Innovating to create a new food product

Food innovation is a paradox, for while the human species has based its development on the omnivorous nature of its diet, it is its distrust of all new foods that has enabled it to protect itself from poisons. So how do we innovate?

We propose here a number of avenues for innovation, and an approach to developing them. We show that it is possible to pursue the creation of new products, while respecting the constraints imposed by this paradox.

The creation of a food product is generally initiated :

• or through R&D (work on product formulation or production processes);

• or by a marketing or sales department.

In this sheet, we propose a tool that is both a guide for evaluating a first product concept and a support for the search for new ideas. Its use should also facilitate the exchange of knowledge between players in different departments of the company – marketing, R&D, sales, quality, production – and help increase the innovativeness of the products developed.