How can a food business navigate all of the hurdles on the long NPD road to get their new product to market? By calling in the Taste Creators! On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake Podcast, we dive into everything NPD with consultant experts Sarah Fielder and David Neville, who have over 40 years’ experience of helping new foods to hit the shelves.
How can a food business navigate all of the hurdles on the long NPD road to get their new product to market? By calling in the Taste Creators! On this episode of the Oh For Food’s Sake Podcast, we dive into everything NPD with consultant experts Sarah Fielder and David Neville, who have over 40 years’ experience of helping new foods to hit the shelves.
We begin by introducing our special guests and hearing the biggest challenges that they’ve faced in their food careers, with Sarah sharing a bonus lesson on how she says ‘no’ to food products that just won’t work. We then touch on transitions within the food industry as David explains how he went from being a chef to an NPD consultant and Sarah compares working in food to her 5-year stint in nutritional supplements. Towards the end of the episode, the Taste Creators tell us what kinds of brands they support now and how they help them to thrive in a competitive food market.
This episode is an absolute must-listen for anyone who’s involved in NPD, whether you work with a large retailer or are part of a dynamic challenger brand. Please subscribe to the Oh For Food’s Sake Podcast to keep up with our latest episodes and head over to our Facebook or LinkedIn page to let us know what you think.
Timestamps
[0:47] A big warm welcome to this episode’s special guests!
[2:38] Sarah Fielder’s NPD background
[6:27] How David Neville transitioned from being a chef to an NPD consultant
[9:05] The steep learning curve of bringing a new food product to market
[10:35] So, what is Taste Creators?
[13:38] The rise of challenger brands and the roadblocks they encounter on the development journey
[16:04] “It’s such an exciting time in the food industry”
[19:38] Inventing a new stage-and-gate system, bringing in large-scale change: the biggest NPD challenges of Sarah’s career
[20:30] How to say ‘no’
[24:20] Other challenges that Sarah has tackled in her food career
[25:38] Moving from food to nutritional supplements - what are the differences?
[28:48] What you can learn from switching into a different area of the food industry
[32:15] “Developing the unknown”: Keeping your innovation tank full
[34:02] What people love about working with Taste Creators and the different kinds of food they work on
[37:10] The core customers that Taste Creators support
[38:57] What a fresh pair of eyes can bring to your food production business
[39:57] How to get in touch with the Taste Creators
Links and Resources
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For food industry Consulting from Lucy you can find her here on instagram or LinkedIn
See you next time!