EU researchers develop tools to promote novel food potential
A toolbox designed to help food businesses communicate the benefits of their innovations to stakeholders and consumers alike has been developed by EU-funded researchers. The toolkit is based on the findings of the EU-funded CONNECT4ACTION project, which since 2011 has tried to find new ways of promoting the benefits of novel food. The toolbox consists of seven modules – available on the project website – plus a discussion forum. The tools include a set of recommendations, which summarise the outcomes of all the work undertaken and have been tailored for the various stages of novel technology and product development. The online kit also includes a set of training modules targeted at young academics and industry professionals along with concrete examples of communication strategies used by food companies during the innovation process. There is also a glossary of definitions, which has been established to create a shared understanding between different disciplines of frequently used terms. Taken together, these tools aim to guide food companies towards producing a technology- or product-specific communication plan. By improving communication techniques, higher levels of commercialisation can be achieved, providing an important boost to the food sector. This is an important issue. Between 70 and 80 % of new food innovations introduced in Europe currently fail. This represents not only wasted investment – especially critical at a time of ongoing economic difficulty – but also a missed opportunity to develop new solutions to tackle pressing health and environmental issues. It also means that Europe is losing out in a global competitive environment. The CONNECT4ACTION project, which has received nearly EUR 1 million in EU funding, began by trying to gain a better understanding of the needs and preferences of consumers, in order to better reflect these in the development and commercialisation of new food technologies. Researchers also sought to identify barriers to consumer acceptance of novel food technologies, and undertook two comprehensive reviews of existing literature on the subject. The first review focused on internal communication (between different departments such as R&D and marketing) while the second looked at external communication (targeted at end consumers and the public, but also other stakeholders such as retailers and policy makers). By analysing existing communication strategies and conducting interviews and workshops with experts, the project was able to develop the recently published set of tools and training materials designed to improve communication. CONNECT4ACTION researchers also developed a web-based platform to bring together food scientists and technologists from companies, universities and research institutes along with consumer scientists, journalists and consumers. This online community has helped to strengthen the project with input and feedback during various stages. This has also served as showcase for improved communication. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of November 2014. For further information, please visit: CONNECT4ACTION http://connect4action.eu/index.php
Countries
Netherlands