We believe we can show you some ways to improve your success rate, so subscribe now. It's free for 12 issues.

Anyone who develops new products for a living must be aware of a multitude of influences. Acknowledging this, we cover

scientific discoveries

consumer trends

product design and formulation

engineering technology

process engineering

manufacturing

filling and packaging

logistics and distribution

retail merchandising

end of life disposal

Then there are the legal and regulatory issues, such as safety and labelling, as well as intellectual property rights, brand management, competition and international trade that we have to take into account.

But it all means nothing without the creativity and insights of men and women who can put things together in new ways to create new products that improve our lives.

We celebrate those people.

Ian Grant

Publisher

Environment

Value from waste

Beating the competition by adding value or finding value where none existed is a common dream. Now an innovation project has made it real for three Spanish distilleries.

The main aim was to reinforce the competitive position of the companies by extracting new products from wine wastes (colorants and calcium tartrates) according to a sustainable growth model in terms of social, environmental and economic impact. Also important were non-technological aspects like quality, environment and labour health and safety.

During the project it became obvious that the companies’ sustainability could be achieved only through internal engagement, from labour workforce to managers. “Strong internal engagement is a key success factor for companies that integrate the ‘green’ factor in their entrepreneurial strategies and doing innovation sustainably,” said Igor Idareta, project co-ordinator of EcoInnovation.

Heath & nutrition

EC looks to health and nutrition in 2020

A new Foresight project on future trends in nutrition and health in Europe to 2020 is being launched by Bio-Sense and WS, and will be presented on 27 June in Brussels, Belgium.

The conference will discuss future scenarios for a health conscious society and explore how nutrition could shape the business and regulatory environments over the next two decades. The project will bring together the food, retail, ingredient, pharmacy, biotechnology, microelectronic, and insurance industries, along with scientists, medical professionals and consumer interest groups.

The aim is to develop a set of future scenarios reflecting how a wide range of driving forces may interact to arrive at a new set of values and opinions about the role of nutrition and health. All those interested in learning more about nutrition are welcome. Details from http://www.nutrition-and-health-2020.net.