Joyce Friedberg

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At the Food Innovation Center at Rutgers (FIC), we always remind our clients that the product has to taste great. 

The International Food Information Council has been conducting an annual Food and Health survey for over a decade. This year, they surveyed 3000 consumers, and found 85% of them ranked taste as the most important element in their food and beverage purchase decisions.

Taste and flavor are terms used interchangeably quite often, but not everyone realizes there is a difference between the two. Taste happens mainly in the mouth on the taste buds, and the five basic taste sensations are sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. 

Although taste is an important component of flavor, flavor also includes the aroma.  Some research shows that aroma can account for up to 80% of how people perceive the flavor (source: University of Florida Central Center for Smell and Taste, “Taste vs. Flavor: What’s the Difference” blog, May 5, 2015).

There are several ways to conduct product tastings. At FIC, we conduct sensory evaluations. This is defined as a scientific method used to evoke, measure, analyze and interpret those responses to products as perceived through the senses, sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing (source: Stone, H. and Sidel, JL, 1993. Sensory Evaluation Practices, 2^nd edition, Academic Press: San Diego). Sensory evaluations are typically used to understand how consumers perceive and respond to the products, and also to identify how to improve or optimize the product.

The main types of sensory evaluation tests are: discrimination, descriptive and acceptance testing. The different test methods are described below:

• Discrimination Testing determines if there are perceived differences between the products. We might use this if a company is making a change to the product formulation — like an ingredient substitution — and wants to know whether consumers can detect these changes.
• Descriptive Testing measures the perceived characteristics and the relative quality and intensity of the sensory attributes. This can provide helpful guidance when developing a new product.
• Acceptance Testing measures the appeal and acceptance of a product.  If launching a new product into the market, this type of test can provide direction on purchase interest, whether people like it, etc., as well as diagnostic information about the product attributes.

Since sensory evaluation is a scientific method, it is important to follow certain protocols for testing. These are some of the recommended guidelines.

• Evaluate the product in an environment that is quiet and not distracting. Often the panelists evaluate product in separate booths, or sometimes partitions are used.
• Panelists evaluate the product themselves. During the evaluation, there’s no sharing of opinions among participants. Discussions only happen after the evaluation is completed.
• Products are typically evaluated blind, meaning the product brand, name or package is not part of the test. This eliminates any potential bias, and allows participants to focus on evaluating the sensory attributes of the product.
• Palate-cleansing items are available after each sample so that the panelists can continue to effectively evaluate the product. Water is always good, but depending upon the type of product (i.e. high fat, high spice), additional palate cleansers may be required. 
• Other factors to consider include the tasting order, the temperature to serve the products and making sure that all the product samples are consistent. 

FIC offers sensory evaluations as part of the services and capabilities that can be provided, with our internal team providing directional feedback on the product. Our team consists of industry veterans with extensive experience spanning a broad array of disciplines, including research and development, culinary, innovation, market research, marketing, sales, manufacturing and operations, and quality assurance and food safety.  Integrating the R&D team in the sensory evaluations helps to streamline the new product development process. The R&D team sees firsthand the formula revisions that are necessary to optimize the product; then they can then work directly with the client to make the necessary revisions.

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There’s a lot to think about when launching a new product — making it, getting it into the market quickly, and selling it. It can be easy to overlook another important thing: assessing the competition.  

There are so many new products entering the market, and so many channels where they can be sold. This can make it challenging to gain share of category, voice, shelf, etc.

A competitive assessment is a systematic approach to gathering and analyzing information about the competition. It can help you determine competitor strengths and weaknesses, and identify your points of differentiation. If nothing sets you apart from what’s currently on the market, you might have to compete on pricing, and that can be difficult to sustain. 

First: identify the competition  

Direct competitors are brands in the same category offering similar products to a similar target market. For example, McDonald’s and Wendy’s are two quick-service restaurants offering hamburgers. 

Indirect competitors are in the same category, but offer different products to a similar target market.  An example would be Chick Fil-A, which offers chicken sandwiches. All three are quick-service restaurants offering fast food consumers a quick and convenient sandwich menu option. (source: Indeed.com, “How to Conduct a Competitor Product Analysis”).   

There are several tools that can be used to conduct a competitive assessment.

• Online Research: Searching the competitor’s website, related news, industry or investor presentations, customer reviews and comments.
  
• Reviewing Social Media Platforms: Social media presence, reviews, and comments.
  
• Attending Industry Events and Conferences: This is another way to gain more knowledge about the competition.
  
• Conducting Market Research with Consumers:  If available, conduct market research through surveys or focus groups with consumers. This can provide valuable insights, and can potentially help you identify gaps in the market.
  
