Did you try the Lamington flavoured crisps?

Being a Foodie I can’t help myself but pick up  new products whilst in the supermarket  to try at home.

Last year I remember buying a packet of Lamington flavoured potato crisps with thoughts of what was going through the mind of the Food Technologist developing this one?

To take what is an Australia favourite and icon and put that sweet flavour into a product which is considered to be savoury was indeed a big move. This product was released only for a limited time for obvious reasons as it was most definitely not going to be a huge seller and was really released for Australia Day.

Crisps are a growth area right now in terms of flavours and textures, with flavours like Lamb & Mint, Lemon and Salt, Meat Pie and Sauce, and  puffed flavoured potato products being just some examples on our supermarket shelves.

Crisps have long been a favourite due to yummy flavours and that crunch many people love.  We all know that they are not  healthy food  but are something we sure enjoy. Just look at how many different types are in our supermarkets.

The teams developing new flavours and textures are doing it because their companies want to keep market share and maintain or increase profits.  It is the same method used by Quick serve chains with new burgers being on the menu for limited times – to keep people buying the products.

Why?

There is an increasing market for healthy snacks, so to keep people buying the crisp, and similar foods, snack food companies need to keep developing new flavours and textures for people to try.

Food companies will often use events  like Australia Day to release new flavours or additions to an existing range of products because this will also encourage people to buy the products.

Product Development is a key part of an food company’s marketing and it can take a long time to get the right product ready for release at the right time.

So planning for the Lamington chips as an example may well have started one to two years before the product was released as part of the Marketing Plan. It would start with people sitting around a room tossing around ideas and then goes through stages of idea approval, developing and tasting who knows how many samples until the right one is found, then into packaging design and approval, production, marketing development and then delivery to stores.

With a product like these crisps, there would be no need to change much in production except the flavours going onto the crisps, as it is an extension to the already existing range and not a whole new product. This would make the whole process much quicker, as there would be little engineering or equipment design or testing involved.

Product development is a fascinating job, especially with food, and it is  a wonderful buzz to be able to see those products in people’s trolleys in the supermarket.