadvantages:

Open Questions e.g. What are your impressions of our fruit smoothie?
These questions produce qualitative data which shows the reasoning behind a customers view point. These questions can take
to answer and are often more difficult to quantify and analyse

longer

Closed Questions Do you think our fruit smoothie is: a, b, or c?

This type of question produces quantitative data which can be easily analysed. However, although we may know what our
customer
thinks of our product, the closed question means we do not understand why our customer thinks this

Question order ensure you include the most important questions at the start of your survey. Sometimes respondents will not complete a
full questionnaire, so ensuring important questions are covered initially means that some useful information can be gathered from
incomplete questionnaires

Testing stage once your questionnaire is complete it is important to test it out on family, friends, or colleagues. They should consider
things like: the length of the questionnaire; are the questions logically ordered; are the questions easy to understand; are there any
duplicate questions

67

Example of a Product Description Template

Product concept

A snack pot of vegetable batons (carrots, courgette, celery) with a dip (e.g. hummous). It is sold as a single-serve portion
(150g) in a PET pot and is stored in chilled conditions. It is targeted at health conscious snackers and as a healthier
alternative to other lunchtime products such as crisps

Brand
Ingredients

Sold as own label

Product name Lunch Crunch
Vegetables (carrots, courgette, celery)
Hummous (chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, garlic, cumin, salt, paprika)
150g pot. PET
1.20 - 1.50 per pot

Pack size
RRP
Target market & sales channels

Consumption occasion
Product qualities

Attributes to be promoted

Female office workers, aged 18-55, higher socio-economic group, health conscious, time pressured, urban location
Suitable for general population
Sold through C-stores (e.g. Tesco Metro) next to ready-to-eat sandwiches. Other quick sales channels to be explored
Away from home. Primarily lunchtime but also snacking throughout the day
Nutritional. One of 5-a-day, high in protein, gluten-free
Sensory. Vegetables are crunchy and fresh. Hummus has a spicy and nutty flavour
Microbiology. Stable under chilled conditions
Physical. Batons of vegetables (c. 12 total) upright in a pot, lid contains hummus
Storage. Between 1C and 5C
Packaging. PET pot, recyclable materials

Health
5-a-day
Convenience
Vegetarian
High protein
Gluten-free

68

Consumer Hall Tests

Consumer Hall Tests involve a panel of consumers (typically 50 or 100) brought together to evaluate and compare products. Consumer
tests differ from sensory tests in that they are not trained experts and therefore are only able to give a subjective, rather than objective,
evaluation. By recruiting a panel of consumers that reflect the target market you are aiming for, consumer hall tests provide an indication
of how your new product might be accepted if launched.
Typically, consumers are presented with a sample, which is usually presented blind i.e. with no packaging, branding or other information
(this encourages consumers to evaluate the product itself without distracting information influencing their judgement). A series of
questions is then presented to consumers asking them to evaluate the product in terms of overall liking and of individual sensory
characteristics such as taste, smell, appearance etc. Answers are recorded on a hedonic rating scale (e.g. 1=dislike very much and
7=like very much). There may be some opportunity to ask open questions (e.g. what did you particularly like/dislike about the taste?) but
the emphasis tends to be on closed questions.
Benchmarking
Consumer Hall Tests are seldom carried out with one product. Instead they provide the opportunity to benchmark against competitor
products or a previous formulation, to test if consumers like the new product more than the competitor product or previous formulation.
Again, other products are usually tested blind.
Benchmarking can provide powerful evidence to justify further development of a new product, particularly if the product outperforms
competitor products. It can also highlight aspects of the product that consumers are less satisfied with and can help to direct the NPD
process to address these weaknesses e.g. if consumers rated texture poorly this is a clear area to address.
Whilst Consumer Hall Tests provide powerful (statistical) feedback on what consumers like /dislike about your product, they do not
provide much depth of explanation as to why.

