IFMA and Stage-Gate International Define Winning in Foodservice Innovation

CHICAGO, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The pressures of increasing sales and generating better profits from new products have never been greater in foodservice than they are today. As a result, the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) and Stage-Gate International developed Foodservice New Product Development Process: Performance Benchmarks, a first-of-its-kind research report highlighting the performance and best practices in product innovation, specific to the foodservice industry.

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Foodservice New Product Development Process: Performance Benchmarks provides insight on the state of innovation within the foodservice industry and presents analysis on the best practices separating the best performers from the worst in various areas, including product innovation process, gatekeeping and governance, as well as detailing the import role of collaboration. With data from more than 100 companies across 55 variables, it is the ultimate resource for new product development in the foodservice industry.

"The foodservice industry's top performing businesses enjoy consistent, above-average new product performance – better sales, profits and commercial launches. We uncovered a success formula that links these top performers regardless of their size or new product strategy (branded or custom products)," said Dr. Scott Edgett, author of the report and CEO/co-founder of Stage-Gate International.

The report was developed as part of the second phase of The Center of Innovation Excellence (CIE), which focused on increasing understanding of innovation best practices in foodservice and identifying benchmarks for success that can be utilized throughout the industry. CIE is the product of IFMA and Stage-Gate International's partnership to provide IFMA members, their customers and all trading partners with a deeper understanding of the drivers of new product success that are unique to foodservice.

"By establishing external benchmarks for comparison, companies can develop informed opinions on the performances of their processes and how they can improve. This report, as well as the rest of the work being conducted through CIE, will serve as a useful tool for IFMA members and throughout the foodservice industry," said Jim Green, Vice President of Strategy and Member Value at IFMA.  

Key features of the report:

Measuring Innovation Performance: Get a clear view in to how organizations are performing with respect to new products, covering 18 metrics spanning the project level and the business level.

Best Practices that Drive New Product Success in Foodservice: Explore an in-depth analysis of the 18 key front-end activities that are critical to new product success and the 12 key elements that drive effective decision-making.

The Positive Impact of Manufacturer/Operator Collaboration: Discover the most important factors for successful manufacturer/operator collaboration and learn what practices increase the chances of product innovation success.

Foodservice New Product Development Process: Performance Benchmarks is now available for purchase. IFMA Members receive discounted pricing. Click here to learn more and purchase the report.

For more information on The Center of Innovation Excellence, please visit ifmaworld.com or contact Lisa Ptak at [email protected] or 312-253-4690.

CIE Members
This research and reporting could not be conducted without the help of the CIE Founding Members, a diverse group of forward-thinking IFMA Manufacturer Members and leading operators, including Aryzta (Otis Spunkmeyer), The Bama Companies Inc., Barilla America, Inc., Basic American Foods, Bunge Oils, C.H. Guenther & Son, Inc. Pioneer Flour Mill, Coca-Cola Foodservice & On-Premise, ConAgra Foods/Lamb Weston, CSM Bakery Products, The Dannon Company, FoodHandler, Inc., General Mills Foodservice, Hobart (ITW), Insight Beverages, International Paper, The J.M. Smucker Company, J.R. Simplot Company,  Kellogg's Food Away From Home, Kerry Foodservice, Kraft Foodservice, Land O'Lakes Inc., Lyons Magnus, McCain Foods, Nestle Professional, PepsiCo Foodservice, Procter & Gamble Company, Rich Products Corporation, Sargento, Sara Lee Foodservice, SCA Tissue North America, Schwan's Foodservice Inc., Starbucks Coffee Company, Surlean Foods, Sweet Street Desserts and Unilever Food Solutions.

Author
Dr. Scott J. Edgett is internationally recognized as one of the world's top experts in product innovation and is the pioneer of portfolio management for product innovation. Dr. Edgett has extensive experience advising large multinational clients in a variety of industries, principally focusing on issues affecting innovation leadership and capability. He has spent more than 25 years researching and developing innovation best practices in product innovation; co-authored eight books; and published more than 60 academic articles and papers. Dr. Edgett is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Product Development Institute Inc. and Stage-Gate International. He is a former professor of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University in Ontario and is a Faculty Scholar at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) at Penn State University.   

About International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA)
IFMA is a leading trade association comprising more than 300 of the world's most prestigious food, equipment and supply manufacturers in the $600 billion foodservice industry, as well as related marketing service organizations, trade publications, distributors and brokers. IFMA's mission is to serve as a business partner to its members by bringing them relevant, actionable services that are fundamental to their business assessment, planning and execution.

About Stage-Gate International
Stage-Gate International is the world's leading full-service provider of solutions which enable organizations to improve their Product Innovation and Portfolio Management capabilities. A globally recognized and trusted brand, Stage-Gate International helps accelerate your success through our strategic advisory and transformation services, leading-edge products, best-selling publications, corporate training and open enrollment courses, world-class research and benchmarking services, and the Stage-Gate® Certification Program. We are proud to have had the privilege to work with more than 5000 leading organizations of all sizes across all industries and geographies.  www.stage-gate.com.

SOURCE IFMA