PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS AND IDEA GENERATION

Product characteristics or attributes

These are the features that identify the product to the company, the market and the
consumer. Each product is a complex of tangible and intangible characteristics which
define the product, its use and value. Product characteristics can be viewed as
technological, consumer and market:

• Technological: raw materials, composition, structure, size/shape, processing method,

storage method, product type;

• Consumer: convenience, sensory properties, use, nutrition, safety, psychological,

social;

• Market: type of market, marketplace, sales, price, promotion.

Variation of the characteristics and addition of new characteristics can make the product
more appealing to the consumer and indeed give a unique product. Comparison with the
characteristics of competitive products can define the positions of the different products in
the market; this can reveal gaps in the market where there are no products, and also give
better direction to 'me-too' products

PRODUCT IDEAS SCREENING

The aim in idea screening is to retain the successful ideas and eliminate the ideas which
could be failures - much easier to write than to carry out in practice! If in doubt, keep the
idea until more information is obtained. Idea screening can be based on tacit knowledge of
the individual and of the company, with little new explicit information sought in or outside
the company. But the aim in successive screenings is to build up the necessary information
for the decisions to be made in a quantitative, objective way. Screening is both a reiterative
and a progressive process, so there is a need to relate to the first screening even in the last
screening in case the product description has changed and it no longer fits the screening
criteria first set out.

Product idea descriptions

These must be clear and concise. They include:

• A clear description of the product;

• The use of the product;

• The target market segment;

• The relationship to the company's present products;

• The relationship to competing products.

Factors for product screening

Marketing factors:
• Potential market size
• Compatibility of market image with company's product lines
• Relationship to competing products
• Compatibility with existing or specified market channels
• Access to suitable physical distribution systems
• Fits into an acceptable pricing structure
• Relationship to promotional methods and resources
• Marketing resources needed to produce success

Production factors:
• Compatibility with existing product lines
• Availability of processing equipment
• Availability of raw materials and ingredients
• Availability of technical skills to produce the product
• Availability of production time
• Agreement with any legal requirements
• Cost and availability of new resources required

Development factors:
• Knowledge needed for development
• Available knowledge and skills
• Available time and human resources
• Development funds needed and available
• Compatibility with existing strengths
• Development difficulties and risks of failure
 Financial factors:
• Compatibility of development costs with financial resources
• Capital investment resources needed and available
• Finance needed and available for market launch and ongoing product support
• Profits or returns on investment required

PRODUCT AND PROCESS DEVELOPMENT

Product design specifications

In summary, a general outline for a product design specification is as follows:

1. Product concept: general statement on the product

2. Product qualities
3. Target consumers
4. Production design specifications:
- Raw materials/ingredients
- Processing/formulation
- Packaging
- Storage, transport
5. Marketing design specifications:
- Packaging
- Promotion
- Market channel
- Price setting
- Competition
6. Environment:
- Social
- Cultural
- Legal
- Economic
- Physical
7. Costs:
- Production
- Marketing
PRODUCT FORMULATION
Many food products are made by combining raw materials in specific proportions in a
formulation, and research on the effects of various formulations on product qualities is
common in product design.

In systematic formulation there are five steps:

• Set the product qualities required,
• Find data for the raw material compositions, qualities and costs,
• Determine limits on the raw materials and the processing variables,
• Use quantitative techniques: linear programming, experimental designs, mixture
designs,
• Use product profile tests and technical tests to relate product qualities to changes
in formulations.

The raw materials can be divided into two groups: the basic product raw materials and the
'top' or aesthetic raw materials. This does not mean that the basic raw materials
do not give aesthetic qualities to the product - in fact in modern food design
this is recognised as a fundamental factor. But sometimes there is a need for
the addition of colours and flavours to improve the aesthetic effect

PRODUCT TESTING

Product testing is an integral part of the product design and process development.

To achieve the final product prototype, it is very important that the product is tested at
all stages during its design for technical compliance, acceptability to the consumer, and
compliance with cost constraints.

