Products and Process Innovation in the Food Industry

Food manufacturers of all sizes need to innovate in order to survive in today's competitive food market, yet more than 90 percent of new products in the food and drinks industries are reputed to fail in their first year. Understanding the process of successful innovation is vital for all types of food and drinks manufacturers. This work takes existing hypotheses regarding innovation and examines them in relation to the food and drinks industries. This is achieved through case studies of 12 diverse companies based in six food manufacturing countries of the European Union. These accounts examine the relationship between research and development, market orientation and external networks and vertical linkages in achieving successful food product and process innovation; the aim of such an examination is to allow a more complete and industry specific hypothesis to be formulated. In addition, this book seeks to provide examples and insights to industrialists involved in commercial and new product development aspects of food manufacturing. It attempts to highlight new theories to academic researchers and offer discursive case studies for use by marketing management students.