Food Innovation

Overview

Reasons for new product development; theory of new product development; stages in the product development process from idea generation to test marketing and commercialisation; specifications including allergen declaration; food labelling; functional foods; marketing, packaging and visual merchandising; internal and external factors

affecting food choice; interventions to change food behaviours and use of market research (e.g. consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours around food research by FSA); sustainability; application of sensory evaluation in NPD; kitchen and consumer trials

Learning Objectives

LO1: Understand socio-cultural and individual factors in the formation of food consumer knowledge, attitudes, intention and behaviour.


LO2: Analyse how behavioural theories can be applied to understand consumer food choices and to design interventions that effectively change food behaviours.

LO3: Evaluate the importance of marketing strategies and packaging design in influencing consumer food choices and purchasing behaviour.

LO4: Apply creative thinking techniques to the stages of the food product development process in order to generate an innovative and commercially viable food product concept.

LO5: Implement the processes and stages required to develop a new food product to meet consumer needs and wants and sustainability and health challenges

Skills

1) Research and information interpretation (Essay, group case study report)
2) Written communication (Essay, group case study report and examination)
3) Oral communication (Oral discussion in lectures and tutorials and showcase of group product concept developed during kitchen trials)
4) Creativity (Kitchen trials and group case study)
5) Problem solving (Kitchen trials and group case study)
6) Resilience (Kitchen trials and group case study)
7) Leadership and Teamwork (Group case study, tutorials)
8) Reflective practice (Group case study)

Assessment