69

Consumer Hall Tests cont

Some dedicated facilities are required to carry out Consumer Hall Tests e.g. a kitchen big enough to prepare the sample required, a room
in which to test the samples (some businesses do this in purpose-built booths). More important, however, is the design and execution of
the test, which should be carried out by trained practitioners this ensures the robustness of the test, especially if the results are to be
used to support the marketing of the product.
Some key considerations in using Consumer Hall Tests are as follows:

Sample population this should reflect the make-up of your target market
Number of people the majority of tests are made up of 50 people. A sample size of 100 is usually much more statistically
significant
Timing the time of day, weekday or time of year can all affect the number and quality of responses you receive
Location this is most likely determined by the availability of suitable facilities (e.g. if food preparation is necessary a kitchen will
be required)
Information capture participants should be able to record their responses to specific prompts / questions on paper or online.
This should be prepared in advance of the test
Reward most participants receive a financial reward for taking part
Management of the session in order to avoid bias most tests are conducted in silence. Samples are presented blind (i.e. with
no branding/identifying information) and referred to by alphanumeric codes
Permission all participants should be informed and give consent to be part of the test (see Market Research Society
Code of Conduct)

70

Informal consumer tests

The use of recognised tried-and-tested consumer tests such as Consumer Hall Tests, Focus Groups and quantitative surveys is
considered good practice in NPD. However, there are also instances whereby businesses may wish to take advantage of more
informal opportunities to obtain consumer feedback. The Innocent Smoothies case study is a good example of a quick and costeffective way of testing a new product concept with consumers using non-traditional research methods.
There are many opportunities to conduct consumer research in a non-traditional setting. This can have its advantages, for
example:

The product can be tested in a real life environment (e.g. if it is a product designed to be consumed on the go)
Respondents can often be more willing to take part because it requires less commitment (traditional research tends to
require respondents to travel to a research facility)
It can be cost-effective

These advantages should be weighed against its disadvantages:

You may be reliant on passers by rather than testing the product with the target market
There are lots of other external influences that can affect the test
The results may be scrutinised if they are used in the marketing of the product

Further information about conducting market research and the Market Research Society Code of Conduct may be found on their
website - https://www.mrs.org.uk/standards/code_of_conduct/

71

Return on Investment (ROI) Analysis

Return on Investment (ROI) is the financial return (i.e. sales) the business will receive from selling a new product in return for the
investment made in developing it. There are a number of ways in which ROI is calculated. We have identified four basic steps
(below) to completing ROI analysis the accompanying Excel spreadsheet contains a pre-formatted model for calculating ROI.

Step 1 determine how

much work is needed

Step 2 determine the cost

of the work

Step 3 estimate the

potential sales value

Step 4 calculate the

returns

Break the NPD process

down into component parts.

For each of the tasks

attribute a financial cost.
That might include
equipment, use of
contractors and consultants,
legal fees, time (i.e. the cost
of employees working on the
project), disbursements, and
marketing support (to name
a few).

Use your market research

analysis to calculate
potential sales value (i.e.
how many units do you
expect to sell and at what
price?)

Divide estimated sales by

anticipated costs for each
year in your budget. This is
your ROI.

Consider timing. When will

the business have to pay
costs?

Consider how sales might

develop over time (e.g. year
1, year 2 and year 3 sales).

Start with major NPD

stages and then consider
which tasks will be required
at each stage.
It may be helpful to
construct your own NPD
process map, identifying
stages and tasks

72

You might want to consider

a best, worst, most likely
scenario.

It is highly likely that year 1

ROI will be low (negative) as
the initial development costs
are paid back. Over time the
ROI usually improves and
once the payback period has
been achieved, profitability is
at its optimum.

Sensory profiling
Sensory profiling can be used to assess quality characteristics
of a new product. Sensory profiling techniques can also be
used to benchmark your products against a competitor
product.
Trained assessors develop a vocabulary of terms that
describe the sensory characteristics of the product (taste,
appearance, aroma, texture, sound).
Criteria are then generated to create a rating scale e.g. from
not sweet at all to extremely sweet.
Each product is then assessed and objectively evaluated
against each of the criteria.
A typical output of a sensory profile is a spider chart, like the
example opposite which is a sensory profile for a potato
variety. It highlights attributes such as a waxy texture, shiny
appearance, strong taste etc.
These characteristics are then used to highlight which dishes
they are more suited to and the best preparation methods for
them.

