Decomposition analysis and consumer research as essential elements of the new food product development process
Abstract
Purpose
Due to fast changes in consumer demands and expectations, developing and introducing new products have become a necessity for the food companies in order to survive on the competitive market. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the usefulness of decomposition analysis in combination with consumer research in the new food product development process.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey concerning nutritional habits of consumers based on 339 respondents and an analysis of the sensory and nutritional properties of products available on the market have been performed.
Findings
It has been indicated that owing to the proposed research methods, a niche in the market can be found. It was found that products currently available on the market do not fully fulfil the essential nutritional and/or sensory criteria.
Practical implications
The set of methods used in the study provides a valuable input into the new food product development process. The results of the research show that a company that will deliver a low-caloric bakery savoury snack of high nutritional quality and successfully present its properties to customers may gain a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The topic is relatively new. Other studies focus on complex methods, whereas this research investigates the usefulness of a set of simple but effective tools that can be used in the new food product development process.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research was subsidised by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education – grant for the maintenance of the research potential awarded to the Faculty of Commodity Science of the Cracow University of Economics.
Citation
Halagarda, M. (2017), "Decomposition analysis and consumer research as essential elements of the new food product development process", British Food Journal, Vol. 119 No. 3, pp. 511-526. https://doi.org/10.1108/BFJ-07-2016-0338
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited