New Product Development Process

Stage 1 Research/Planning/Concept Generation Create target and evaluate potential areas, which may benefit through new product development, in conjunction with the customer Evaluation of potential for new sales/upgrades and increased sales Suppliers/Customer origination of ideas through: Brainstorming Market Information Raw Material Supplier information Blue sky projects Range Strategy Brief Development Technologist to identify food market and customer trends by Comparative shopping Attending food shows and exhibitions Attending customers/Scottish Enterprise workshops Eating out and collecting menus Travelling Reading trend reports Presentation from ingredient suppliers Reading/collecting weekend newspaper articles on food/restaurants Before commencing kitchen development the following What is the reasoning behind developing this product? Why does or would the customers want this product? What will it achieve/objectives? Who is the consumer? What is the Eating Occasion? Agree date with customer for initial product presentation: Stage Gate 2 The list of product ideas. Stage 2 Kitchen Development Product samples to be generated in the kitchen with the main emphasis on flavour, texture and visual appearance. The aim is to create products, which meet the brief/brand values and present at the internal presentation Initial recipe to be generated with kitchen method. Each recipe to be given a recipe code, this code must change if an amendment is made to the recipe and the amendment documented. If using non-standard ingredients these must be sourced from appropriate supplier and initial cost/specification to be requested. Ensure ingredient/packaging readily available or highlight lead-times or potential issues with supply. Ingredient should have provenance as well as quality. Stage 3 Internal Presentation Kitchen developed products are to be presented to key representatives within the company. Representatives from commercial, production, buyers and technical should be present. Products to be presented in terms of:

Recipe formulation/visual and taste samples should be available. Proposed packaging Costing Cooking method Following comments at the internal review then product alterations to be made and the revised products are to be shown to the customer Guideline cooking instructions to be generated Begin preparation of the presentation documentation/sample submission form for the Gate 2 meeting.

Stage 4 Customer Presentation: Gate 2 The list of product ideas The commercial Manager, Development Manager and the Development Technologist to present the product to the customer. Taste and visual samples to be available. All products presented to be accompanied by a sample submission form. Development Technologist to work with Systems Co-ordinator to complete form. Costing information to be provided by the Commercial Manager. Products presented to be in the proposed packaging format. All samples submitted to be clearly labelled with product Name/Description, Pack Weight, Cooking Instructions, Production Date & Use By Date. Adjustments on products to be carried out in response to comments from the customer. All changes must be documented by the Development Technologist on the Recipe/Formulation sheet and on the project snag list. Final recipe and the approved kitchen product to be frozen and photographed for reference The Benchmark! Stage Gate 3 and 4 meeting and launch date gate 6 to be confirmed. Stage 5 Product Briefing/Trial Planning Development Technologist to show the product to representatives from production, technical, engineering and discuss the best way to manufacture the product in the factory. Approved product to be inserted on to critical Path and agreed trail dates to be documented and communicated to customer. Bill of materials to be sent to buyers Raw material suppliers to be sent a Raw Material Questionnaire and a supplier questionnaire for the new ingredients to be requested. Confirm costing, lead times, method of transport, delivery/production schedule, minimum order any potential issues supplier status are they M&S approved. New Product Information sheet to be placed at the front of the file and completed when an activity has been action. This is a checklist to ensure all activities are completed on time. Stage 6 Weekly NPD Meeting/Review All products in any stage of the development process to be reviewed and discussed at the weekly meeting at which representatives from development, technical, production, purchasing and planning attend. The Development Manager or Development Technologist to chair the meeting and record minutes.

Stage 7 Factory Trials The approved kitchen product is trialed in the factory to establish feasibility in terms of: Demonstrating that the initial samples can be matched in the factory, with actual ingredients and that they meet specification in terms of overall product safety and quality. Shelf life Process ability/time take/cost of manufacture/yields Potential issues/problems The number of trials required will depend on the complexity of the individual product Requirements: Product to be as close as possible to the final intended product using industrial sources of ingredients. All raw materials/suppliers to be approved by the Technical Department for use in the product. At each factory trial development, technical and production representatives must be present. Product made in the manufacturing environment is required for shelf life (organoleptic and microbiological), nutritional analysis, photography for artwork, and verification of cooking instructions. Factory trails may result in the alteration of method and/or formulation of the product. This is to be discussed and reviewed at the weekly NPD meeting.

Stage 8 Factory Trail Procedure Date of Factory Trails to be agreed at NPD meeting and detailed on the Critical Path. Dates to be forwarded to M&S The following action points to be actioned by the Development Technologist the day prior to the trial: Confirm factory personnel and agreed timescales. Inform all relevant personnel. All non-standard ingredients to be ordered and delivered at least one day prior to trial commencing. All ingredients should be purchased to required quality standard and spec. Butchery Manager/Supervisor to be advised of meat requirements. Butchery request/order form to be completed. Quality of raw materials to be checked prior to trial commencing. Issue development recipe with correct batch sizes minimum 30 packs and a provisional method to relevant personnel. Note All development recipes to be clearly identified as such and should not be used by production. Development recipes to be coded so if there is any amendments to be made the product can be tracked back. Development technologist to produce kitchen sample of the product that will be replicated in the factory.