73

Source: Albert Bartlett via Food Drink Innovation Network

Preference Mapping
Preference mapping is a powerful statistical technique that
combines sensory profile data with consumer acceptability
data.

Preference Map Crisp Example

A preference map plots consumer acceptability scores (the

pink dots in the example opposite). Sensory profile data is
overlayed which identifies specific sensory characteristics (the
blue dots in the example opposite). Finally, products are also
plotted according to their sensory profile (the green squares in
the example opposite).
A Preference Map provides insight by correlating all of these
attributes. For example product C and F show a strong
correlation to characteristics such as moist, sweet, crisp,
which are attributes consumers would find acceptable.
It also identifies spaces / gaps which could present NPD
opportunities. For example, no products displayed
characteristics such as dry, nutty, salty flavour but these are all
attributes that consumers would look for in a crisp product.

Source: Leatherhead Food Research

74

Marketing Mix
The Marketing Mix can also be known as the four Ps.
It involves identifying that you have the right product,
selling at the right price, using the best promotion and
sold in the most suitable place, whilst also making
sure that these factors are relevant and the most
efficient for attracting your target market. Developing
a Marketing Mix will provide a basis and focus for
your business strategy.
It will make sure any
objectives and aims you set will retain focus towards
the target market.
Each core element from this mix is considered in
more detail over the following pages.

75

Marketing Mix
Target Market
At the heart of the Marketing Mix is the target market and it is important that you know who your potential target will be. Undertaking
the segmentation analysis will have provided you with core details with regards to your target market, for example, what gender are
they, what age range, what socio economic status do they fit into.
Product

Price

Coming up with an idea for a product is just the first step.

You need to consider how your product will be received by
your target market and identify any potential benefits
offered by the format.

Price is not necessarily just a case of costs and profit

margins. You also need to consider what your target
audience will be willing to pay for a product. An economy
product should not enter the market with a retail price
higher than its luxury equivalent, for example.

For example, your product may offer a more convenient

packaging format, added health benefits, or a new taste
or flavour.
All of these features will help your product stand out from
the competition and make it more attractive to your target
market.

76

It is often difficult to estimate what your target audience

are willing to pay, as value is based upon individual
perceptions. Undertaking a category analysis will help to
identify a suitable price point.

Marketing Mix
Place

Promotion
The majority of new products that enter the market do so
via a promotion of some sort. Promotions can take many
different forms and do not necessarily have to be price
focused.
See below for some examples of new
production promotions:

In-store tasting set up free sampling of your product

where it is to be sold, to encourage customers to try
something new

Point-of-Sale (POS) posters these will draw attention

to the fact that your product is new and different

Competition consumers must purchase your product

to be included into a draw to receive a food hamper of
your products

Price Discounts these could be a specific

percentage off the suggested retail price, or a discount
offer. Remember to emphasise the fact that this will
be a limited offer while the product launches.

77

Launching a new product means finding the retail

environment that is right for your product, brand and, most
importantly, your target market.
Products produced with a local emphasis often work well
when sold in local shops and farm shops in the
surrounding area. Customers who shop here are keen on
purchasing high quality, locally produced products.
However, if you do not have access to local retailers or
you do not feel that this fits with your products brand
identity then other places could also be considered:

Supermarkets

Online

Home Delivery

Case study examples

This section contains a number of case study examples.

These have been selected because they serve to highlight a key point in the development of new products.

The case studies highlight best practice mainly from across the food and drink industry. The principles and learning points
are applicable to all forms of business including the Welsh horticulture sector.

