Carol Scott

Product Life Cycle

Product development process

Line extensions

Rebranding of existing products

Product placement

The aim of the Food Product Development
process is to create a product suitable for;
 Individual consumers
 Food service organisation
 Food manufacturing company

New products are constantly being created and
marketed to create competition with other brand
names

Given the rapid changes in consumer tastes, technology and
competition, companies must develop a steady stream of new
products

A retailer can obtain new products in one of three ways
(1) buying a whole company, a patent or a licence to produce
someone else’s product e.g. Coca Cola and Tesco
(2) within the company’s own Research and Development
(R& D) department
(3) approaching suppliers and asking them to come up with
several new concepts

New
product
development
starts
with
idea
generation

There are different methods in generating new
ideas e.g. In-depth interviews, consumer panels

The ideas generated for a new product will be the
result of a variety of factors which will include the
needs of a specific client group

Benefits
 Saves money
 Customers satisfied
 Ideas generated are related to target market

A two-phase stage in the development of a new
product in which potential buyers are presented
first with the idea or description of the new product
and later with the product itself in prototype form in
order to obtain their reaction

Outlines objectives and describes the ways in which the
business is going to satisfy their customers

The focus of every marketing strategy should be to
communicate the benefits of the product and how it can
meet customers' needs

Kellog’s quote ‘Wholesome. Nutritious. Great Tasting.
Top Quality’

Without a marketing strategy businesses won't be
able to reach ideal customers
 Age group
 Price
 Advertisement

If customers needs and wants do however change
then companies will have to adapt to these new
needs and wants
Marketing Strategy Development
medley bar
digestives

Before spending large amounts of money a
business analysis should be conducted

This will include analysing projected sales, costs,
competition and profit margins for a new product

At this stage Research & Development develops
the product concept into a physical product
 Kitchen trials
 Factory scale trials
 Production runs

A test market is a limited introduction of the
product

Test marketing by companies has declined in
recent years

On the other hand some companies have come
up with novel ways of test marketing their product
Yes
No
McShrimp Burger
Yes
No
Yes
No
Gourmet Snails
Yes
No

Commercialisation is introducing the new product to
the market
 Product
 Placement
 Price
 Promotion

This can be the most expensive and risky part of
product development
Guess the Commercialisation
Options;
•Barclay’s family Insurance
•A car
•A holiday company
•Ulster bank commercial
Guess the ad
Guess the Products.....
guess the product 1
guess the product 2
guess the product 3
guess the product 4

Successful commercialisation requires
manufacturers to follow all the stages outlined

Listening to consumers is key to creating and
producing a successful product

If a product is launched too late for
its key selling season

The launch is aimed at the wrong target
audience

snickers chocolate bar

galaxy bar

New Product Development
◦ An absolutely brand new product
◦ Many stages involved to create finished product
◦ Never before produced
◦ Usually very costly to develop and produce initially
Remember a new product must appeal to customers, food
manufacturing company or a food service organisation
Rebranding of
Existing
Products
How many brands can you
find??
Wayne's World

Products go through eight different stages

New products are becoming the focus of
competition

Marketing your product correctly is key to success

Companies can rebrand or extend existing
products

Earle, M. Earle, R and Anderson, A. (2001). Food Product Development,
Cambridge: Woodhead publishing Limited.

Fuller, G.W. (2005). 2nd ed. New Food Product Development: from concept
to marketplace, United States of America: CRC Press

Graf, E. And Saguy, I.S. (1991). Food Product Development: from concept
to the marketplace, Chapman and Hall: International Thomson Publishing.