Product design specifications

 
Technical Consumer Costs
'Getting the feel' Setting up Ideal profiles Company
costs
Reliability
Training
 Standard tests Profile tests Cost analysis
Correlation of technical/consumer tests

PRODUCT 'MOCK-UPS'
Screening Technical Product comparison Raw
materials Sensory cost
limits Product testing Difference testing
Materials cost
comparison

ELEMENTARY PRODUCT PROTOTYPES
Ball-park studies Technical Acceptability Preliminary
Sensory product
costing Statistical testing Preference panel Spread
sheets

ACCEPTABLE PRODUCT PROTOTYPES
Optimisation Technical Product Improvement Product,
Sensory packaging,
Storage process costing
Control testing Use tests Cost
comparison Shelf life tests Competitive comparison


EXAMPLE OF TESTS CARRIED OUT INCLUDE

• Chemical tests (pH, total acidity, volatile acidity, residual nitrite, reducing
sugars),
• Physical tests (Instron compression, shear force and energy, reflective colour, gas
formation, water activity, weight loss),
• Microbiological tests (mesophilic aerobic micro-organisms, Enterobacteriaceae,
Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and moulds),
• Sensory tests (appearance, texture, flavour) and tests of consumer acceptability.
The product profile characteristics tested are: colour, visual texture, air pockets,
firmness, juiciness, smoothness, sourness, saltiness, spiciness, flavour.
Technical testing

Technical testing varies a great deal depending on the type of product, the testing facilities
available, safety needs, processing needs and legal regulations. The tests can be chemical,
physical or/and microbiological. The technical testing for consumer acceptance is built up
from the consumers' product profile, and suitable technical test methods are sought which
relate to the product characteristics identified as important to the consumer. In the early
stages of product design, correlating the technical tests on the product qualities with the
consumer product profile is essential. Technical testing is also required to confirm that any
food regulations are being met, that consumer safety is ensured and that any labelling
requirements for example nutritional value are confirmed. At the later stages, technical
testing is developed to monitor the product specifications for quality assurance, and
account needs to be taken of the accuracy and reliability of the results. Consideration also
needs to be given to the costs of testing – Can the efficiency be improved? How much
testing is needed for control of the product quality?

Shelf life testing

Testing shelf life is important in food design because there is usually a target shelf life to
be achieved for transport and storage in the distribution chain as well for storage of the
product by the consumer after buying. From previous knowledge, some predictions can be
made early in the design on the possible shelf life; foods can be divided into short-life
products (up to 10-14 days), medium-life products (up to eight weeks) and longer-life
products (up to 1-2 years). The possible deterioration reactions in the food are identified,
for example chemical reactions like browning and loss of colour, and microbial growth of
food spoilage organisms, moulds and yeasts. It may be necessary to carry out accelerated
tests under severe conditions to identify exactly what the deteriorative reactions are.

Shelf life testing needs to be started as soon as possible in the prototype development,
usually at the start of optimisation experiments. Shelf life testing takes time and can be the
critical activity controlling the completion of the project. The variables need to be
identified

- usually temperature, humidity and surrounding atmosphere in storage; vibration,

handling and contamination in transport. Factorial designs are again used so that the
quantitative effects of changes in the storage and transport conditions on product quality
can be measured.

Sensory evaluation

Sensory evaluation can be carried out by expert sensory panels or by consumers.

Traditionally in product design, the expert panel determined the differences between
prototypes and the direction of the differences, while consumer panels evaluated the
acceptance of products or preferences between products. This meant that consumer input
did not take place until the final stages of prototype development. But with the
acknowledged importance of the early stages of product design, consumer panels are now
used to guide the design. Such panels are used in screening the ingredients, determining the
product characteristics and their strength in the ideal product, developing and optimizing
the product profile of the product prototypes, and optimising products for acceptance and
cost. Care needs to be taken when choosing the “consumers” – are they the people who buy
the product, who prepare the meal, who eat it?

A trained panel may consist of between four and ten people, but consumer panels are
larger, comprising at least thirty people depending on the type of testing. The members of a
trained panel after a month or longer training are able to score the product qualities reliably
and accurately. Consumer panels are not trained, but are representative of the users of the
product. Initially consumer panels were considered 'too much work' and expensive, but
experience has shown that this is not so.

