7.3.1 Stage 1: Product strategy development

In the pre-design and development phase it was necessary to assemble knowledge, tacit and written, from a variety of sources within the various parties. This included:

     On the technical side -

        (a) heat behaviour of whey proteins,
        (b) properties and potentialities of ion exchange resins, which could
             separate even more tightly defined protein constituents,
        (c) expected functional properties of various fractions that might be
             prepared, and
        (d) existing or achievable manufacturing processes which might be
             challenged or improved by new ingredients.

     On the marketing/commercial side -

        (a) selected market, its demands, characteristics and expected growth,
        (b) available raw material, whey, its increasing supply and competing
             uses,
        (c) expected financial returns and their stability,
        (d) security of the process against competitive inroads if the project proved
             successful,
        (e) anticipated profitability of the venture.

So on the market side, the originality and the prospective impact of the product, and its critical formulation were established, together with its relation to technical advantages and to market imperatives. The NZ Dairy Board's international marketing network was used together with the vertically integrated structure which gave access to a very wide range of expertise to work with existing and potential customers, and to find what they wanted and would buy. On the processing side the use of ion-exchange resins for whey protein manufacture had been limited and small, worldwide, so extension of this was an essential part of the scheme and its costs had to be investigated and firmed up.

From these preliminary investigations the product concept emerged as:

     unique, competitively robust, acid beverage component powder;

     high-protein, low-lactose/cholesterol/fat;

     made from a wholly natural product, whey.

This would be designed for the expanding sports market in the USA, Europe and Japan. It would be produced by a process for which the basic data were predictable or accessible, the necessary technical developments should be achievable, and the raw materials were available. The venture should be profitable.