Food Trend + Product Development Assessment

Image courtesy of WonderMike Flickr

Assessment for the Food Trend and Product Development Unit

Your Assessment is made up of your:

1. Food Blog
2. Food Product Development Plan
3. Product Pitch Video + Presentation
   
4. Promotional Materials
5. Sample Product and Packaging
   

Start Date:____.
Deadline: _____.

Food Product Development Plan

The Food Product Development Plan is the written strategy of how you will develop your new food product. The plan details the steps you will take to decide, test, create and market your product. The template below is your guide. Please email all questions unanswered in class.

Your Food Product Development Plan document should be an attachment on your blog clearly labeled 'Food Product Development Plan'. In order to be assessed please submit by e-mail in Microsoft Word or PDF format no later than 5 p.m on____. Plans must be limited to 20 pages, NOT including appendices-add them on bound together with your Plan. Plans should be typed double-spaced, 12-point Georgia or Ariel font, one-inch margins, and include:

1. Cover Page (1 page) Product Title, Team Names, Date
   
2. Executive Summary (1 page brief synopsis) Summarize the following:
• Your USP or unique selling point (Can you state it in a 1-2 sentence pitch?)
• Product/service description (Your food innovation!)
• Market description and size (What segment of the population will buy your product? (One paragraph, basic summary of what your market looks like and the size)
• Who are your 'target' customers?
• What if any are the barriers to entry and or competitive advantage of your business?
• Timetable for Product Development (Template timetable hand out/upload.)
  


3. Table of Contents (1 page)
• Page numbers for headings, subheadings, graphs and indexes


4. Product Overview (1 page)
• Product description and business model
• Value proposition (A value proposition is a clear statement of the tangible benefits a customer gets from using your product or service.)


5. Market Analysis/Market Strategy (2-3 pages)
• Market size (How big is the overall market?)
• Target market
1. What segments are you targeting with the product or service you're offering?
2. What is the current and projected market share in numbers?
3. Customer profile and segmentation - demographics and psychographics (the behaviors of your customers-Template Graph)
• Competitive analysis (Who are your competitors? What are their strengths and weaknesses? this is your SWOT analysis use SWOT Template)
• Market plan (What is going to make you stand out from the competition?)
1. Positioning analysis (Explain your position and how you do it better than the competition.)
2. Pricing strategy (Explain your pricing position compared with the competition.)
3. Advertising/promotion plan(where, how, budget)
   
4. Timetable for marketing plan (Template when will you achieve each step?)


6. Product/Service (2-3 pages)
   
• State customer need
• State major feature/benefits/limitations of product or service (what it's all about)
• Supporting information (photos, drawings, etc.)
• Research and development ( what why where when how who when-cost, time requirements, ingredients, sourcing, packaging)
  


7. Social Impact Analysis (1 page)
• Any product sourcing/supply chain impacts
  
• Any environmental practices that may impact include ingredients, manufacture, packaging and waste.
  
• Include preferences for ingredients that are currently unavailable to you, describe how and why they might change your social impact and marketing campaign?
  


8. Mentor (1 page)
• Mentoring with outside experts is encouraged. Please identify mentors and detail their involvement in the development of your food product. Have them give their personal feedback here.
  


9. Appendices (Not counted toward 20 page total-but bound with your Plan)
• Product/service sample brochure/advertisement/etc.
• Market studies/polls
• Articles supporting your product choice
  
• Photographs/illustrations documenting your food product development over project time.
  

Food Product Presentation:

The Product Pitch Video

As part of the marketing module each team will create a video pitch of their Food Product to present in front of the class. Each team will introduce their product by way of the video alongside finished product samples, including any crockery/glasses, packaging and promotional materials.

Ensure to save video on your flash drive with a copy also on your blog. Give it an identifiable tag 'Product Pitch Video'.

A brief three-minute video pitch of your idea allows your team to tell a story. What is your product, how is it made? Who are your target market? Where did you get this product idea? What emotional/mental/physical/health/status/other benefits are gained by your target customers?

Final Product Presentation Guidelines:

• This is not a competition. Each team gets 5 minutes to present their final Food Product, followed by a 5-minute question-and-answer session between the presenting team and the class. Product samples will be placed on the presentation table. Ensure plated foods are clean and free of smears (paper towel.)
  
• Equipment needs: The presentation room will be set up with an LCD projector and video presentations will be loaded via flash drive on the event laptop prior to the start of the first presentation. Special equipment needs should be discussed well ahead.
• Class members will sample each others products after the final team presentation is complete.