Small food firms ‘are best’ at new product innovation

19-Aug-2012 - Last updated on 28-Sep-2021 at 10:14 GMT

Small-scale food manufacturers are best at new product innovation, claims Neil Houghton, general manager of Mash Direct.

Houghton told FoodManufacture.co.uk that small firms are more agile than larger companies, better able to harness the ideas of the whole workforce and are able to deliver innovation more cost effectively.

The launch of Mash Direct’s BBQ-friendly potato cakes proved that small teams can deliver innovation quickly to a tight budget, he said. Developing the new product at the firm’s Northern Ireland factory took less than 10 weeks.

Food Manufacturing Excellence Award

To find out how winning a Food Manufacturing Excellence Award (FMEA) boosted Mash Direct’s business click here. For more about the FMEAs, click here.

Watch out for our profile of Houghton in the Me and My Factory feature to be published in the October edition of our sister title Food Manufacture, click here.

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