Research area

Innovation and product development

To make progress in today's tough competitive situation, those involved in the food industry must focus on new ventures and innovation to an ever increasing extent. A focus on innovation is one of the most vital tools for increasing competitiveness and value creation in the food sector.

Innovation often occurs in the interaction between different players and at the point of contact between different technical areas and industries.

A tasty brew

We have consultants who can help you through the whole innovation process from generating and developing ideas to concept description and development of the finished product. We can access competence in many different areas, and we can put together a team to suit the issues involved.  
                                                  
During the innovation process, our innovators work closely with the customer and other specialists at Nofima and from our other professional and technical networks. We can all work together to create a tasty brew. This will be made up of ingredients that suit the needs of the target group, whether they be healthy food, taste, colour, design or packaging solutions.

Trends

The life cycle of a product in the food industry today is 15 years shorter than it was 20 years ago. The industry must adapt to new trends such as health and environmental issues. This offers opportunities for developing and marketing many new products. Product development is also a result of the influence of the supermarket chains. The fight for shelf space and consumer attention means that suppliers must present product ranges that safeguard both stability and renewal. Developing new products and concepts involves taking risks. Nofima Mat is therefore anxious to find the factors and methods that can increase the success rate of new developments.

There are various models available for working on innovation and product development. In our work we seek to meet the needs of the consumer with what is technologically possible and commercially profitable.

Innovation and Product development Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Innovation and Product development

Creative prosesses Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Creative prosesses

Consumer studies Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Consumer studies

Eating situation Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Eating situation

Mealtime solutions Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Mealtime solutions

Competitor analysis Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Competitor analysis

Sales channels Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Sales channels

Product profile Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Product profile

Pilot production Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Pilot production

Partners Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

Partners

The innovators Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

The innovators

The Brewery Copyright: Trine V. Håbjørg

The Brewery

Relevant news

Contact

Person

 

Research area within Innovation and product development

Innovators

The innovators

The innovators - the people who brew up new ideas - have extensive experience in helping the food industry with innovation and product development. During an innovation process, our innovators work closely with the customer and other Nofima professionals, so that we can tailor products and solutions together. This happens in our ideas laboratory Bryggeriet (The Brewery).

Collaborating partners

Partners

Relationships between different principals can lead to increased value creation for all parties. If you want to develop a health product, for example, you should be in close contact with nutritional experts. Nofima Mat can connect you with the professional circles that are needed for your project.

Competitor analysis

Competitor analysis

Analyse your competition situation. When your company begins an innovation process, you must allow time to carry out an analysis of the competition. Find out who your competitors are and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Creative processes

Creative prosesses

We inspire and guide you to think in creative, new and at the same time structured ways in your innovation process. This may be connected with developing a new product or a new meal. It might be to find new target groups or sales channels or new and unconventional partners.

Eating situation

Eating situation

What the product should be like depends on the eating situation and target group. Will it be eaten by a country road or on Saturday night? In the car, on an aircraft, at work, at school, at the dinner table or on the sofa?

Mealtime solutions

Mealtime solutions

Consumers don't only eat individual products, they eat meals. The structure of mealtimes is changing completely. The three main meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner are losing out in favour of smaller and more frequent meals throughout the day. Some of these are eaten outside the home. In some European countries people already eat as many meals outside the home as in it.

Pilot production

Pilot production

How do you get from product idea to recipes and prototypes? We have equipment and premises for trial production. That means you don't need to interrupt production at your own premises.

Product presentation

Product profile

Product profile is developed once the user profile has been set. You know who your target groups are. Now the product is given a profile that meets the customer's needs.

Sales channels

Sales channels

It is vital to consider new food trends and developments in people's eating patterns when choosing sales channels for the launch of new products. It is important to know the different sales channels, and it is equally important to know how to exploit their potential.

The Brewery

The Brewery

Bryggeriet is our creative ideas laboratory. Its name translates as The Brewery and it is where we want to stimulate the creative senses. The room is filled with aids to inspire for innovation and product development, including smartboard, mentometer buttons and advanced computer equipment that enables the use of sound and images in an inspiring way.

Who is the customer?

Consumer studies

There is a whole range of qualitative and quantitative methods for finding out more about your customer. Which method you should use depends on what you are going to use the information for. By working with our consumer researchers we can tailormake a study that suits what you need to know.