Vegessentials Fruit Logistica

Innovation Award nominee,
2014

78

Innocent Smoothies
Background
In 1998, founders Richard Reed, Adam Balon and Jon Wright wanted to know whether to quit their
day jobs (in advertising and marketing) and set up their own business making smoothies.
What happened
They made some smoothies and set up a stall at a music festival in London. A sign above the stall
read Should we give up our jobs to make these smoothies? Next to the sign were two bins; one
marked Yes and the other marked No. They asked people to cast their vote and throw their
empty bottles into whichever bin they chose. By the end of the day the Yes bin was full and the
No bin was empty.
Outcome
They decided to quit their jobs and start a business called Innocent Smoothies.
Relevance
A quick, simple and effective way of testing their new product concept with consumers.

79

10 Meal Deal
Background
The 10 Meal Deal market is worth 360 million and is growing at 40% per annum, yet until a
few years ago it didnt even exist. Why has it been so successful?
Why is it innovative?
The 10 Meal Deal reframes value to the consumer. Typically the deal contains a main meal,
side dish, dessert and a bottle of wine ready-prepared so that the consumer simply needs to
heat and serve. This is seen as good value to the consumer; a tasty meal that requires minimum
preparation at 5 per head. It also fits with a number of more general food trends such as the
desire to eat more diverse cuisines and a decreasing time spent preparing meals in the home
(on average consumers spent 30 minutes preparing and cooking meals in 2013 compared to one
hour in 1980).
It is also extremely good value for the manufacturer and retailer. If consumers were to buy the
constituent ingredients and prepare it themselves the cost would be much lower - somewhere in
the region of 3.50 per head or 7 per couple.
Relevance
Not all innovation requires new products development. Sometimes reframing existing
products/ingredients in a different way can be just as valuable (or even more so) to the
consumer. Prepared salad pots and fresh fruit snack pots are both good, and similar, examples
of innovating with the same set of ingredients/products.
Source: M&S

80

Heinz Fridge Pack

Background
Heinz are the clear market leader of the 330 million baked bean market in the UK with a 65%
share. Their products are found in most households. With such a well known and loved product
there is a risk that changes to the product are not liked by the consumer (see Twinings Earl Grey
case study).
Insight
Rather than develop the recipe Heinz looked at other ways of innovating based on insights drawn by
looking in our fridges. The Heinz fridge pack clearly addresses a number of weaknesses in the
aluminium can format in which the product is traditionally sold. Portion sizes are not always
consistent with pack sizes and consumers invariably end up storing the left-overs in the fridge. This
can be messy and lead to waste.
Solution
The Fridge Pack solves these problems by enabling the consumer to serve the portion size that is
appropriate and easily stores the remaining beans in the fridge, without making a mess, until the
next meal occasion.
The television advert that supported the launch of Heinz Fridge Pack clearly illustrates the insights
that lead to the innovation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBy7muLPhSM
Relevance
- Packaging innovation can be extremely effective
- Highlights the importance of gaining consumer insight as the foundation for innovation

81

Source: Heinz

Dyson understanding consumer needs

Background
Vacuum manufacturer James Dyson is no stranger to innovation. His designs have
revolutionised the industry and set a precedent for other manufacturers to follow. Ergonomics
lie at the heart of what is innovative about Dyson vacuum cleaners. Each innovation seeks to
make their vacuum cleaner much simpler and easier for consumers to use; for example,
removing cleaner bags, improving suction, introducing the roller ball and as shown in the
diagram opposite the stair cleaning attachment.
Gaining insight
Such innovative ideas only come from observing and understanding the problems people face
in using conventional vacuum cleaners; changing the bag is a dirty and dusty job, it takes a
long time to clean up all the dirt, corners are a real problem because the vacuum cleaner
doesnt turn easily, cleaning the stairs is really difficult. Only by understanding the problem can
engineering solutions be applied to develop innovative solutions.
How Dyson vacuums innovate is testament to the importance of investing the time and effort to
understanding consumer needs. This has enabled them to create innovations that set them
apart from their competitors to obvious commercial benefit.
Relevance
This case study highlights how important it is to understand how consumers use the product
and the value of identifying problems they might have.
Source: Google

