CREATING NEW FOODS
THE PRODUCT DEVELOPER'S GUIDE
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Home
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 4
Product Strategy Development:
Product Concepts and Product Design Specifications


4.1 INTRODUCTION

The development from the simple product idea to the product design specifications and finally the product specifications is a continually evolving process through the initial stage of the product development process to the end of the product design stage. It is a creative but focussed process. There is creativity in developing the ideas for the type of product and then for the detail of the product, but this is tempered by the aim and constraints of the project. It is important that the creativity does not lead to a product that is outside the business strategy.

In the food industry, the product and the packaging are designed together because the package is an integral part of food preservation and food use. This is different from other manufacturing industries where the package is designed after the product as a method of protection and display.

Product design in the food industry has also had a different philosophy and organisation from design in other industries. It has been less technical and more consumer-oriented for two reasons: product design has come from recipe formulation in cooking, and food has an intimate relationship with every consumer.

Today there is the knowledge for more technical food design because the requirements of total quality management (TQM) and hazard analysis control points (HACCP) demanded more technical product/processing knowledge in all companies. There is also the pressure from the consumer for safety and nutrition in foods to drive this technical approach, and for more consideration of their needs to drive the consumer-oriented approach to design.

Food industry designers could benefit from studying the work of designers in other industries and vice versa. The industrial designers do little consumer research during the design and could benefit from studying the techniques of the food designers; the food designers could benefit from the more technically rigorous design procedure and also the aesthetic qualities of the industrial design. The food service industry is leading this development in food design, with chefs often now calling themselves food designers and working with other designers.

The product concept develops from the first description of the product idea to the final product specifications controlling production and to the product proposition that the marketers present to either the retailers or the industrial customers. Sometimes there is a confusing use of the term product concept, but this is reduced if different names are given to the various stages of the product concept development: product idea concept, product concept, product design specifications, product specifications, product proposition as shown in Figure 4.1.

In product concept development and product design, there is cooperation between the consumer, the marketer, the production and engineering staff and the product developer. This interaction is important and needs to be coordinated so that there is translation of consumer needs and wants into both a technical product and process, and also a marketing plan. Figure 4.1 shows the most important participants at each stage in the Product Process, but there also needs to be interactive discussions with other people in the company and in the market throughout the project to achieve integration. In consumer marketing of food, it is important to recognise that there are two groups – the people who buy the products (sometimes called customers) and the people who eat the products (the final consumers). There is often a tendency to group them all together as “consumers”, but the reasons that the person chooses food to buy for the household can be different from why the consumers want to eat the food.

Figure 4.1 Evolution of the product description in the PD Process
DESCRIPTION
   MOST IMPORTANT COMPANY PARTICIPANTS
Product idea name Company PD group, consumer research group
Product idea description Company PD group
Product idea concept Consumer research group
Product concept Consumer research group, marketing, technical, company PD group
Product design specifications Technical, marketing, consumer research group, company PD group
Product specifications Technical, company PD group
Product proposition Marketing, consumer research group

During product design in the food and other processing industries, there is an interlocking of the raw material production, processing and storage with the product design. The processing and storage conditions as well as the raw material quality determine the product qualities. So in product design there is systematic optimisation of product quality by experimenting with the raw materials, processing and storage; these technical details are also included in the product design specifications.

The activities and product outcomes in the development of the product concept and product design specifications are shown in Figure 4.2.

Figure 4.2 Activities in developing the product concept and product design specifications

MARKETING
CONSUMER
TECHNICAL
PRODUCT IDEAS
Product ideas descriptions development
 
Consumer product ideas screening
Product characteristics identification
PRODUCT IDEAS DESCRIPTIONS
Product idea concept development
Desk market search
Consumer concept development
Internal technical search
PRODUCT IDEA CONCEPTS
Product concept building and evaluation  
Market survey
Consumer screening
Literature searching
Competitive products
Consumer survey
'Mock-up' prototypes
PRODUCT CONCEPT
Product concept engineering
Pricing, distribution,
Consumer groups:
Processing information
promotion, information
product profile
Product qualities
PRODUCT DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

The 'product concept' is not one definition made at the beginning of the product development project but it changes and develops as the project progresses.

It starts as a consumer-based product concept, which gradually develops into a working brief for the project, and then develops further as detailed consumer descriptions of product characteristics based on examination of the prototype products, to the final product concept related to the consumer and the marketplace which is used for the design.

The product concept at any stage acts as a guide to the product development. The basis for the operational activities in the product launch is set at this stage; if this stage is vague and non-technical it causes trouble in the product commercialisation. The product concept along with the aims, objectives and constraints of the project ensures that the project does not go off on a tangent.

Think Break 4.1
Evolution of the product proposition: outside input

In the development from the original ‘product ideas names’ to the product proposition, as shown in Figure 4.1, study where other people involved in the development and launching of the new product, such as consumers, distributors, retailers, advertising agency, media companies and the general public could be brought in to help the development. Add another column to Figure 4.1, labelled 'most important participants outside the company' and add the titles of the participants.


PRODUCT IDEA CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

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Creating New Foods. The Product Developer's Guide. Copyright © Chartered Inst. of Environmental Health.
Web Edition published by NZIFST (Inc.)
NZIFST - The New Zealand Institute of Food Science & Technology