A True Team Effort
In recent years, much has been said about opportunities for retailers to partner more closely with suppliers to create unique, differentiating store brand food and beverages. And retail private brand teams would be wise to tap into those opportunities for key products and categories.
But they could be missing other prime partnership opportunities. Many of today’s grocery retailers now employ corporate dietitians and chefs with expertise and insights that could enrich those supplier partnerships — and the entire own-brand product development process.
Experts on nutrition — and more
With health and wellness being today’s overarching trend in food and beverages, bringing retail dietitians into store brand planning efforts makes for a wise decision.
These experts could, for example, advise the product development team on food and nutrition trends to consider, says Diane Quagliani, RDN, LDN, owner of Western Springs, Ill.-based Quagliani Communications Inc., which specializes in food, nutrition and health communications. Those trends, she says, could range from the hottest new “healthful foods and ingredients” to the attributes/ingredients consumers currently are seeking and avoiding.
Karen Buch, RDN, LDN, founder and principal consultant for Harrisburg, Pa.-based Nutrition Connections LLC, agrees, adding that dietitians also can help in “predicting and differentiating between short-term fads and long-range trends.”
Dietitians could recommend “nutrition guardrails,” too — such as the “ideal amount” of whole grains and fiber in a cereal — for new products and explain how upcoming nutrition policies or regulations could impact new product development, Quagliani says.
“For example, an upcoming update to the Nutrition Facts panel on packaged foods will list added sugars for the first time,” she says. “This could influence how much added sugar is used in a new cereal, yogurt or beverage, just to name a few.”
A dietitian also brings a different mindset to the product development process.
“Product development not only hinges on innovation, but also on relevancy,” explains Molly McBride, RD, LD, corporate dietitian for The Kroger Co., Cincinnati. “The dietitian is a desirable addition to the product development process because we excel in relating products to lives.”
Decisions at the shelf increasingly need to consider a customer’s health condition, dietary restrictions, preferences and beliefs, she adds. Dietitians also are able to apply concepts such as evidence-based nutrition for health, food safety and meal preparation to own-brand product development strategies.
Leah McGrath, RD, LDN, corporate dietitian for Asheville, N.C.-based Ingles Markets Inc., agrees, saying that retailers could benefit by recognizing the value of a registered dietitian’s ability to provide not only science- and evidence-based information, but also insights into shopper behavior and preferences.
Although taste is still the No. 1 driver for consumer food and beverage purchases, transparency in terms of ingredients is becoming more important to consumers as well, notes Samantha Montgomery, MS, RD, LDN, corporate dietitian and wellness coach for Pittsburgh-based Giant Eagle Inc.
“Dietitians are able to provide that vetted credentialed backing to whatever claims or pieces or ingredients of that product might be available to the customer,” she adds.
Culinary authorities
Corporate chefs are potentially just as valuable to new product development efforts. And many retailers already rely on these culinary experts to help guide product development in the prepared foods arena.
“Our chefs are crucial in helping us to develop products that are delicious and that provide our customers with an exciting food experience,” notes Melinda Burdette, assistant category manager, prepared foods for Giant Eagle. “This kind of partnership with our chefs transforms [Giant Eagle’s] Market District from a store that sells food into a food destination.”
Erica Smith, product development chef for the Market Street banner, says the hands-on cooking experience the retailer’s chefs have, as well as their understanding of situation-specific application and techniques, helps Market District create “restaurant-quality dishes that are able to translate into the world of prepared foods.”
But as Glenn Terrell, corporate chef for Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery Co., explains, chefs also could work with the category management/buying team “to help spec out and/or source private label items that meet the filters designated for the private label brand,” whether they be clean label, national brand equivalent or something else.
“They should be a resource for the culinary side of the product itself as well regarding taste, texture [and] appearance, as well as application in the home by the customer,” he adds.
Chefs also know how to approach product development with the customer in mind, suggests Mike Merritt, executive chef and director of prepared foods for Buehler’s Fresh Foods, Wooster, Ohio.
“The majority of chefs have passion for creating the best-tasting food to make guests happy,” he says.
Bring them in early
So at what point should dietitians and chefs get involved in the new product development process?
