Food Science and Product Development

Innovating New Foods for Tomorrow’s Market

New foods are being developed and tested every day, then brought to market by companies that have spent millions on research and development, hoping for a successful launch.

There are five phases to developing a new product. However, within each phase there are many different steps.
The process usually begins with market-oriented activities, such as determining the need for the product and analyzing the market. The process then moves on to the concept phase, a basic drafting phase and a more detailed design phase. The final phases are production and sales.

This summer program, Food Product Development, has been designed to help our students understand the process of developing a new product. The cornerstone is a project where the challenge is to design a new product and to produce a prototype version of it. The goal is to learn principles and methods of products development in a realistic context. Since food sciences include many different disciplines, this program also encompasses lessons with applications in various areas (formulation, marketing and nutrition).