82

Twinings storm in a tea cup

Background
The Twinings brand is synonymous with tradition and tea. In 2010, the company decided to
reformulate one of its most popular blends, Earl Grey, by adding more bergamot and lemon to
give more of a flavour impact. However, it was an unwelcome change for the thousands of
consumers that regularly purchased the product. In fact, such was the level of complaint that
some even started a Facebook campaign - "Bring back the original Twinings Earl Grey tea.
Twinings later changed the recipe back to its original form.
Relevance
This example highlights the difficulty of changing a well-known and well-loved product. Quite
often, businesses may look to target new consumers and reformulate the product with their tastes
in mind (for example, adding extra bergamot and lemon may have appealed to a younger
audience). However, this may conflict with the tastes and preferences of those that currently
purchase the product.

Source: Google

83

Glenfiddich
Background
Whisky distillery is steeped in tradition and heritage yet this tradition has also imposed constraints i.e. it didnt
appeal to other sections of the population (most notably females) or other consumption/usage occasions (e.g.
before a meal, in premium cocktails etc).
Insight
Glenfiddich recognised that appealing to a wider set of consumers would bring increased sales potential. However,
it didnt want to lose the tradition and heritage that makes whisky unique and risk alienating its current consumer
base.
What they did
Glenfiddich expanded its product range by adding new variations to its core product (a 12 year old single malt
whisky). Each addition had a different flavour profile designed to target different drinkers, for example, one aged in
sherry casks to impart a slightly lighter flavour to appeal to female consumers and one aged in oak bourbon casks
to target consumers that drink bourbon, not whisky.
To support the new varieties Glenfiddich also ran a nationwide cocktail competition challenging bartenders to create
new recipes with their new product range. The purpose of this was to improve visibility of the new products in a
food service environment and to create new product consumption occasions i.e. whisky in a cocktail.
Hand-in-hand with the release of new products and the competition, was a rebranding that gave Glenfiddichs
products a contemporary look and feel whilst also retaining the characteristic stags head motif, linking with tradition
and heritage of Scottish Whisky.
Relevance
Minor adaptations to existing products can help to attract new consumers to the category.

84

Source: Glenfiddich

McCains Oven Ready Jacket Potato

Insight
Consumers prefer oven baked jacket potatoes but often do not have the time to prepare them.
What happened
This insight led to McCains developing and launching Ready Baked Jackets a pre-baked jacket
potato that can be quickly prepared by the consumer in the microwave. The product contains two
ingredients - potato and sunflower oil - and is sold frozen.
The added value of convenience and speed of preparation enables McCains to obtain a higher retail
price point of 2.50 for 4 jackets (~62.5 per potato) compared to a 4 pack of fresh Waitrose Own
Label baking potatoes at 1.32 (~0.33 per potato). Source: www.ocado.co.uk, (11th March 2014).
Relevance
This case study highlights how convenience can be a major driver of innovation.

Source: www.ocado.co.uk

85

Albert Bartlett
Background
Potatoes are a key item that the majority of consumers purchase. However, research shows that
consumer expectations are low and potatoes are viewed as a functional product. Introducing new
varieties to the market is a way of changing consumer perceptions but is difficult to achieve as
consumers tend to purchase a few key varieties such as Maris Piper, Charlotte and Desiree.
What happened
Albert Bartlett trial over 200 new varieties at trial sites across the UK. Variety selection is based on
taste, aesthetic, agronomic and storage testing. One of the ways new varieties are evaluated is by
using sensory science i.e. a trained panel of sensory scientists that are able to profile the sensory
characteristics of the potato varieties (e.g. taste, texture, appearance, flavour, mouth feel etc.).
Varieties can then be selected for development that match the characteristics desired by consumers
depending on how and why the product will be used i.e. waxy varieties suit use in a salad, fluffy
potatoes suit use as a roast potato or chip and smooth potatoes are used for mashing. Description
of these characteristics can be used at point-of-sale to communicate to consumers how to use each
variety and, potentially, increase uptake.
Relevance
This case study highlights how an ongoing programme of variety trials is important for products
such as potatoes.
It also highlights the value of sensory science to the NPD process.
Source: Google

