Successful New Products Start with a Brief

Business News Wales

20-06-2025

New products are the lifeblood of the food industry. 'New' is one of the best on pack messages to encourage shoppers to buy. Successful new products have kick-started and transformed food businesses.
But if you watch Channel 4's Grand Designs, you probably know what happens when a house build starts and the plan is a bit vague, the budget isn't confirmed and there doesn't appear to be an architect involved. It usually ends up with ad hoc decisions, lots of tears, a massive overspend and the family living in a caravan for much longer than they wanted.
Apart from the caravan, the consequences of starting a product development project without a brief are probably similar.
During my career I've being involved in launching more than 1,000 new products including own label ranges at Tesco, branded products at McVitie's and supporting client businesses to launch their products. The larger companies have very structured and robust new product development (NPD) processes, which usually start with a very comprehensive product brief. At Tesco this was one of my responsibilities and in my group, with suppliers' support we would launch around 350 new products a year.
Despite having NPD briefs, I've been involved in a number of NPD failures. A brief is no guarantee of a successful product launch, but the absence of one significantly increases the likelihood of failure.
Bringing new products to market can be time consuming and costly. This sounds harsh, but it is irresponsible to start an NPD project without a formal and robust brief.
The real benefit of a brief is that writing it ensures that some thought has been given to the purpose and requirements of the product. A brief helps to clarify thinking, to bring colleagues from different functions together and hopefully avoid costly mid-project changes.
At ZERO2FIVE Food Industry Centre we use a comprehensive, seven-page NPD briefing document. This contains sections and questions to ensure adequate thought and research is put into writing the brief. It's better to agree requirements such as maximum retail price and allergens to avoid at the briefing stage rather than after the recipe has been signed off.
We run workshops to support clients to complete NPD briefs and below are some of the suggestions from the workshop:
Market and consumer insights- include a summary of market and consumer insights that have informed the new product idea. Define the proposition- include reasons why both the consumer and trade partner would want to buy this new product. What's different and what's better than competitors' products?
include reasons why both the consumer and trade partner would want to buy this new product. What's different and what's better than competitors' products? Team effort- involve all relevant colleagues to contribute to the brief. They will feel more invested in the project and their expertise will make the brief better. For example, if the sales team require a 50% trade margin to gain listings, this should be built into the product costings from day one.
involve all relevant colleagues to contribute to the brief. They will feel more invested in the project and their expertise will make the brief better. For example, if the sales team require a 50% trade margin to gain listings, this should be built into the product costings from day one. Set clear benchmarks- there are likely to be some mandatory requirements for the product to have a chance of succeeding. This could be out-scoring competitors on key sensory measures, meeting internal margin requirements, having a minimum shelf life etc.
there are likely to be some mandatory requirements for the product to have a chance of succeeding. This could be out-scoring competitors on key sensory measures, meeting internal margin requirements, having a minimum shelf life etc. Be realistic- this is particularly important when setting time scales and financials. Very few NPD projects could be launched earlier than they are and even fewer deliver better margins than expected. In my experience, costs and timings rarely improve during the course of a product development project.
this is particularly important when setting time scales and financials. Very few NPD projects could be launched earlier than they are and even fewer deliver better margins than expected. In my experience, costs and timings rarely improve during the course of a product development project. Focus on the details- a good brief will focus minds and avoid the mid project changes that often delay launches and cost money. For example, specifying in the brief that Shelf Ready Packaging (SRP) is required may seem trivial nine months before launch, but a late request for SRP can reduce margins, change pallet configurations, result in a poorly designed solution and delay the launch.
a good brief will focus minds and avoid the mid project changes that often delay launches and cost money. For example, specifying in the brief that Shelf Ready Packaging (SRP) is required may seem trivial nine months before launch, but a late request for SRP can reduce margins, change pallet configurations, result in a poorly designed solution and delay the launch. Director level buy-in- having senior colleagues approve an NPD brief is important. This can also help to avoid senior colleagues interfering during the development process.
having senior colleagues approve an NPD brief is important. This can also help to avoid senior colleagues interfering during the development process. Minimise changes to the brief- although changes to a brief are almost inevitable, if a senior colleague has to sign off amendments it will encourage colleagues to get it right at the first attempt.
During the process it is essential to refer to the current (and original) version of the brief. This avoids mission creep and the proposed new 'six pack of organic sourdough rolls for £2.50' becoming 'a four pack of white burger rolls for £2.90'. Through the Welsh Government's HELIX Programme, we're running a series of New Product Development workshops for Welsh food and drink manufacturers in June and July. More details are available here: Training and events – ZERO2FIVE