新产品成功和失败的钥匙(1)

1、Theaimofthischapteristoidentifytheimportantfactorsinfoodproductdevelopmenttobestudiedindetailinthesucceedingchapters.Firstlythedifferentgroupsoffoodproductsareidentifiedasabasisfororganisingproductstrategy.Thenthepublishedresearchonthefactorsinproductfailureandproductsuccessinalltypesofindustriesisusedtoidentifythekeyfactorsinfoodproductdevelopment.Thisleadsintothemanagementofproductdevelopmentatthreedifferentlevels:1.Businessstrategy.2.Productdevelopmentprogramme.3.Productdevelopmentproject.Fi。

2、nallyspecificaspectsoffoodproductdevelopmentareidentifiedasthebasisofthebook,andthestructureofthebookisoutlined.1.1Foodproducts–thebasisofinnovationWhatarefoodproducts?Whatarenewfoodproducts?Everyoneagreesthatafoodismaterialeventuallyconsumedbyhumanstosatisfyphysiologicalandpsychologicalneeds,butthefoodcompanyandtheconsumercanhavequitedifferentdescriptionsofthefoodproductpresentedforsale.Thecompanydefinesabasicfunctionalproducttowhichithasaddedpackaging,aesthetics,brand,priceandadvertising,togiv。

3、eatotalcompanyproduct.Theconsumerdescribestheproductasabundleofbenefits,relatingitstangibleandintangibleattributestotheirneeds,wantsandbehaviour.Forabasicfoodproduct,forexampleflour,thedescriptioncanbesimpleandpragmatic,butforproducts1Keystonewproductsuccessandfailuresuchasamealatarestaurant,itcanbecomplexandemotional.Thecompanydefinesanewproductashavingsomedifferenceinthebasicfunctionsandaestheticpresentation;butconsumerscompareitwiththe‘old’productandcompetingproductsandiftheyrecogniseadiffere。

4、ncethenitisanewproducttothem(Schaffneretal.,1998).Productdevelopmentisallaboutreconcilingthesetwopointsofview.Therearemanythousandsoffoodproductsandtheycanbegroupedtogetherintoproductcategoriesaccordingto:•foodsystemposition;•markettheyserve;•processingtechnologyusedtomanufacturethem;•basiccommoncharacteristicssuchasnutritionandhealth;•productplatforms;•levelofinnovation.Groupingproductsisausefulmethodofdevelopingnewproductideasusingtechniquessuchasproductplatforms,productmorphologyandgapanalysi。

5、s.Onecanidentifyspacesfornewdevelopments,methodsofproductimprove-mentandindeedinnovationrelatedtochangesinfoodsystemortechnology.1.1.1FoodproductsandthefoodsystemProductsinteractwitheverypartofthefoodsystemfromprimaryproductiontotheconsumerasshowninFig.1.1.Thenewcereal,highinprotein,maygototheprocessortoproduceaspecialisedproteinproductforbakers,ortoafoodmanufacturertomakeahigh-proteinbreakfastcereal,ortoavegetarianfast-foodoutletasameatreplacer,ortoasupermarketasaningredientforhome-preparedmues。

6、liordirectlytotheconsumerforuseinahomebreadmaker.Anewproductinonepartofthefoodsystemcancausenewproductsinotherparts.Thereisaneedtodistinguishthethreegroupsofproducts:1.Primaryproductsfromseaandtheland.2.Industrialingredientsfromfoodprocessors.3.Consumerproductsfromfoodmanufacturersandfoodservice.Theybasicallyhavethesameproductdevelopmentprocess,butthereareactivitiesandtechniquesspecifictoeacharea.Thereisaneedtorecognisethetotalproductineachcase.Thereisaformalproductwithitsassociationssuchasservi。

7、ce,know-howandimageasidentifiedbythecompany(Crawford,1997),andthentheproductconceptoftheconsumerorcustomer.AMcDonald’shamburgermayseemasimpleproductbutithasstrongassociatedbenefitssuchasconvenience,price,fastserviceandhygiene,alongwithaverypowerfulallureespeciallyforyoungpeopleofthegoodthingsinAmericanlife.Foodserviceproductsusuallyhaveahighproportionofservices,butsodoindustrialproductsandincreasinglyprimaryproducts.4FoodproductdevelopmentTheindustriesupstreamfromthefoodmanufacturerareimportantc。

8、ontributorsofinnovation(Rama,1996).Boththeingredientsuppliersandtheequipmentsupplierscanhaveapivotalroleininnovationinthefoodindustry.Agriculturalandnowmarinefarmingarealsomajorsourcesofinnovationbothoffreshproducts,andofmaterialsdesignedforprocessing.Sotheinnovationspectrumbroadensanddeepens.1.1.2FoodproductsandthemarketsThebasicprincipleofproductdevelopmentistoidentifytheneedsofthebuyersandtheusers,anddesigntheproductstowardsmeetingtheseneeds.Thismeansthatthemarketsegmentsfortheproductsareanim。

9、portantbasisforgroupingproducts.Therearefivemainmarketsegments:1.Consumers:mainlybrandedproducts.2.Retailers:brandedproducts,ingredientmixes.3.Foodservice:partiallypreparedmeals,mealingredients.4.Industrialprocessorsandmanufacturers:differentiatedingredients.5.Primaryprocessors:commodities,undifferentiatedrawmaterials.Itisimportanttorecognisethattherearemajordifferencesinthedevelopmentofproductsforthesedifferentsegments.Ifacompanymovesfromdifferentiatedingredientsforfoodmanufacturerstoconsumerpr。

10、oductstobesoldthroughretailers,thereisaneedfornewknowledgeandnewresourcesinthecompany.Eachofthesefivemainsegmentscanbedividedintofurthersegments.Therearefivecommonconsumermarket-segmentationcategories:•Geographic.•Sociocultural.•Demographic.•Psychographic.•Userbehaviour.Regions,socialclasses,ethnicgroups,households,age,sexandincomearetypicalgroupingsforwhichstatisticalcensusdatacanbefound,butconsumertargetingcanbemoreaccurateifpsychographicsegmentsbasedonlifestyle,behaviour,personalityandattitude。