Food Product Design and Development Assignment Sample

Introduction

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In Australia, the people between the age groups 22-35 years who are vegan and health conscious, mainly face dietary problems which include, poor diet. It includes not having the five food groups in the required amount and also having too many food items which are high in salt, sugar and food. Not having a required amount of fruits or vegetables may result in specific health conditions, like CVD, diabetes mainly type 2 diabetes and obesity. Nowadays people have become more health conscious and try to live an active lifestyle. But the factor that is hindering the road to a healthy lifestyle is poor diet. The nutrients which are mainly deficient in the diet are proteins, dietary fiber and several vitamins, minerals. So the NPD has been produced to satisfy the requirement of protein, dietary fiber and other nutrients. Also the product is vegan so that it can be consumed by vegan people too. The obesity rate is about 29% among semi-vegetarians and vegans.

To understand the rationale behind the increased rate of protein bars in Australia, requires the examination of health status and the nutritional gap within the demographic area. One of the most significant factor that increase the popularity of plant based diet is increased consciousness of the customers about their ethical, health related concerns and environmental background. According to the survey of global data consumer 12 % of people in Australia aged between 18-34 years of age, considered as vegan. This indicates the increased popularity of vegan diet as well as vegan bars. The other factor is inadequate protein intake between the vegans. They most of the time suffers from meeting the daily requirement of protein, this is a pertinent gap in their diet. This less dietary intake can hamper the health of the individuals.

Aim

Nowadays people in Australia are suffering from different kinds of diseases related to poor dietary consumption and lifestyle disorders including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. The primary aim of the manufacturing of this new product Sunburst protein bites to correct and modify the dietary consumption of protein and fiber and also the calorie consumption (Guiné et al. 2020). The secondary aim of launching this product is to provide good gut health which will help to maintain mechanisms of the body and prevent different kinds of disease related to poor dietary consumption. This food product aims to provide a balanced diet containing a good amount of protein, carbs, fat and fiber by which a person can eat easily in a busy schedule and recover from long term starvation or delay of consumption of food. It also helps in muscle growth and repair protein loss from the body.

Product description and target customer

Product Description

“Sunburst Protein Bites” is the new food product which is manufactured as the snack option for all age group people which is made by plant based food components. It is a good option for vegans as well as all people who are trying to live a healthy lifestyle. It is a high protein and fiber content snack which is beneficial for health conscious people who are finding good options for snacks. The “Sunburst Protein Bites” are not only healthy snacks options but also a delicious one for all. It contains pea protein and quinoa which are excellent sources of protein and fiber. It contains high quality protein that is plant based which is helpful for those who are not consuming animal protein. This product contains only natural food products and does not contain any preservatives, colors and flavors. Allergens like gluten and soya, nuts and dairy are not used in these products. It also does not contain any GMO products or ingredients. It contains Smokey BBQ, zesty Ranch, and Spicy Sriracha and many more flavors. This bar is rich in dietary fiber and protein and low in saturated fat and cholesterol. The packaging of the bites are covered appropriately to keep this snack in good conditions.

Table 1: Product description of your product

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Target Customer

The NPD generally targets the age groups between 22-35 years, who are focusing on a healthy lifestyle and vegan. Also it targets the groups who include more plant based protein to their diet. Plant based diets have become popular to improve human health and promote animal welfare. To increase the purchase of the product among the consumers' trustworthy influencers should be chosen. As the product ‘Sunburst Protein Bites' is a high protein snack and targeting the consumers who are health conscious, so as influencers any person who is related to the athletic field or lives a healthy lifestyle by themselves should be chosen. Also celebrities, health professionals like nutritionists whom people will trust on the topic of healthy food adaptation (Bates, Reeve & Trevena, 2023). Many people in Australia in this age group choose vegan alternatives which are rich in protein as a part of their healthy diet plan. They might be interested in the vegan protein bites. Also nowadays social media leaves a high impact on people around the world so if product advertisement can be given in the social media platform then it can increase the popularity of this product. Also the quickly availability of food items and variety of vegan food products in the market increased the eagerness to try new vegan items among the people in Australia. The NPD product needs to be available in local grocery stores or restaurants so that people from urban areas can buy those easily. Moreover, the number of vegans has been increased in Australia itself by 10% of the total population (Fleischer et al. 2021). So this increased interest toward vegan diet is a key point to increase the popularity of the protein bites.

Product nutrition information panel and FSANZ claims

The popularity of products like protein bars has been increasing day by day. The preference of most consumers are shifting towards these types of bars as snack items. There are several types of protein bars available in Australia (Cao et al. 2021). Such as bars containing peanut butter, egg whites, gluten free proteins, rice malt syrup, rolled oats etc. But the main attraction of the “Sunburst Protein Bites" is that it is a vegan product. Also the ingredients which have been used while making this product are mainly quinoa and pea protein. The other ingredients are also natural products and also non-GMO ingredients (Ishangulyyev, Kim & Lee, 2019). Each of the plant based ingredients contains approximately 12 gm of protein. The reference product which has been used as the base of the production of the NPD product is a protein cookie popular in Australia which is plant based that consist 365.2 kcal energy, 27.1 g protein, 17.9 g fat, 19.9 gm carbohydrate and 8 g sugar, 4 g dietary fiber in per 100 g. But the product is made of wheat gluten , flour, glucose syrup, peanut butter, brown sugar whereas this NPD product is not only gluten free but also has a variety of flavors and suitable for different individuals having different restrictions in their diet.