Terrell believes the chef should be brought in very early — at the shopper insights stage — at a high-level view.
“Research and ideation are usually driven from a category standpoint after reviewing shopper insights,” he says. “It is extremely beneficial for the chef to know why exactly we are working on specific products.”
Retailers would be wise to involve the dietitian early in the process as well, McBride suggests.
“All stages of product development can draw from the expertise and contributions of dietitians,” she says. “Initial conception of a unique product idea to implementation on the shelf can lend more credence and consumer acceptability with a dietitian’s input.”
Dietitians, McBride adds, are inclined to look for data and findings that support nutritional goals, making them engaged in the research phase. But they also could help gauge the motives behind customers’ buying behaviors.
“So execution and maintenance of new products would also be a spot in the process [where] we would offer an advantage,” she says.
Work as a team
Of course, retailers’ own-brand teams, store brand suppliers, dietitians and chefs will likely approach new product development from differing standpoints. But with a little effort, they could all work successfully toward the same end goal.
Everyone first needs to understand that each professional has his or her own point of view and areas of expertise, Quagliani notes, but that point of view and expertise likely will not be used 100 percent.
“A dietitian might want a new bread product to be an excellent source of fiber, but it might not work from a taste or textural standpoint,” she says. “Or a chef might want to use certain ingredients that would make the product too costly for the marketplace.”
Montgomery adds that openness, flexibility and a willingness to meet other members of the team halfway are essential to creating a product “the entire company is really comfortable promoting and putting their name on.”
And everyone also should be comfortable stepping slightly out of their roles when it makes sense.
“Dietitians do not need to be considered independent from product development roles such as in procurement, key retailing, branding, category management, etc.,” McBride states. “Registered dietitians do not necessarily have to stick to the job title of ‘dietitian’ in the retail realm — we know food and can drive success even when we wear different hats in the industry.”
Dietitians could even provide feedback during taste-test evaluations, Buch adds.
And let the dietitians and chefs have their say, she says, by tapping into their professional insights.
“To effectively use food, flavor and culinary trend information to develop private brand products, the private brands team must also understand the roots of influence,” Buch stresses. “Without understanding what has prompted current and previous trends to develop — the ‘why’ — it is nearly impossible to predict what is coming next and gain perspective on how long it will endure.”
Finally, clear expectations in relation to the product or line also are critical and need to be communicated to the entire team, Terrell says.
“Explain the reasoning behind the product and establish what each partner on the team is responsible for,” he advises. “Create a standardized process for new product development that involves all pertinent areas of the company to establish ‘buy in’ from a team standpoint.”
Burdette agrees that communication is critical. She adds that it’s also important for someone to be charged with managing all of the information and integrating the various perspectives — “ultimately, directing the product development with a focus set on the end goal: customer satisfaction.”
Don’t stop at product development
Once the end goal is reached in the form of a new store brand product or line, dietitians and chefs also could play a role in product education and marketing.
Dietitians, for example, could advise the team on nutrition-related outreach efforts to customers, Quagliani says, and could develop classes, cooking demonstrations, collateral materials and more. They could review any press and advertising materials for nutrition-related accuracy, too.
And when it comes to education, Buch notes that corporate dietitians are “uniquely positioned” to inform customers about “the health benefits and practical uses” of own-brand food and beverages.
“They frequently develop recipes and conduct nutritional analysis,” she says. “Then they convey recipes and meal solutions via in-store magazines, social posts, television, radio or print interviews, blogging and dedicated health and wellness sections on the retailer’s website. Increasingly, in-store dietitians are highlighting private brands to customers through store tours, cooking classes/demos and product sampling, coupled with nutrition education.”
McBride adds that most dietitians are “inherently strong educators, organizers and communicators.”
Chefs, too, could add value to the education and marketing process. Smith notes that Market District stores offer a number of sampling events and have found them to be effective in engaging customers and getting them to try something new.
“It is important that chefs help to educate store team members about new products so that they are able to then share that information with customers,” she says.
Corporate chefs also have credibility in consumers’ eyes regarding products and product lines, Terrell says.
“When launching new items/product lines in store brands … recipes and application suggestions are of the utmost importance, utilizing print and social media to capture the largest audience possible,” he says.