A systematic strategy of food product and process development A. Labropoulos*, T. Varzakas, S. Anestis Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Greece athanlab@teiath.gr New product and process development is the lifeblood of every food company with high expectations. Thousands of new products are introduced every year in the market. The history of paper-like (thin) fillo dough is lengthy and largely obscure, but is not clear whether a curious person figured out that adding water to flour and stretching the dough changed into film “paper” like product that can be used as wrapping foodstuff and offered a pleasurable flavor and crunchy eating attitude. The objectives of this case were to research and develop new bakery “country style” dough as a food and wrapping material and a process advantageous to competitors’ similar product quality. Two processes, an extrusion and a process by extension “pulling” were examined by leveraging the company’s internal and our external technology and engineering expertise. The net results were the development of a “country style” bakery dough product that would offer the right price and quality for and deliver a great pleasure to consumers. In any case, the panelist’s and consumer’s opinions were largely unanimous that the developed products certainly functioned better in food applications, handled better and were much preferable to the consumers. International Food Congress-Novel Approaches in Food Industry, MAY 26-29, 2011 341 A systematic Approach To food product and process development Athan Labropoulosa, S. Anestisa and Th. Varzakasb (Food Engineering Laboratory Techn. Educ. Inst. of Athens, Athens, Greece) a Technological Institute of Athens, Hellas (athanlab@teiath.gr) b Technological Institute of Kalamata, Hellas (tvarzakas@teikal.gr) Introduction – Background New products are the lifeblood of consumer products companies. More than 33.000 new products are introduced every year supported by billions of RD, manufacturing and marketing euros. But, more than 75% of all new products end up in failure. This has been the failure rate for the past 50 years. No were, there is a problem in the whole process of product development. That’s the why the objectives of this study is to investigate to determine how to improve the new product successes. The launch stages via strategic plan of the new product process determines the difference. In this first –of- the – kind study “A systematic Approach to new product development” provides a roadmap for product development teams to rethink their approach and to avoid the pitfalls of most launches. Most importantly, the innovative information for improved launches was compiled from a ground – breaking research study, serves of the case history, personal interviews and personal business experience. In this new product launch ‘Strategic Plan of product development” you ‘ll learn about: • Planning, timing, team formation, leadership, budget and strategy selection • Why cultural, demographic and marketing changes are affecting new product launches • How to ignite your launch team’s creativity with a unique problem solving process. • Case studies that illustrate good launch prates in action. • A new stage gate model for developing launches, discussing each phase in details. • Distribution channels, launch partners, media selection. • How to avoid the trap of doing the same old things. Page 1 of 12 For a chief experience officer, brand or marketing manager or a member of the multifunctional product, team, the new product launch : Strategic plan is most reading to help realize an increased success rate. This launch is a powerful multi disciplinary process that successfully propels a new product of service into the market place and sustains it over time. The mission of New Product Launch : Systematic Approach (Strategic Plan) is to motivate consumer product companies and their marketing partners to thoroughly rethink their approach to the critical launch phase of new product development. The goal of the study is to help companies beat the high new product failure rate by creating more innovative, effective launch companies. Methodology – Experimentation More than fifty tests were applied for the following subjects:  Product Development  Process Development – Implementation  Cost Optimization  Shelf life – Storage performance  Marketing Testing – Consumer Study Product Development 1. Testing Athens “silo’ flour a. Hard wheat flour, only b. Hard / soft wheat flour ratio (2:1, 1:1; etc) 2. Baking tests a. Among Athens County Fillo made products b. Against competitive similar products 3. Testing new “Mennel” flours a. Blend of Hard / Soft wheat flour (Protein 10.5%) b. Blend of Winter / spring wheat flour 4. Baking Test a. Against Athens ‘silo’ flour made products b. Against Competitive products 5. Testing different oils / fats (flavor enhancement) a. Corn vs. Canola Page 2 of 12 b. Margarine vs. Shortening 6. Baking tests for appearance, texture, flavor, and overall acceptability. 