The following action points to be actioned by the Development Technologist on the day of the factory trail: Factory trail to be carried out with production manager/supervisor and technical representative present. Development Technologist to attend the 1st trail. The following information is to be obtained from the trail: Confirmation of factory processing method Timing of process steps e.g. cooking of onions and line speeds Yields of any processing steps Individual components and final pack weights Confirmation of travel test Critical processing temperatures Any modifications required to recipe/method Highlight any potential issues which may cause a delay to the launch date The Development Technologist must ensure that samples from the factory trail samples are collected for: Microbiological shelf life testing in conjunction with Technical Organoleptic testing Through life testing Freezer trails domestic and cold store Customer approval samples/travel test Photography standard Photography for artwork when requested Nutritional analysis once approved by customer Cooking Instruction trails From the factory trail the following needs to be actioned (customer approval required in some instances) A report detailing the comments and actions to be taken following the factory trail. This should be distributed to relevant personnel. New updated recipe with production methods, yields and timings to be drafted with new code and issued to the Technical Department and issued to the technical department together with the 3p document so that specification can be generated. Copy of amendments to be given to Cost Accountant to update costing. Al documentation to be placed in the product file. Confirmation on QUID and approval from Technical Department. Samples for nutritional analysis should be taken from the start, middle and end of the factory trial production run. 3 samples required for nutritional analysis. Analysis will take 10 working 10 to complete. Nutritional results to be approved by the Technical before being entered into the 3p document. Product from factory trail to be eaten against kitchen benchmark sample and any changes that need to be made or improvements required are to be documented. The development technologist to coordinate the panel. Shelf life tasting should be set up and documented by the Development Technologist. Products should be labelled with date of pack and then stored in a domestic fridge. Each date the product should be taken out of the fridge and cooked according to the

cooking instructions. Product should be assessed in the raw and cooked state. The product should be assessed in terms of odour, flavour, texture, and visual appearance. Details should be recorded on the taste panel/shelf life sheet. A copy of the results to be kept in the Product File. Contact the Customer Technologist/Selector and inform them when they will receive the factory trail samples. Approval to be received prior to sending the products out for nutritional analysis and proceeding to the next stage in the NPD process. Product from the factory trail should be used to establish the cooking instructions. All appropriate cooking methods should be evaluated e.g. gas, electric, fan assisted, grill, fry, microwave, barbecue. The results should be recorded on the cooking trial report; pack weight start temperature and final temperature in middle and edges should be recorded along with times. Each cooking method should be tested for a minimum of 3 times prior to completing the recommended cooking instructions for the packaging. Cooking from frozen should also be assessed. Freezer trails should be carried out. 5 samples to be placed in the domestic freezer to test the suitability for customer freezing. Product to be removed from freezer after 1 month and defrosted in a domestic fridge and assessed in terms of aroma, texture flavour and appearance. Results to be recorded and documented. Samples ex-freezer to be sent to customer on request. Technical with the assistance to Development Technologist to risk assess the product and document the HACCP. Product quality standards to be generated and criteria set. Photographic standards to be generated of acceptable and unacceptable product for use on the production lines.

Stage 9 Pre Production Trail This is the final trail before launch. Requirements Pre Production trail to be held ideally two weeks before the launch date Product to be manufactured on the intended shift on which the product will be made so personnel can be trained. Product to follow the complete manufacturing process up to despatch. All new machinery to be available for the actual intended production The batch sizes to be similar to those that the factory intends to produce when the product is launched Actual packaging to be used where possible sleeve/labels. Factory recipe/methods to be taken from product specification Samples to be submitted to the customer for final approval No amendments to be carried out to the product between preproduction and the launch unless additional trails are carried out. Specification to be written prior to pre-production trail and verified during the trail. Pre-Production Procedure

Follow same procedure as the factory trail where applicable. In addition all components of the completed product to be correct i.e. sources of ingredients, actual packaging, machinery to be used, production personnel.

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Pre Launch Meeting Commercial Manager to advise on launch volumes and issue information to relevant personnel Technical to advise on product life as agreed with customer technologist All relevant documentation for product to have been generated and issued to the factory e.g. final spec including HACCP, raw material and packaging specifications, taste criteria, tick sheets etc Launch

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Samples from launch to be sent to customer Development Technologist to be present to oversee the launch Final product to be tasted against approved benchmark sample and physical library samples to be kept.
Post Launch Review Development Technologist to review the product initially daily after launch for first week then weekly for 1-month period. Any issues to be highlighted at the NPD meeting.

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