unit 4: Types of food product developemtns

• Types of Food Product Development

  • Me-too products
  • Line extensions
  • New-to-the-world products
• It is not always easy to put a new food product into one of these three categories
• Personal and company opinions, market perception, and the nature of the new product will affect the allocation of a new product into one of these types
• New-to-the-world products


  Completely new and different to pre-existing products, and have not been on the market before
• New-to-the-world products make up only 10% of new products
• Rarely are food innovations ‘new to the world’
• This type of development makes up a very small proportion of overall new food products and is the most costly, time-consuming and risky process companies can undertake
• Innovative new products require extensive testing, modification and trialling
• New equipment may need to be purchased and staff trained to meet new demand
• Establishing a new market can also mean higher promotion costs
• Organisations may even need to apply for modification to the Food Standards Code
• Once developed, new products are usually very successful
• Genuine new-to-the-world food products are far less common than me-too and line extension types
• Line Extension


  Involve relatively minor changes to extend the range of a company's existing products
• Line extensions make up 70% of new products
• Reasons for developing line extensions

  • Market share decline
  • Response to marketplace trends
  • New consumer demands
  • Identification of new market segment
  • Emergence of new processing technology
  • Availability of new ingredients
  • Value-adding strategies
  • Increased volume of sales
• Line extensions are a low-risk form of product development
• Consumers will have an established brand loyalty and be more likely to try the new product line
• Development may be to increase the appeal of the product to health-conscious consumers
• 79 percent of potato chip shoppers “like to experience all life has to offer and try new things, including food and drinks”

  
• Me-too products are essentially direct copies, or with minor modifications, of existing products available on the market
• Me-too products make up 20% of all new products developed
• Most food products developed are me-toos, and likewise most failed products are me-toos
• Me-too products are competing with the original brand that led the way into the new market
• Ingredients, size or shape may be copied within the limits of industrial opportunity
• The development of me-too products is generally easy and inexpensive
• Manufacturers may also minimise costs by using less expensive ingredients and lower quality packaging
• The greatest challenge for manufacturers of me-too products is marketing them against established successful ‘originals’
• Me-toos appear on the same supermarket shelf as the product that they imitate
• To attract consumers, the labelling must be attractive and distinctive
• The launch of me-too products is usually made with heavy advertising, in-store promotions and pamphlets with serving suggestions