Tips for Food Product Development

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A significant number of companies around the globe are not actively developing any new food products. Whereas, many companies those are engaged in new food product development, do not explicitly involve the consumers in their market research. This article lists out some innovations in the field of food product development which can be adopted by various companies to both enrich the food quality and thus increase their business.

The basic segment of manufacturing food products depends on how well you pack your product. Some of the innovations that can be adopted in food packaging are:

New packaging that can be used both in microwave and oven and thus increases versatility.
New packaging materials to be used to improve product shelf-life, quality and freshness.
Different packaging that helps in presenting the food product in different and new ways. This can be done by creating new graphic designs and packaging shapes for your product.
Packaging patterns that can increase the ease of use. For instance, milk cartons that are opened easily.

However, whatever be the packaging strategy, the major factor in food product development is the food stuff itself. The same is the case with beverage development. To create development in that area one needs to bring new ethnic concepts and has to start producing organic and health foods. Addition of vitamins, bacterial cultures and minerals, i.e. fortification, will also help. Some other innovations that could help in food product development include:

Merging – this refers to the merging of 2 complimentary or similar flavors, for instance, some chocolates where white chocolate and milk are brought together. This can also mean bringing complimentary products together, for instance some of the Lunchable products where, ham, crackers and cheese are brought together in the same packaging.
Segmentation – this is where the manufacturer finds simple ways to allow customers to customize products to their personal needs. For instance the ‘salt-n-shake’ potato chips where a separate sachet of salt in provided so that the consumer gets the chance to decide the quantity of salt they want to apply to the chips. Another form of segmentation is the ‘multi-packs’ offer wherein the customer gets to use only a part of the product at one time depending on the number of servings required.
Composite materials – this can be interpreted as the concept of combining foods that are different properties into a single structure. This strategy is usually present in cereal bars, multi-vitamins, filled pasta, ‘bubble-and-squeak’ and several other products, especially the ones where the consumers are looking for ease of use.
Preliminary action – this is a very commonly applied principle for food product development. Some examples in this case would be de-seeded vegetables and pre-cooked meals.

Almost similar strategies should be adopted in beverage development. For instance, recognizing consumer needs in the market which can be filled by a new innovative beverage brand is one of the first step in the beverage development. Similarly, in order to maximize taste and the functionality of the new beverage brand, beverage formulation, which is a very intricate process should be done thoroughly allow enough time to go through every possible ingredient options.