There are fundamentally three “forces” within a business which can contribute to significant changes in its products, efficiency and profitability. Marketing Manufacturing Research and Development It is arguable that finance is a fourth dimension, but in this context the role of finance is often more about evaluating rather than identifying opportunity. However that department can have …
Category Archive: Innovation
Feb 19
Alternatives to Dairy Ingredients in Confectionery
There are now a number of ingredients which are used as alternatives to dairy products in confectionery. However many of them are essentially non-functional, whilst they provide a bulking agent and a label claim, they do little or nothing to replicate the flavours and textures normally associated with dairy ingredients A series of new technical developments …
Feb 08
Project Film
A major American healthcare company wants to extend its range of VMS products into more adult markets I have investigated the buccal and lingual film based products including suppliers and manufacturers on their behalf and recommended potential partners
Apr 04
Cocoa and the Environment
Further Thoughts on Cocoa and the Environment In my previous article, I raised questions about our industry’s continuing devotion to the concept of “100% Cocoa Ingredients”. In this I suggested that as over 80% of cocoa bean is fundamentally used for the production of cocoa butter then the time had come to challenge whether the …
Apr 04
Serious about Sustainability?
Serious about Sustainability? There has been a debate about the sustainability of many aspects of the confectionery business and in particular about Cocoa. However, none of these has actually asked the most significant question – why do we continue to grow large amounts of cocoa for cocoa butter production when technology has for many years …
Jan 16
Where will we be in 5 years time?
Where will be in 5 year’s time? Most small and medium sized confectionery businesses worry about where they will be in one year’s time, let alone crystal gazing for the future However, the future is important because if we do not understand and anticipate future trends then we will be left with a redundant business …
Jan 16
Understanding and Monitoring your Manufacturing Processes
Understanding and Monitoring your Manufacturing Process There are two core issues which are essential for any business:- • Produce a consistent, high quality product which meets the consumer’s needs • Ensure that operations are functioning within their cost limits and that opportunities for improvement are constantly sought. Every business is under a pressure of one …
Feb 13
Innovation – a vital tool for growth
The major businesses in our industry seem to have completely ceased to produce innovative new products – I’m sorry but putting a different biscuit in a chocolate bar or salt in a caramel is not innovation, at best it’s line extension. Effort and resources seem to be devoted solely to reducing costs, possibly to cover …
Jul 11
Innovative Ideas from a conservative industry
Interesting Ideas from Champagne Champagne is a huge product dominated by a number of large companies but there are also many smaller, less well known producers who have to compete in order to grow and flourish – sounds familiar? To many people “Champagne” is a generic product but this is far from true and the …
Aug 01
The Importance of New Product Development
New Product Development – a Vital Component No company can rely on mature products for its future. The commonly accepted ratio in FMCG is that at least 30% of your sales should be from products less than 3 years old. Almost without exception, therefore, companies in an innovative and exciting business like confectionery should be …