The size of the consumer panel increases throughout the design as the importance of
making the right decision becomes critical and the penalty for a wrong decision becomes
larger. In product formulation, it can consist of 15-20 consumers, rising to 50-100
consumers during the final processing trials and 200-300 for the final product prototype,
while in some large markets with greater variability it may be even more. The smaller
panels are useful when some depth of knowledge is needed though they are not a
statistically valid method of determining how many people in the market will buy the
product. But over the years, it has been shown that there are significant correlations
between the verdicts of the consumer panel and the larger consumer test if the members of
the consumer panel have been selected carefully and are representative of the market.
Consumer panels are used for seeking in-depth information about the product's
characteristics and uses. The aim is to obtain as much detailed information as possible so
that informed changes can be made in the product design. The consumer panel gives
opinions on all product characteristics, not just sensory qualities but others such as safety,
nutrition, size, ease of use, transport, storing and convenience. They can also be involved
in the design of the package. The final consumer panels test the packaged product under
the conditions in which they would use it. This would normally be in their home, but
sometimes because of secrecy and also the need to watch their use of the product such
trials may take place in the laboratory. For example, there is a need to check: Is the pack
ergonomically suitable? Does it fit their hands? Can they open it? Is the product suitable
for their equipment and their abilities? Can they prepare and cook the product? Do the
other people in the house like it? Is it acceptable to younger/older people, different sexes?

PACKAGING DEVELOPMENT
Packaging design at this stage concentrates on the packaging of the individual product; the
outer packaging research is only related to decisions regarding size and to the protection
required during distribution. The design of the packaging for the individual product is
based on the needs of the consumer and the requirements of product preservation and
protection

in the product design specifications, but it also considers the process and the distribution,
as well as the needs of retailers and the environment.

The graphic design is usually carried out during the commercialization stage together with
the promotional artwork, but consideration needs to be given to any printing and display
needs in the selection of the packaging and the materials to be used.

The needs of the consumer and the retailer dictate the dimensions as the package has to be
stored on retailers' and consumers' shelves, consumers have to be able to handle and open
the package with their hands, the quantities are related to the serving of the food and the
packaging has to stand up to the general conditions of use. The packages have also to fit
into the standard outer container shapes and sizes.

The product may be processed in the package in which case the package must be able to
stand up to the processing conditions and also not interact with the food during processing
and storage, for example packaging constituents leaching into the food. In all cases, the
package needs to fit into the packing line with not too much adaptation.
The factors to consider in packaging design at this stage of product and process
development are summarised below

Table 5.2 Factors in packaging design

Consumer Buying, transporting, storing, using, eating, disposing

Product Containment
Protection in external environment, distribution
Presentation for communication, promotion, selling
Use by consumer: convenient, dispensable, ergonomic,
information
Legal requirements
Process Preservation of food, processing ability, interaction with
processing,
Product packaging quality
Machine ability in making, forming, filling, closing
Distribution Outer packing, unitisation, transport, storage conditions
Retailer needs
Storage, display, communication, bar coding, tamper-proofing
Environment Resources used: energy, raw materials
Waste: reuse, recycle, or disposable
From the research, the packaging is defined as packaging material (films, cardboard, metal,
glass, solid plastic), packaging type (bottle, carton, pottle, can), packaging size, packaging
method (hand, continuous, automatic, aseptic). The designer does not have a great deal of
room for originality in food packaging except with regard to the graphic design, but there is
still a great deal of originality as can be seen on the supermarket shelves. The use of
computers with design software has made it easier to design packaging.

The package is then put to the test on the processing/filling line, and for shelf life, and
product protection during storage and transport. Finally the consumer has to test the
packaging with the product.

Factors in packaging design

 Attraction of the consumer,
 Easy transportation by the consumer,
 Easy storage,
 Easy disposal.
 Protection from containment
 Safety of the packaging material
 Ability to describe the packaged content
 Protection in external environment, distribution
 Easy presentation for communication, promotion and selling.
 Ability to meet the legal requirements.
 Ability to preserve the food
 Recyclability of the pack
 Whether the pack is environmental friendly.