New Product Development at Heinz Wattie's
What else does Product Development do?
Tenders for new business
When Heinz Wattie's are asked to tender for business, the Product Development team is involved from the start. These tenders range from supermarket house brand products to quick serve (or fast food) restaurant chain products for customers. The team needs to decide if it is feasible to do the products in question and cost them as quickly as possible. Frequently they are only given two weeks to get the costing and samples back to the customer.
Cost Reduction on existing products
Product Development teams also do cost reduction projects. The challenge is to reduce cost without affecting product quality and it is generally not easy. There are a few ways to reduce cost:
- Ingredient reduction or cheaper ingredients
- Improve efficiency in the factory
- Make products simpler to make, thereby reducing waste and saving preparation time.
Reformulation on existing products
Existing products sometimes need reformulation for many reasons. These can include:
- to make products more consumer-friendly – such as by removing MSG
- to meet new food regulations – such as the 2002 Food Standard Code requirement for 40% fruit in jam
- to improve quality
- to reduce cost
- to use new or improved ingredients
Troubleshooting
Even after products are handed over to manufacturing, the Product Development team is still responsible for the products they develop. They are available at any time for production to call to help solve problems with recipes for products. It is not unusual for Product Development staff to get a phone call out of working hours to help solve issues like:
- products that differ from the specifications – for example, they might be too thin, too thick
- delays – how long can a product be held in production before it must be packed, especially if there has been a breakdown on the line
- problems with achieving the right weights in a can.
They do their best to solve issues out of hours over the phone but will come in if necessary – it is not always easy to think of a sensible answer at 2am!
Shortages
If there are problems with supply of ingredients or products – such as not enough frozen carrots or recent frosts affecting peach supply – the Product Development team helps to find solutions. In the case of frozen carrots, they may be able to use fresh. When Heinz Wattie'sneeds to import canned fruit to replace shortfalls, the Product Development team write a specification for the product required and assesses samples from external suppliers.
Product transfers
The Heinz Wattie's Product Development team is also involved in transfer projects. Transfers can be from one site in the factory to another, on to an existing production line or a new purpose-built one, or the moving of an existing production line from factory to factory.
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