Communication is the key ingredient in the NPD process

Ingredients manufacturers need to play a more direct role in the new product development (NPD) process, especially where functional foods are concerned, according to a leading supplier of omega-3s.

Speaking at Food Manufacture's The Future of Functional Foods conference last month, Nu-Mega Ingredients business developer and regional director Jerry Luff said recent research conducted by Frost & Sullivan suggested that 70% of manufacturers now expected support from ingredients suppliers when they developed foods using omega-3s.

This compared to 40% wanting this kind of support for more standard products, he said, referring to a Mintel survey conducted in 2004.

It is the supplier's responsibility to identify the application parameters of a product and to evaluate the feasibility of a manufacturer's concept, he insisted. "A direct approach shouldn't be a benefit offered to processors, it's a fundamental criterion."

David Jones, md of ingredients supplier Edlong flavours, says demand from customers for more input on product development has forced his business to up its game, with processors now effectively outsourcing NPD: "We've had to change our approach, otherwise, we'd have been stamped on. Seven out of 10 briefs received from customers -- and I'm talking about the big boys here -- are saying: 'Come to us with something innovative'."

While many suppliers sent manufacturers samples and encouraged them to 'have a little play', Edlong prefers to run flavour classes for buyers and potential customers, he adds. "Our techie guys spend about two to three hours illustrating to manufacturers how flavours interact with food."

Suppliers need to funnel information to manufacturers that are not always clear on what is being offered, adds Neil Arvanitis, new product developer at drinks firm Histogram. "If, for example, you are creating an all-natural product, you need an ingredient that fits the bill. It's all very well a supplier painting it in gold and brushing over the details, but if you find out later that the ingredient isn't natural, then you look like an idiot.

"Sometimes you also need a technologist to show you how to work the damn thing!"