7. Testing ingredients for color improvement a. Starches (Regular vs. Modified) b. Sugars (regular vs. Powder) c. Salt content (quantity) d. Vital wheat protein (quantity) 8. Testing processing parameters a. Thickness of fillo dough (Speed of the process machine) b. Moisture of fillo dough (Heaters of the process machine) c. Cooling of fillo dough (Air blowers of the process machine) 9. Baking testing a. Among Athens products b. Against competitor products Cost optimization 1. Testing Scrap using recycling technology i. Athens vs. Apollo scrap ii. Scrap quantity vs. product quality 2. Baking tests i. Among Athens products ii. Against competitor products 3. Testing shell waste scrap i. Against Athens ii. Against competitor Shelf life – Storage performance 1. Testing the shelf life of the products a. Room b. Cooler Page 3 of 12 c. Freezer 2. Baking tests a. Fresh (Room) vs. refrigerated vs. frozen products b. Against competitor products 3. Testing of freezing and thawing performance for a. Sticking problems b. Appearance (wetness, freezer burning) 4. Baking tests a. Among Athens products b. Against competitor products Marketing testing – Consumer studies 1. Individual families 2. Restaurants and other group eating facilities 3. Organizations (churches, etc.) Experimentation – part A A thoughtful overview of the proposed project subject was undertaken in order to solve the problems of the Athens country- style fillo dough development. Three baking tests with the initial Athens formula of country- style fillo dough indicated appearance, texture, flavor and overall acceptability. A new formula was developed and several adjustments made in order to obtain countrystyle fillo dough close to competitor. The results showed that the Athens hard wheat flour mixed with soft wheat (golden charm pastry) flour in the rate 1:3 and ingredient adjustments came out with a product approaching the competitor but always inferior in all the sensory attributes. Table 1 Sensory evaluation test* of Athens country- style fillo dough made products (spinach pies) vs. the competitor “kontos” Sample Appearance Texture Page 4 of 12 Flavor Overall Acceptability Athens 7.4 7.7 7.7 7.7 Kontos 8.0 8.1 8.4 8.2 * 10 panelist evaluated the products The test results in Table 1, indicated the superiority of the competitors product over the Athens products (spinach & cheese appetizers). the competitor “kontos” country fillo made products better in appearance, texture, flavor and overall acceptability than the Athens products. After the inferiority of Athens country fillo made products with the Athens “silo” flour, a milling company “Mennel” was contacted in order to prepare a flour with specifications similar to the flour used in the country fillo industry of Greece. Thus, in the next experiments, special flour was introduced together with some adjustments in the formula. The results in Table 2, indicate a better quality product by using a new ‘Mennel” flour. Table 2 Sensory evaluation test* of Athens silo vs. “Mennel” flour used to make country fillo products (spinach & cheese pies) Preference % of product made with Characteristics Athens flour Mennel flour Same Appearance 18.2 27.3 54.5 Texture 36.3 45.5 18.2 Flavor 18.2 45.5 27.3 Overall 7.2 7.5 acceptability * 11 panelist evaluated the products. Acceptability graded from 0 to 10. Baking tests of products from both Athens and Mennel flours were performed against the competitor product. The results in Table 3, indicated that the competitor ‘Kontos” products (spinach & cheese pies) were very close to Athens and Mennel flour made products in certain sensory characteristics while in others were inferior. Page 5 of 12 Table 3 Sensory evaluation test* of country fillo made products (spinach & cheese pies) using Athens “silo” and “Mennel” flours against the competitor products Preference % of product made with Characteristics Athens flour Mennel flour Kontos Appearance 28.6 57.2 14.2 Texture 14.2 42.9 42.9 Flavor 42.8 28.6 28.6 Overall acceptability 8.1 7.8 8.1 * 11 Kontos Fillo was thicker (7 sheets/lb), others 10 sheets/lb. The moisture of all fillo was approximately 25% Both Athens and Mennel country fillo made products (spinach pies) had to some extent crumbly texture and little crunchiness. the product made with Mennel flour showed better appearance / uniformity with no starchy spots on the top of the product. The competitor’s product had harder chewing condition, good brownish color and good flavor. The product made with the Athens and the Mennel flour had an acceptable color and a flaky appearance