Building speed in new product development.

Because all of its elements must be in perfect sync, new product development is more akin to a relay race than a sprint. The "fast track" to success also incorporates many high hurdles--formula requirements, packaging, manufacturing capabilities, etc.

Time to market is one of the most

Getting a new product to market first is a tremendous advantage. A truly new product is viewed as unique and it establishes consumer expectations. Those products that follow are often viewed as "me-toos" or copycats. To succeed, the second or third entrants in a category must often be better than the original and deliver a competitive point-of-difference to the consumer.

But how does a food company build speed in new product development? It starts with a realization that new product development is a partnership among R&D, marketing, manufacturing, packaging, regulatory affairs, engineering, etc.

Teamwork

"Some of the programs Keebler uses to speed up their new product activities deal heavily with communication and an excellent working relationship/ team approach to any project," reported George J. Krubert, Director--Cookie & Cracker R&D. "At Keebler, the product development groups work hand-in-hand with marketing, engineering, manufacturing, and purchasing," he added.

"The product development groups participate in ideation sessions, consumer focus groups, and determining product & process feasabilities vs the product concept," explained Krubert. "Manufacturing and engineering are also brought aboard early on so that the proposed project gets full attention from the groups responsible for the day-to-day manufacturing," noted Krubert.

"This |teamship' prevents many problems and rethinking, which can cause significant delays and add cost in any new product activity," declared Krubert.

Pepsi-Cola refers to its team approach to product development as "parallel development". The team--made up of food technologists, engineers, marketing, etc--works in parallel. Each member's work overlaps and complements another's function.

Many development teams are headed up by a project leader or champion who assumes ownership from infancy through commercial startup at the manufacturing plant. This person also may be called in to troubleshoot any problems during the product's life cycle.

Pilot facilities

A centralized technical center can help speed up product development. In 1986, Keebler moved into a new, 83,000-sq-ft Product and Process Development Center, which houses a snack pilot plant, cookie & cracker pilot plant, analytical lab, sensory evaluation, packaging research, flavor lab, and operations/ technical assessment.

Keebler's technical center fosters close interaction and collaboration among the various groups--reinforcing a team environment. The pilot plant achieves a full-scale simulation of actual production plant conditions. Prior to the center, a product development team would have to travel to a manufacturing plant to run trials.

Drawbacks included the travel expenses & time, lost production time, and several people were dedicated to a single project. Now, developers can work on several projects simultaneously. Productivity and efficiency are up, while costs are down.

This fall, Campbell Soup will open its new, $24-million, 100,000-sq-ft pilot plant in Camden. Major reasons for its constraction include: a centralized facility for product development that brings together all elements; and the ability to quickly scaleup prototype products without using valuable production time in a plant.

Analytical tools

Software packages for experimental design are helping researchers short-cut cumbersome experiments and computations. One analytical tool--response surface methodology--allows food scientists to narrow down the number and scope of experiments for ingredient formulations.

Arthur D. Little--an independent researcher/consultant--employs response surface methodology (RSM) to shorten product development timetables. Last year, the private researcher utilized RSM to create a peanut butter spread with 72% less fat and 50% fewer calories than standard peanut butter.

"RSM streamlined the product development process by reducing the amount of experiments to be run," declared Dr. Marvin J. Rudolph, Director, Technology & Product Development. "Through qualitative and quantitative analysis of data, our statisticians were able to identify the initial proportions of key ingredients."

Equipped with this statistical information, food scientists were able to eliminate time-consuming preliminary experiments and concentrate their efforts on refining the formula. "The predictive modeling technique allowed us to formulate a reduced-calorie peanut butter spread within four months," Rudolph reported.

Other software packages incorporating spreadsheet and database systems reduce product development time and costs by pre-screening labels and furnishing nutrition information.

Independent researchers

Due to stagnant R&D budgets, downsizing of R&D staffs, and marketplace demands, food companies are turning increasingly to independent researchers to augment their product development efforts.

"Many food companies come to us because they don't have the resources or expertises in-house," declared Philip H. Katz, Senior Vice President of Shuster--an independent consumer goods R&D firm.

Several years ago, one of Shuster's clients wanted to get into the microwaveable popcorn business, but had no knowledge in this area. "We developed the formulation, furnished sensory evaluation, specified the packaging, performed shelf-life studies, established a QA program, and sourced potential contract packers," explained Katz.

"Our phased approach to product development shortened the time-to-market timetable from 12-18 months to 6-8 months," reported Katz. "Today, the microwaveable popcorn product is very successful."

In addition to product development, Shuster provides regulatory reviews, technical services, product evaluations, QA monitoring, market research, stability studies, plant GMP audits, etc. "More and more food companies are coming to us for nutrition analysis and labeling evaluation," reported Katz.

Supplier alliances

With R&D staffs lean and mean and technology accelerating at breakneck speeds, food companies are relying on suppliers not only for their wares but also their expertise, basic research, and application know-how.

A.E. Staley--an ingredient supplier to the food industry--performs much of the up-front work required in food formulation, ingredient quality control, and ingredient process development. If needed, Staley can assemble interdisciplinary teams of food scientists, engineers, sensory specialists, and QC personnel to assist in new product development.

For their Stellar [TM] fat replacer, Staley provides a computer-based expert system that enables customers to obtain immediate answers to technical questions on shearing equipment, formulation, applications, and operating parameters. The software system includes a user-friendly menu, graphs, and illustrations.

"Corporations are coming to the realization that the expertise and experience of their personnel is a valuable commodity and should be preserved. As companies expand, longtime employees retire and new products or methods are developed. Expert systems are an excellent tool for preserving and disseminating this costly information that might otherwise be lost," explained Carol Richter, Expert System Programmer.

Staley maintains a laboratory and pilot facilities that enable a customer and the ingredient supplier to work side-by-side--creating a synergy that often results in improved quality and speed of development. "Speeding up product development gives our customers a chance to meet their window of opportunity' in the marketplace. By developing a close relationship with us, we can help our customers get this opportunity," declared Dan Rizzo, Director, New Product Development.

Extrusion expertise

Weetabix is in the unique and enviable position of being a food processor, contract packer, and ingredient supplier. Because they wear many hats, Weetabix has developed symbiotic relationships with their ingredient & equipment suppliers and customers.

"We manufacture the majority of the private-label cereal sold in Canada," reported John Stalker, General Manager, Weetabix of Canada Ltd. "We provide the product development and manufacturing capabilities, while the private labelers concentrate on marketing," he added.

At the heart of Weetabix's production operations is its extrusion expertise. Through use of its twin-screw extrusion technology, the company can manufacture a wide variety of cereal products or ingredients and can vary the size, shape, composition, flavor, or color to tailor-make product to meet their customers' specific needs.

By being the product development and manufacturing arm of a client, Weetabix can produce new products or line extensions without the processor having to risk any capital or construct a new production line. In addition, the company can get products to market faster.