Market Testing and Commercialization Strategies

Market Testing and Commercialization

• Provide questionnaires for consumers to evaluate product quality
• Keep in touch with store managers and conduct frequent trips to determine product sales and display
• Keep a detailed record of market testing and analyze data to determine if commercialization should proceed

Commercialization

• Set up a processing facility, considering factors such as location, building, equipment, utilities, and personnel
• Take into account consumer concerns from market testing and conduct a second test if necessary
• Product promotion is an integral part of commercialization, including strategies such as savings coupons, national TV advertisements, internet ads, and product placement
• Product maintenance should focus on quality improvement and profit improvement, including cost reduction and process efficiency

Packaging and Design Requirements

• Packaging is a form of marketing to consumers
• Considerations include shelf display requirements, packaging materials, and special features such as easy open or resealable packaging
• Packaging engineers should be involved in discussing design, shape, and special functions
• Packaging is a marketing tool, and important factors include determining when packaging materials will be needed and when they can be provided

Packaging Materials

• Paper and paperboard are widely used for packaging, offering low cost and light weight, but lacking protective qualities
• Metal is commonly used in canned foods, drinks, and metalized films, with excellent water vapor and liquid containment properties
• Polypropylene is better as a barrier against water vapor than PET, with more stiffness and transparency, but is more difficult to fabricate
• Aseptic packaging is used for soups, juices, and other liquid products, with sterilization through heat, chemical treatments, or irradiation
• Modified and controlled atmosphere packaging (MAP and CAP) change the atmosphere in which the food is exposed during its shelf-life, to extend sensory properties and shelf-life

Author Biographies

• Fadi Aramouni: Professor of Food Science at Kansas State University, with expertise in food product development and extension programs
• Kathryn Goddard Deschenes: Regulatory compliance manager, with experience in food product development, ingredients, and packaging technologies
• Katie Altstadt: Editor and publisher, with a background in fiction writing and newsletter editing

Overview of Food Product Development

• Small companies often rely on outside resources, such as universities and independent laboratories, to develop successful products.
• Idea generation involves gathering information about trending ingredients, consumer wants, and new product releases by other companies.

Idea Generation

• Companies use varying techniques to generate ideas for new products, including marketing teams, researcher input, and consumer input.
• Ideas can also come from ideation sessions with participants from all departments.
• Idea generation should be completed by gathering information about trending ingredients and consumer wants.

Screening

• Screening is the most critical step in a product development project.
• It involves thorough testing of product concepts to decide whether to invest time and money into a venture or abandon efforts completely.
• Project ideas should be congruent with organizational goals.

Facility Considerations

• Facilities available for processing should be considered, including water supply, sewage systems, and temperature and humidity control.
• Facilities in areas with high humidity and heat in the summer may need to modify operating conditions to produce quality foods.

Packaging

• Packaging is an important part of a consumer’s appeal for a product, especially with first-time purchases.
• It is important to consider how consumers will view the packaging and if it will convey the product’s quality goals.

Distribution

• Products that require special distribution needs include frozen and refrigerated foods.
• Organizations should consider the cost of special distribution and the radius in which the product will be available.

Shelf Life

• Shelf life is the determination of how long a product will hold its quality as perceived by customers.
• Shelf life can be determined through the use of accelerated or real-time testing.

Safety

• New product developers should consider the safety risks of their products, including history of outbreaks and published safety risks of certain product categories.
• Products are susceptible to the growth of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms, allergens, and physical contaminants.

Finances

• Before a food product is created for sale, an understanding of all production and marketing costs is required.
• A detailed cost analysis should be made prior to manufacture, including fixed costs and variable costs.

Test Marketing

• Should screening and feasibility tests indicate a product’s potential for launch, the next logical step is development of the product and test marketing.
• Large companies rely on pilot plants to manufacture smaller batches of new food products for test marketing.

Sensory Analysis and Consumer Evaluation

• Statistics and experimental design are essential in successful food product development projects.
• The design of experiments provides confidence that the information collected is reliable.

Statistics Basics

• A random sample implies that each sample in the population has an equal chance of being selected.
• Sample mean and sample variance are measures of the central tendency and spread of the sample.

Experimental Designs

• The design of experiments is essential in successful food product development projects.
• Well-designed studies save money and are easier to analyze.
• Experimental design is used mostly in formulating product, process development, sensory testing, and test market analysis.