on the top fillo layers, but wasn’t as crunchy as the competitor. A new quality evaluation test was showed that upon cooling for 5 hours all the products absorbed moisture and they were much softer to cut and to chew. A new experiment was undertaken in order to examine the specifications of the competitor country fillo (thickness, sheets per pound, moisture content, dimensions). The results showed that Athens country fillo had comparative specifications with the competitor country fillo (8 sheets per pound, moisture 28.1% and 13 ¾ * 17 ¾ inch dimensions). When Athens country fillo products were baked and compared with the competitor, they were rated higher than the competitor “Kontos” due perhaps to the inferior quality of “Kontos” product (6 sheets per pound). Often, the “Kontos” country fillo found to be inconsistent in thickness and moisture content. Table 4 Sensory evaluation test* of Athens vs. “Kontos” country flours made and baked products (spinach country pies) Preference % of product made with Page 6 of 12 Characteristics Athens flour Kontos Appearance 87 13 Texture 62.5 37.5 Flavor 55.6 44.4 Overall acceptability 7.1 5.4 * 8 panelists evaluated the products An experiment was performed for country fillo dough using different processing technologies. The results of baking products indicate that the product made with the traditional processing (Apollo) was much better than the one made with the Athens processing. Table 5 Sensory evaluation test of Athens vs. “Apollo” country flours made products Preference % of product made with Characteristics Athens flour Apollo Appearance 0 100 Texture 0 100 Flavor 0 100 Overall acceptability 7.2 8.7 After the formula A4, was modified to a new A5, a sensory test was performed of Athens vs. Kontos made products. Both Athens products (A4 and A5) were preferred over the competitor products. Another sensory test was performed in two baked products made by the competitor “Kontos” fillo (12 sheets/lb and 6 sheets/lb) vs. two Athens fillo products (Apollo A4 and Athens). The results indicate that the competitor fillo made product with the thinner dough was preferred over the others (Athens, Apollo and competitor’s thicker fillo dough) as is shown in table 6. Table 6 Sensory preference evaluation test of Kontos vs. Athens and Apollo country fillo made products Overall average grade on a scale of 0 -10 Kontos (12 sheets/lb) 6.7 Page 7 of 12 Kontos (6 sheets / lb) 6.7 Apollo A4 (8 sheets / lb) 6.6 Athens (8 sheets / lb) 5.4 After a formula adjustment, a baking test was performed for preference on selected country fillo product, i.e. A4 and A7 against the competitor. The results as the classification shows ( table7) indicate a first preference for the new product (A7) and third for the competitor considering appearance. The same test indicated first place for the new (A7) product and third place for the competitor considering texture. Finally, the same test classified the new (A7) at first place and the competitor in third place considering flavor. Table 7 Sensory evaluation test* of two Athens (A4 and A7) and a competitor country fillo made products Preference % of product made with Characteristics Kontos flour Apollo A7 Apollo A4 Appearance 11 – 3rd place 11- 1st place 12 – 2nd place Texture 11- 3rd place 9 – 1st place 9 – 2nd place Flavor 9 – 3rd place 10 1st place 12 – 2nd place * Kontos Fillo (7 sheets/lb), Apollo 8 sheets/lb. The numbers in the front of parenthesis indicate the number of panelists shown the appropriate preference for the particular product. Another test of the first experiments (Part A) was performed with dry yeast and baking powder in order to improve the appearance (color) and flavor (taste) of the country fillo made products as they compared to “Kontos” fillo made products in Table 8. The improvement was insignificant in the baking appearance and the taste of baked product and was evaluated in the 3rd place. Table 8 Sensory preference test* of two Athens vs. a competitor country fillo made products Preference % of product made with Characteristics Athens A7 Athens with yeast Page 8 of 12 Kontos Y2 Appearance 2rd place 3st place 1nd place Texture 3rd place 1st place 2nd place Flavor 2rd place 3st place 1nd place Therefore, a final sensory evaluation test on three Athens vs. three competitor country fillo made products indicate that the two competitor products were preferable in appearance than the Athens products in Table 9. Table 9 Appearance evaluation test of three Athens vs. three kontos country fillo made products (cheese pies) 1st Kontos 9 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th X sheets/lb Kontos 6 X sheets/lb Kontos 7 X sheets/lb Athens extruded X Apollo A4 Apollo A7 X X Experimentation – part B After the first experimental Part A and the successful