New Product Development day upskills Welsh food and drink professionals

Welsh food and drink technical professionals have been upskilled in New Product Development (NPD), thanks to the support of a Welsh Government and EU-backed project.

Six technical affiliates, who are embedded in Welsh food and drink companies through the Project HELIX Knowledge Transfer Programme, took part in the NPD day at Cardiff Metropolitan University’s ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre.

During the day, the affiliates learnt about the best practice Stage Gate process for New Product Development, how to create a Quality Attribute Sheet (QAS) to evaluate product quality, and utilising food and drink trends and consumer insights to create product ideas. 

Speaking about the importance of the Stage Gate process, Sarah Robson, Senior NPD Technologist at ZERO2FIVE, said:

"It's essentially a checklist to make sure that all the correct steps are taken to develop a successful product from concept to launch; to ensure sure that it's safe, it's legal and it's good quality."

As well as learning the theory of NPD, the affiliates put their knowledge into practice by developing a set of savoury and sweet retro vol au vents in ZERO2FIVE’s development kitchens. The affiliates presented their final products to a panel of judges with the winning concept being “Retro School Dinner” vol au vents, which were filled with sausage, mash and onion gravy, and fruit trifle. 

Speaking about the day, Fran Lewis, technical affiliate at Cradoc’s Savoury Biscuits and Capital Cuisine, said:

“It's been a fabulous mix of theory with a brilliant overview of all the main elements to consider when looking at NPD. It's given me lots of ideas for continuous improvement.”

Beth Benynon, a technical affiliate based at Fablas Ice Cream, added:

"It's been really nice to get my creative brain going. It's also been great to meet the other affiliates and learn about their experiences.”

Sarah Robson added:

"As well as the mentoring and training, it's been about the affiliates building a support network for each other. They've been well up for today and came up with some really good ideas. It's been really nice to watch.”

 Helen Taylor, Technical Director of ZERO2FIVE, commented on the day:

“Innovation, creativity and product development are fundamental to the success and growth of the food and drink sector in Wales. This opportunity has enabled best practice to be shared with the SMEs and their supply chains.”

The Project HELIX Knowledge Transfer Programme, which is delivered by ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre at Cardiff Metropolitan University, employs part-funded technical or sales and marketing affiliates and embeds them within Welsh food and drink manufacturers for at least a year with full support from ZERO2FIVE.

Project HELIX’s Knowledge Transfer Programme is funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.

To find out more about the Project HELIX Knowledge Transfer Programme, visit here.