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Coldpress
Background
Many juice drinks are made using a heat treated pasteurisation process. Coldpress argue that this
process, which is designed for safety and to prolong shelf-life, has an adverse impact on the nutrient
content and sensory characteristics of juice drinks. Instead, Coldpress use a High Pressure
Pasteurisation system (HPP) which, they claim, ensures safety and shelf-life whilst preserving the
natural nutrient content and sensory characteristics of the fruits. So much so, Coldpress claim
that the HPP process means that it is possible to taste the difference between different apple
varieties when they are juiced. This has meant they have been able to create a unique position in
the market by launching single-variety apple juice products e.g. a Pink Lady juice drink and a
Granny Smith juice drink (in contrast to a generic apple juice drink).
It is a manufacturing technique that has been used in other categories, such as cooking and
dressing oils, to create a quality/premium difference. Olive oils, in particular, are more highly valued
if they are cold-pressed extra virgin and tend to be used as a salad dressing whereas olives that
have undergone more intensive heat treatments to extract the oils tend to be used more as a
cooking fat and, therefore, attract less of a price premium.
Relevance
This case study highlights how technological development can create the basis for innovation and
NPD.

Source: Coldpress

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Fioretto
Background
Why is there no long-stemmed cauliflower? was the question
asked by Tokita Seeds, a Japanese seed breeding and growing
business. As a result the company went about developing a new
variety of cauliflower called Fioretto (flowerets in Italian) which
resembles purple sprouting broccoli in its shape and stem colour but
with white, instead of purple, flowers. This new cauliflower variety
was nominated for a Fruit Logistica Innovation Award, 2014.
Relevance
This case study highlights how varietal and seed development can
lead to NPD.

Source: Google

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Becel pro-activ
Background
Functional yogurt drinks are designed to be consumed daily. However, when
Unilever originally launched their cholesterol lowering product Becel pro-activ they
were sold as a pack of six, not seven, which is out of kilter with the overriding trend
for people in the UK to shop weekly.
This meant that most people either had to make a second purchase or miss a day
until the next return trip to the supermarket. Spotting this error, Unilever re-designed
the pack size to include seven bottles and re-launched the product on the market.
Relevance
Highlights the importance of launching products that fit with peoples consumption
patterns.

Source: Google

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Artisanal deli product

Background
The ABC Deli Company (name anonymised for confidentiality) had been making a tomato based
antipasti product using a traditional artisanal method for several years. The production cycle from start to
finish took 7 days involving several process stages including harvesting, washing, drying, smoking,
infusing and packaging. The end product was extremely high quality and local sales increased
substantially, which led to an opportunity to sell the product over the Deli counter of a national
supermarket chain.
Problem
The traditional artisanal method would not yield the volume required by the supermarket chain. The ABC
Deli Company therefore had to re-engineer the production cycle using new processing techniques to cut
the production cycle down from 7 to 3 days. They enlisted the help of a team of external product
developers and a pilot plant to experiment with new manufacturing equipment and processes that could
speed the process up yet maintain the high quality, artisanal nature of the product.
Solution
They were able to dramatically reduce the drying, smoking and infusion processes using modified
atmosphere storage units, in effect speeding up what would happen naturally under normal conditions.
The product was then subjected to a range of analytical and sensory tests using the product produced by
artisanal methods as the control sample. Whilst the reformulated product did not exactly match the
original product, the difference was marginal and was of an acceptable level of quality to justify full
commercial trial.
Relevance
Highlights the importance of producing a product at commercial scale prior to launch.