results of country fillo as compared to the competitor product, a second ( Part B) list of experiments were introduced in order to establish in the Athens country fillo a quality equal or even better than the competitor. Thus, the introduction of blending technology (flour replacement with scrap from different processing technology) enhanced the quality of Athens country fillo dough to a point superior to the competitor country fillo. Several formulas were introduced with varied amount of scrap, first, from Athens fillo process operation and secondly from Apollo country fillo. The new Page 9 of 12 technology had a positive impact in significant upgrading the quality of Athens country fillo. By using 30% of Athens scrap in place of flour and some ingredient adjustment, anew formula was optimized to formula B4, which was resulted in country fillo products very competitive to and/or even better than the competitor. According to the preference evaluation test, the new formula B4 showed excellent preference. Table 10 Sensory preference evaluation and grading tests of Athens country fillo dough Products Preference Grade Comments Athens B4 1st 7,9 Excellent Athens B5 2nd 6,8 Very good Athens A4 rd 6,4 good 3 1st and graded as the best (7.9/10) among other Athens formulas, Products made with country fillo of the initial formulas B1 and B2 showed a very competitive performance in quality as compared to competitor, Table 11. Thus, from the results of the Table 11 it is obvious the preference in all the sensory characteristics between the Athens B1 and B2 and the competitor country fillo made products. Kontos had the first preference in appearance while Athens, B2 had the first preference in texture and flavor. The overall grading was almost the same for Athens, B2 and the Kontos (competitor) Table 11 Sensory preferences evaluation test of country fillo dough (Athens B1 & B2 vs. Kontos) Product Preference Grade Appearance 1st Athens 8.2 2nd Texture 3rd x 1st 2nd Flavor 3rd x 1st 2nd 3rd X B2 Kontos 8.3 Athens 7.5 x X x B1 Page 10 of 12 X x X “Kosher” specification problems had to lead the experiments to new test and adjustments which were solved by the introduction of the new formulas “C” which gave products with equal and better quality to the competitor. When both Athens C products evaluated using a Duo-trio difference test ( from 3 samples, 2 were alike (Athens C) A and B and the third one, K (Kontos) different. The results Athens and competitor products, while the majority (75%) preferred samples A and B which were the Athens C country fillo. Table 12 Difference – Preference test* evaluation of Athens C (two samples) and Kontos (sample K) Panelists Samples (alike) Panelists Preference a. 37.5% A–B a. 37.5% A b.50% A–K b. 37.5% B c.12.5% B–K c. 25.5% K Finally, the product – plant implementation created new adjustments for keeping the product quality and cost improvement at the same time. However, the scrap was increased and the previous and the previous formulas were modified to the new formulas “D”, “E”, “F”. After a successful marketing test in several spots of OH, NY and other states of U.S., Canada, and Europe, formula D was adapted as the best ( much better than the competitor) according to several evaluation tests with a diverse ethnic and American group of customers, Table 13. Later on several production tests were conducted in order to optimize the cost without affecting the product quality. Thus, the cost was reduced from $0,40/lb to 0,15/lb by utilizing recycling technologies. Table 13a Preference evaluation for country fillo of Athens vs. kontos Plant workers (diverse ethnic groups 10 people tested) Company Appearance Texture Flavor Grade Athens 90% 80% 70% 8.4 Kontos 0% 20% 30% 7.3 Same 10% 0% 0% Page 11 of 12 Table 13b Preference evaluation for country fillo of Athens vs. kontos Front office personnel (13 people tested) Company Appearance Texture Flavor Grade Athens 84.6% 53.8% 46.2% 7.9 Kontos 15.4% 46.2% 30.8% 7.6 0% 0% 23% Same Table 13c Preference evaluation for country fillo of Athens vs. kontos Plant workers and front office employees 23 people tested) Company Appearance Texture Flavor Grade Athens 87% 60.7% 47.8% 8.0 Kontos 8.7% 39.3% 39.1% 7.7 Same 4.3% 0% 13.1% STRATIGIS APPROACH TO FOOD PRODUCT AND PROCESS DEVELOPMENTR A. STARTING RESEARCH Idea of new product Preliminary Product Analysis B.DESIGN DEVELOPMENT New product acceptance from Market Review New Product Prioritized Promotion Find manager for Handling C. PREPARATION OF PRODUCTION Development of production Determinine product elements Preliminam design of Quality Assurance Product establisment Co-operation design Sample design D. QUALITY PRODUCTION PROGRAM Final quality design E. PRODUCTION – OFFERED PRODUCT Production Control acceptance Storage Page 12 of 12