• Making in-person Store Visits: See how many different brands a retailer carriers in their store, the shelf set and shelf presence, and take a closer look at the products and packaging.  

The Food Innovation Center at Rutgers (FIC) helps clients by conducting a competitive assessment that is food and beverage product-focused. Working with the client, we begin the process by evaluating the category, and understanding how it is segmented.  From there, we identify the key competitors within the category.  We work with the client to make sure we are including a broad cross-section of different types of competitors.

After aligning with the client and selecting the competitors, we conduct the research, using many of the tools mentioned above. Since the focus is on the product, we look for attributes such as the ingredients, the ingredient statement, claims, nutrition, etc.  

For example, one of the areas that we focus on is determining whether the product has a clean label, which is something that today’s consumers are demanding. While clean label does not have a regulatory definition, consumers say they are looking for a clean and concise ingredient statement, and familiar ingredients without preservatives or artificial ingredients.

In addition to the product attributes, we also review the packaging — both inner and outer — which is an integral part of the product experience. It is the first thing consumers see, whether it be online or on a store shelf, and is critical to the consumer’s perception of the product. It is also important to note whether the packaging is sustainable and/or recyclable, another attribute that’s become more important to consumers.

This process is very collaborative. We review and discuss each section of the analysis with our client, and determine the best approach for their product going forward. We do this in combination with a competitive sensory assessment, allowing us to combine both the sensory results and the analytical data to determine the best path forward.

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Launching a new food product into the market can be very challenging. In fact, only about 10 – 20% of new products succeed in the in market. This can be due to several reasons, but for many, the big one is not taking the time upfront during the new product development process to do your research. 

The new product development process is a structured stage gate process that can help guide entrepreneurs and companies through the necessary steps required to launch a new product. There are three main stages: strategy and ideation; research and development; and scale-up and commercialization. 

Here is a brief description of each of the stages:

• Strategy and Ideation: This is the first stage in the new product development process. This stage is where you brainstorm new ideas and start to build a product concept based on market research and consumer needs
  
• Research and Development: This stage provides the necessary steps to bring a food concept to commercial production. This includes steps such as:
  • Develop and review the formula and process.
  • Basic analytical and benchtop work to create initial prototype with specifications.
  • Preliminary development of ingredient statement and theoretical Nutrition Facts panel
  • Development of packaging
    
• Scale-Up and Commercialization: The scale-up process takes a recipe or early prototype and translates it into a formulation that can be manufactured. This  stage usually requires a move from a kitchen to a larger production venue (i.e., a pilot plant or manufacturer).  

The Strategy and Ideation phase is where you want to conduct upfront research. A good place to start is by studying the latest consumer trends. FIC keeps its fingers on the pulse and tracks the latest consumer trends. For example, in today’s market, health and wellness has become more important to consumers. Consumers view health and wellness from a holistic view on how it can help their minds and bodies. In addition, consumers are also interested in the health of the planet, so factors like sustainability, recycling, and upcycling have increased in importance.

In addition to understating the trends, it is important to conduct research that touches upon the three Cs: the consumer, category (market), and competition. When developing any new product, it is critical to get consumer input. It is also important to identify who the target consumer will be, what the consumer needs, and which pain points your product or service will be helping to settle. 

One way to approach this is to conduct market research. There are two types of market research: primary research and secondary research. Primary research is research you collect yourself, and this can be done through online surveys, focus groups, or market surveys, for example. Secondary research is using data that has already been collected (i.e., Mintel, Census Data, Statista). 

One way to get consumer feedback upfront is through a survey. FIC can help develop a survey for clients and this can be used to gauge consumers’ potential interest and likes and dislikes of the product concept. This is helpful information for clients to be able to refine their product concept.

You also want to understand the category you will be entering. Factors such as the size of the category, whether the category is growing or declining, and drives the category’s performance are key to see the product from all sides. 

Last, it is important to know the competition and how your product or service will differentiate from it in a relevant and meaningful way.

The Food Innovation Center at Rutgers has helped hundreds of clients successfully build and grow their businesses. Here is a brief description of some of the services that FIC provides to support the clients in the first phase of the new product development process.        

• Category Assessment: Utilizing industry information along with Rutgers secondary research resources, FIC can provide an overview of the category and key drivers of category performance.
  
• Competitive Assessment: FIC can help identify the key competitors and assess the client’s product versus the competition on key product and packaging attributes to help identify key points of difference.

By taking the time to do your research early and following a structured new product development process, you can increase your chance of success for new products entering the market.