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Source: Google

Nescafe Australia
Background
There has been a rapid increase in fresh coffee consumption in the home, as technology has
enabled consumers to create caf-style products in the home. This has represented a significant
threat to instant and granulated coffee.
Nescafe Australia wanted to reinvigorate instant coffee and, rather than relying on internal teams to
generate ideas, they used crowdsourcing platform eYeka to ask consumers for their ideas.
The brief How could we reinvent instant coffee, prepared at home, to keep the category relevant
and attractive? was posted on eYekas website offering cash prizes for ideas that led to
implementation.
Relevance
Highlights the value of engaging external people in the idea development phase.

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Waitrose Soffrito Mix

Background
This product builds strongly on consumer demand for simplicity and convenience. According to
the product description it contains Finely diced fresh onion, carrot and celery to get soups and
stews off to a fast start. The front of pack description makes it very clear as to how and why
consumers should use it so that they see the product as part of their solution i.e. how to prepare
meals from scratch quicker.
Relevance
Highlights the importance of clear on-pack visuals and communication.

Source: www.waitrose.co.uk

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KitKat New Product Signage

Background
The confectionery category is highly contested and dominated by major global brands that
invest heavily in marketing to generate sales. The picture below is a good example of making
it extremely clear to consumers that Nestle have launched a new KitKat product and where it
can be found. Without such clear signage, there is a risk that consumers do not see the
product to be able to buy it.
Relevance
Highlights the importance of maximising the support for new products once launched.

Source: FDIN

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ZEO innovating and maintaining core brand purpose

Background
Freedrinks is a UK-based start-up SME soft drinks company that develop and produce a range of non alcoholic carbonated drinks
for adult consumers. The drinks are made using natural ingredients and are aimed at consumers who wish to have an alternative to
the on tap soft drinks available in bars and restaurants.
Insight
The idea behind the innovation was that existing farm shop carbonated drinks did not have enough
differentiation to make them a success in the mainstream retail sector. ZEO was developed with a
key focus upon the natural ingredients used in the drink which would attract its core target market of
women. The desire was for the drink to be consumed on its own, however, when a pilot trial launch
was undertaken it was discovered that consumers preferred to consume it as a mixer with an
alcoholic drink.
Solution
Freedrinks were unhappy with the results of the trial as consumption of the drinks was not in line with
the companys core vision for the product. As a result, a recipe change was made to the drink to
increase the amount of fruit used which, in turn, created a softer taste to the drink and made it less
appealing as a mixer.
When the product was launched, a marketing campaign was developed to further enhance the
companys values. This involved a stand alone website with interactive features, social networking
tools and sponsorship of the England netball team.
Source: Google

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Links/resources

This section of the document contains a list of organisations and information sources that may be useful in the process of
developing new products.

This list is by no means exhaustive but serves as a useful starting point for horticulture businesses in Wales to utilise
external support, guidance and information.

Nims Fruit Crisps Fruit Logistica

Innovation Award nominee, 2014

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Links/resources
Source

Information/support

Link

Defra

Commodity and food data/information

www.defra.gov.uk

Dunnhumby

Uses data to develop market and consumer insights

https://www.dunnhumby.com/uk/

East Malling Research

A major organisation in the UK for research on horticultural

crops and plants and their interactions with the environment

http://www.emr.ac.uk/

Eurofruit

Wide range of market and industry information covering

European fruit sector

http://www.fruitnet.com/eurofruit

Flower Council of Holland

Provides consumer information on the cut flower and house

plant market.

http://www.flowercouncil.org/uk/holland/

Food Centre Wales

- Taste panels
- Shelf-life assessment
- Label declaration
- Cooking instructions
- Factory design and layout
- Equipment sourcing
- Pilot plant (small industrial scale)
- Process (re)design
- Technical advice support by technologists
- Building is Soil Association certified
- Quality systems (HACCP, BRC, Organic cert.)
- Frozen and chilled storage area
- Incubator units

http://www.foodcentrewales.org.uk/

(Horeb Business Park,

Horeb
Llandysul,
SA44 4JG)

