CREATING NEW FOODS
THE PRODUCT DEVELOPER'S GUIDE
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Contents
About the book
About the authors
Preface
1. The product
development project
in the company
2. The organisation of
the product
development project
3. Product strategy
development: idea
generation and
screening
4. Product strategy
development: product
concepts and design
specifications
5. Product design and
process development
6. Product
commercialisation
7. Product launch and
evaluation
8. Summary: bringing
it together
8.10 Textbooks in
product development
Index of Examples &
Problems
Useful links
Feedback (email link)
CHAPTER 3
Product Strategy Development:
Idea Generation and Screening


3.2 IDEA GENERATION

Idea generation is based on the interrelationships between:

      Company Product Consumer

These relationships are constantly changing, and the surrounding environment is also subject to continuous social and technological change; understanding the changes that are occurring leads to innovative products which fulfil a need. The product developer needs to be aware of all these forces and their interactions, from the crudest level where marketing simply wants a copy of a competitor's new product (a 'me-too' product) to the complex use of a new technology such as pressure preservation or to a major marketing change such as the shift from multi-person to single and two-person households.

It is the study of the interactions that identifies and refines the product ideas. Is the consumer increasingly concerned about waste packaging - can we make an edible pack or a short-term pack? New low temperature technology produces a tomato powder with a fresh tomato flavour - what new product would consumers want with a fresh tomato flavour, a tomato soup or a fresh breakfast drink?

The creation of all new product ideas - revolutionary or evolutionary - can only be successful if there is an atmosphere which stimulates innovative thought and the search for new ideas. If the company does not encourage the process of generating ideas, then new ideas will not be produced.

To many individuals in the company trained in logical and systematic thinking, free idea generation is frequently difficult. It seems to be almost a fact of life that a company has very few really creative ideas to work on. Product development is often improvement, needed because of technological or marketing change or increased knowledge. As marketing and technical research either struggle to look for modifications to existing products or try to react to a competitor's product, they are often surprised by the absolute simplicity of some original and successful new product which meets real consumer needs and which is showing rapid market growth.

The true innovation can form a new product platform on which to build many new evolutionary products.

There are two methods of idea generation: focused or convergent thinking and free or divergent thinking, and both are useful depending on the company's product strategy.

Focused, systematic thinking is useful for the slow evolution of the product mix.

Free, lateral thinking is useful for the discontinuous major step-changes.

In the food industry where there is pressure to continuously launch new products, there is an emphasis on focused, systematic thinking. If food companies plan to have innovative new products in their product mix, there is a need to develop an atmosphere which gives the freedom for idea generation.

There are always problems in finding new ideas, and also risks in choosing the direction for product development - either product improvement, apparently low-risk, little research and low cost or product innovation, high-risk, extensive research and high cost.

As can be seen in Case Study 3, slow failure can occur through making minor product changes, and a fast crash through choosing the revolutionary new product! There needs to be knowledge and intelligence in selecting the new product direction.

SYSTEMATIC FOCUSED IDEA GENERATION

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Creating New Foods. The Product Developer's Guide. Copyright © Chartered Inst. of Environmental Health.
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