Product nutrition information panel

Table 2. Recipe or formula of your product

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Table 3: Product Nutrition Information Panel

(Source: Provided)

FSANZ health claim

The meaning of health claim defines the relationship between the health effects and a food. Health claims are applicable only on those food items which meet the NPSC level means the “Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion” (Kent et al. 2020). The health claims are not allowed by the standard in foods high in sugar, salt or saturated fat. Precisely, the health claims are of two types. One is general level and the other one is high level. The general level defines having any specific nutrient in a food or itself the food and its health effects (McKay, Haines & Dunn, 2019). The high level defines having a nutrient in a specific food and the relationship between the nutrient and a serious health problem. The health claims are based on one pre-approved food and health relationship among 200 relationships in the standard (Curtain & Grafenauer, 2019). Whereas high level health claims based on 13 pre-approved health and food relationships which are currently listed in the Australia New Zealand food standard code.

Table 4: Intended FSANZ claim of NPD

(Source: Provided)

Sensory and Shelf life test protocol

Sensory Profiling

Sunburst Protein Bar is rich in flavor texture and taste though it does not contain any non veg protein source. It is based on a pure vegetarian source that helps vegan people of age 22- 35 who are serious about their lifestyle maintenance. This sensory profiling called hedonic scale is made to gather the responses of people who have chosen these bars as snacks items. This hedonic scale contains scores according to description (Baker et al. 2021). By this score system, ideas about the people's responses can be obtained.

Table 5: Sensory profiling of NPD

(Source: Provided)

Shelf Life Test

The definition of shelf life of a product includes the time period of a packed product after being stored for a specific time period. In the process of product development the shelf life testing process is an important test. It helps to identify the life of a product that can last on a retailed location. Though after the expiration of the products stores mainly donate those products because the “food safety standards” should be met. This process also helps to assess the quality of the food product and also its hygiene by doing a proper physical and chemical test including the microbiological analysis. This particular test is used in various products such as in dairy products, baked items and also in canned foods. For example, the shelf life of dairy products may be short whereas the canned food items shelf life is very much long. The test not only provide the safety towards the consumer but also helps to reduce wasting of food by providing adequate guidance about when the product should be discarded or to be taken by the consumers (Woo & Kim, 2019). The tests which has been done to identify the product's shelf life quality are: Real time stability test, Accelerated stability test, Microbial analysis and Chemical analysis. The tests includes a specific temperature high or low. The microbial test include aerobic plate count and the chemical analysis include use of different chemical products for chemical degradation of the product. The test proved that after the test there is a change in the shape or consistency of the product but the nutritional content remains the same.

Table 6: Static shelf life test protocol of NPD

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Table 7: Accelerated shelf-life test protocol of NPD

(Source: Provided)

QC validation

To identify if a technology can effortlessly produce a specific product involving the design and data of manufacturing of given standards, food processing validation is required. It ensures a high quality output can be identified by using the varied inputs. QC or “Quality Control” includes a huge number of tests or activities to ensure the quality of the products by examining the defects in already produced products. It is known as a reactive process and it helps to identify finished products defects (Soon et al. 2020). Several tests can be done to identify the nutrient content in the NPD. To validate a specific food product it is very much important to get aligned with the standards of FSANZ. The regulations includes labeling and some safety standards as well as ingredients. Like, if there is product under the organic label then it belongs to the criteria of FSANZ. The chemical tests mainly use to confirm the nutrition content of the food products. Some major chemical tests include the microbial analysis to ensure the presence of microorganisms like pathogens and bacteria (Jones et al. 2019). Proximate analysis is done to identify the content of macronutrients like presence of carbohydrate, protein, fat etc. Also to ensure the claims of the labels like high fiber and low calorie nutritional labeling analysis should be done.

Table 8: Claims supported by FSANZ and chemical analysis method

(Source: Provided)

Conclusion

Food product development mainly involves several important steps like ingredient selection, ideation, design of packaging, taste testing, strategy of marketing and distribution. Among the age group 22-35 years in Australia they tend to be vegan for a lifetime. But they are also health conscious so keeping that in consideration and their dietary choices a plant-based NPD has been developed. The product “Sunburst Protein Bites”, is not only a convenient snack but also a healthy choice of snack which is plant based. As it is mainly made up of quinoa and pea protein, it helps the consumer to keep themselves full for a long period of time. Also it provides a huge amount of protein that sometimes may exceed the daily protein intake of an individual. So, half serving of the product can be consumed by the customers. Also according to the FSANZ standard claims several chemical tests can be done to identify the increased amount of main nutrients in the food product. Those nutrients are protein, dietary fiber and carbohydrates. By doing the shelf life test of the product it has been identified that even in a high temperature storage process the bars change their shapes but the nutritional contents do not get affected. The QC validation of food product development and design is an elaborated process that requires alignment between the regulations of FSANZ and strong methods of chemical analysis. These methods implies a crucial role in adjusting the claims including the national content, quality and safety of the product. By using these method the manufacturers can easily identify the requirements and consumer expectations and quality. Very recent data identifies that the recent number of people who are following vegan diet in Australia has grown more than 2.5 million between the age group 22-35 years. The influencers in social media and other social media platforms plays a crucial role in the adaptation and promotion of vegan diet and as well as vegan snack products such as protein bars which keep one full for a long period of time. This particular segment hereby represents a specific and broad area of market for vegan products in Australia.

References

Journals

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