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Links/resources
Source

Information/support

Link

Food Technology Centre

- Meat/fish processing hall (controlled atmosphere climate

chamber, vacuum packer, slicing machine, industrial mincer
etc.)
- Dairy processing hall (cheese vats and press, HTST
Pasteuriser and Separator, Homogeniser, Butter churn and
an ice cream maker)
- Prepared foods hall (cooking, blast chilling and freezing,
MAP/CAP packaged products, bakery, confectionary, ready
meals, fruit and vegetable processing)
- Laboratory (including tests such as nutritional analysis,
water activity and texture analysis )
- Training (Basic Food Hygiene, HACCP)
- Test Kitchen

http://foodtech-llangefni.co.uk/en/

Food Standards Agency

Complete of current FSA legislation and directly applicable

EU regulations

http://multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdf
s/enforcement/foodlawguide.pdf

Fresh Produce Journal

Regular and up-to-date market information on the fresh

produce industry

http://www.fruitnet.com/fpj

The Grocer

Provides grocery retail information and commodity

information

http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/

(Coleg Menai
Ffordd Penmynydd
Llangefni
Anglesey
LL77 7HY)

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Links/resources
Source

Information/support

Link

Horticulture Development
Council

Horticultural arm of the Agricultural and Horticulture

Development Council. Provides market and technical
information to growers

http://www.hdc.org.uk/

Institute of Food and

Science Technology (IFST)

A qualifying body for food professionals in Europe and the

only professional body in the UK concerned with all aspects
of food science and technology

http://www.ifst.org/members_networks/get_i
nvolved/professional_food_sensory_group/

Institute for Grocery

Distribution (IGD)

Represents UK grocery retailers and publishes a wide range

of information about the sector and the grocery supply chain

www.igd.com

Intellectual Property Office

Receive advice and information on intellectual property and

register patents, trademarks, copyrights and designs

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/

International Society for

Horticultural Science

Up to date information on global horticultural research.

Approx 7,000 members in over 50 countries

http://www.ishs.org/

The Institute of Horticulture

The authoritative organisation representing those

professionally engaged in horticulture in the UK and Ireland

http://www.horticulture.org.uk/

Kantar Worldpanel

Extensive and detailed market data covering all of UK food

and drink sectors

http://uk.kantar.com/

Leatherhead Food Research

Technical food consultancy business. Services include: Food

Safety, Nutrition, Food Innovation, Regulatory, Sensory,
Consumer & Market Research

http://www.leatherheadfood.com/

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Links/resources
Source

Information/support

Link

Office for National Statistics

National statistical database. Wide range of data from wider

macro-economic data to annual / regional business survey
data

www.ons.gov.uk

Organic Centre Wales

Data/information on the organic sector in Wales

http://www.organiccentrewales.org.uk/

Potato Council

A division of the Agriculture & Horticulture Development

Board, and is committed to supporting the British potato
industry. Provides market and technical information to
growers

http://www.potato.org.uk/

Promar International

The U.K.s largest Agricultural and Agri-Food consultancy

http://www.promar-international.com/

Tuinbouw (Commodity
Board for Horticulture, The
Netherlands)

Market information and data is updated periodically

http://www.tuinbouw.nl/

Wageningen University

World leading university and research centre. The university

has a horticulture supply chain group undertaking work such
as glasshouse production, modelling crop growth and
productivity, impact of post-harvest processes

http://www.wur.nl/UK/

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Links/resources
Source

Information/support

Link

Zero2Five

5 main centres including:

- Meat and fish centre
- Bakery and confectionery centre
- Dairy centre
- Hygiene Centre
- Innovation Group

http://www.zero2five.org.uk/content/public
/Home/Zero2FiveFoodIndustryCentreHome.aspx

(Cardiff Metropolitan
University
Western Avenue
Llandaff
Cardiff
CF5 2YB)

Service range includes:

- New product development
- Market research
- Sensory evaluation
- Shelf-life studies
- Product innovation testing
- Packaging (concept design, shelf-life impact,
suppliers etc)
- Focus groups research
- Quality testing/evaluation

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