KNOWLEDGE CONNECT

A Success Story of Knowledge Connects Support - Plumis Case Study

2010-07-02T06:46:00.000-07:00

A few months after completing the Knowledge Connect scheme we are accepting pre-orders for our innovative fire protection appliance Automist, the new way to protect your home from fire.

Knowledge Connect proved invaluable to development of our business our Plumis Ltd. We were paired with the Building Research Establishment, a world leader in fire research, fire safety design and consultancy, and supported during our comprehensive test programme of the system.

The scheme helped reduce the financial burden of taking our idea to market and allowed us to perform a greater level of research and development in one of the largest data sets ever run on a mist product. We would not hesitate to go back to the BRE for the next series of fire testing as the product develops.

A video summary of one of the tests can be viewed here:

http://www.plumis.co.uk/plutube/user/PlumisAutomist#p/u/0/4GlLr-Jq5EY

2010-07-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

What an exciting last few months we've enjoyed at Knowledge Connect!! A new range of workshops have been launched, including topics ranging from growing your business via the web to supporting business in the development of food labels and ingredients. In fact, we're delighted to have been able to provide such a wide array of topics to support London SME's. And a real bonus is that all this has been provided at no cost whatsoever for the businesses, it is absolutely FREE!

An average we have held over three events a month involving 100's of businesses in Greater London and hope to increase this over the rest of the year. For me, the most rewarding part of this support is the fantastic feedback we have received from the businesses taking part. Many have been inspired and empowered by the content and relevance these events have for them, and the practical, instantly usable tips and techniques that they have been able to take away to improve there businesses straight away.

We are constantly looking at the ever-changing needs of businesses we support, so always keep up to date with the changing needs of businesses we support. We also use the feedback to decide which courses should be run and/or tweaked to ensure we are meeting real need.

The events calendar will be running with a mixture of new and popular events into July and then from September onwards, and we are really looking forward to continuing the positive impact this project is having.

Please let us know what topics are of interest to you so we can find relevant workshops for you, or, where there is sufficient demand, look at adding to our course schedule.

Getting Food Products to the (Super) Market... Part One

2010-05-13T01:43:00.000-07:00

Getting Food Products to the (Super) Market… Part One

Because I spent five years at Sainsbury’s Head Office, primarily focused on new product (and packaging) development, the first question every food company I meet asks is ‘How do I get my product into a supermarket?’

So in this blog I am starting with the basics. Be warned, there’s homework!

Get the product right!

Your product needs to be right for the customer and right for the market. So here’s some homework for you. Once you’ve done this you should have a better understanding of the market your product has to sell in.

Go to the British Library and get membership (it’s free). Go to their Business and IP Centre and take a look through the Mintel reports for the food sector. There will be lots and they cost hundreds of pounds to buy so getting them for free is great. Choose your sector (let’s say ready meals) and read up on what’s happening. The report will tell you how much this part of the food sector is growing and within that which types are doing best e.g. perhaps Chinese ready meals are growing fastest. It will also give you some insight into the kinds of people buying these products. This gives you a better understanding of the market as a whole.

Go to a supermarket and take a look at the section where your product is going to be (you hope!). Buy some examples of products. Take them home, photograph them, taste them, compare them to yours (if you can get someone to taste them blindfolded who does not know your product, even better). Now you should have a better understanding of the competition, because you know how they taste, what they look like and the kinds of packaging used. You also have an idea of price points.

Find people who usually buy your type of product. Get them to taste, comment (take the criticism with a smile, don’t get stroppy!), make suggestions. Ask when/why/how they would eat it, what they would pay for it, etc.

Your product needs to be safe and legal. Homework here – well, we’re helping you get started because we have two workshops coming up which might just help. We’d be happy to see you there and hope we can help you get closer to getting your product on the shelf.

You need to know how to establish and maintain product quality. Part of this lies in understanding how to use your senses to ensure products are meeting the standards you have set – a key to Winning Ways in Product Development http://www.knowledgeconnect.org.uk/kc/event_details/95

You need to meet all relevant food legislation, both in how the product is made and in the labelling of it. You need to know about what claims you can make and also about the important area of food allergies. At this workshop we will get to Know your Label http://www.knowledgeconnect.org.uk/kc/event_details/96

This will start to help you in your product development journey from idea to shelf.

And yes, there are other things you need to do on that journey… Some other time I’ll write about approaching buyers (or even better, getting them to approach you!) and what kind of promotional work can help your product get known. But I think that’s enough to get started. Good luck!

KNOWLEDGE CONNECT - EVENTS

2010-04-16T02:54:00.001-07:00

CALLING all Greater London based SME's please take a look at our website to see how we can support you in your businesses growth - its costs you nothing and yet we offer support in all areas of business growth.

Click on the link below to see the Workshops we offer

http://www.knowledgeconnect.org.uk/kc/events_overview