Point (ECTS )

To give the students competences in the part of food product development, which is concerned with food product design and the food product technology associated with that. This would typically be the tasks that product developer would be assigned in a product development laboratory in the food industry.

• Analyse a complex task assignment and plan its completion and deliverables.
• Develop and design a plausible product concept, including relevant alternatives (for the extension of the course, this includes experimental work).
• Describe and evaluate the production process for the product, including capacity calculations and suggestions for modifications and investments.
• Investigate and acquire relevant business and market information, including the end-user (consumer).
• Calculate variable and fixed costs associated with a new product.
• Write a technical product development report as basis for a decision-making process by management.
• Demonstrate and report overview and in-depth solutions to the task assignment with respect to both technological and commercial challenges.
• Present product concepts and the development work orally with up-to-date presentation technology.

The course is carried out as group work in teams of 3 students (optional 2 students). Each team will work on a specific development task, partly of own choice. The overall conditions for the product are defined from the beginning by the team of teachers, representing the different competences in an industry (marketing, product development laboratory, and production). The task is to develop a food product concept with variations. The product design is desk-top work; market investigations are based on field studies and literature survey. The course will focus on design tools, market analyses formulation of recipes, and selection of suitable packaging and distribution technology. The production process must be drafted, and cost calculations are demanded.
Up to 6 students may apply for an extension of the course to include laboratory work in developing the food product in cooperation with a particular food company chosen by the team of teachers. This extension is an integrated part of the rest of the course and runs in parallel to the main course. Students participating in this must have passed the course 27711.

The course is planned to be concentrated in the first 9 weeks of the semester in order to allow KU-Life Food Science and Technology students to participate in agreement with their block 1. The extension of the course with extra 10 p will be recorded as a special course project.