Stamp out suspicion

The food industry is full of closely guarded secrets. What makes Guinness so smooth? How does Coca-Cola sustain its fizz? Why are Pringles so god damn addictive? There's no doubt that clever packaging and marketing of products play their part, but without a few magic ingredients, these products would simply be 'me-toos'. On that basis, you'd think that processors would be keen to collaborate with ingredients firms on how to get the most out of their products, but in many cases this couldn't be further from the truth.

New product development (NPD) consultant Becky Sparks notes that manufacturers aren't always willing to open up to ingredients suppliers, even if it means speeding up the development process. "In a highly competitive market place, the hunger to become first to market is prominent and people become cagey - the trust element isn't there like it used to be," she says.

This seems to be a viewpoint echoed throughout the industry. "Basically, there tends to be a lot of rivalry and people are worried that ideas will be stolen - it happens quite a lot," says Challenger Foods' technical director Darren Gedge. "We get issues where a retailer says: 'We don't like this product from supplier X any more - we've fallen out with them. If you match the product specification, then the contract is yours.'"

Ditch the sales pitch

He explains that food agents often take advantage of such a situation. "They'll want to sell their products to a number of manufacturers, so they'll say for example: 'Sainsbury supplier X is doing this [product], and we can give you something similar.' If it's Sainsbury you're going after, you're going to go hell for leather to match it, so it's a win for the supplier, but one of the manufacturers will end up losing out!"

The notion that ingredients suppliers can have ulterior motives, is widespread. Sometimes they send out a sales person, when what's actually required is technical assistance, says Sparks.

"When I'm working on a new product, I'm very reluctant to speak to someone in sales as they don't necessarily know how the ingredient works. They can't answer questions - they just turn up with a brochure," she claims. "Manufacturers don't want to waste time. You want the kind of relationship where you feel as though you've always got someone on the other end of the phone who can explain things."

Ingredients supplier Naturis hopes to eradicate this negative image of sales people by offering customers a technical sales solution. With a degree in nutrition and experience in technical departments, sales manager Neil Foster certainly knows his ingredients inside out. Naturis also runs workshops with manufacturers' NPD and marketing teams in order to help them get the best out of their ingredients. "We help with nutritional trends and claims," says Foster. "Unless marketing relates to specific claims, it won't be successful."

He acknowledges that not every manufacturer wants to sit down and discuss the finer details of their product, but claims that this is the best way to develop truly original products. "Just because a processor doesn't want anyone else to join the party, doesn't mean that they aren't capable of NPD, but they tend to be imitating products already on the market, as opposed to innovating," he says.

Foster also notes that dual-branding of products and their ingredients is an excellent way of supporting good processor and supplier relationships. Orafti has seen great success with its Beneo prebiotic ingredient, which often has its logo used on-pack. The company is very hands-on when it comes to working with processors on new products and has developed the Beneo Programme - a co-operative initiative with food manufacturers to communicate Beneo's positive messages to consumers.

Orafti global communications manager Tim Van der Schraelen claims the company's attentive treatment of its customers means there are very few trust issues. "Often we work on confidentiality agreements. But on the rare occasions that something is truly secret, firms have to understand that we won't be able to give them the same level of service [that we could if they were more open]."

Foster agrees: "Some people are willing to share everything from the product name, to the launch date and marketing campaign," he says. "Others are very secretive, which effectively removes the intelligence on offer from ingredients firms."

However, he claims that the demand for clean-label products has forced manufacturers to collaborate with suppliers in order to find new solutions quickly. "We've found that reformulation has really helped us to build our relationships with manufacturers," he says.

Desperate measures

One omega-3 ingredients supplier, that asked not to be named, claimed the poor level of trust between his firm and certain customers meant he was barred from seeing the manufacturing process. "I can understand from the manufacturers' point of view that there's always a danger we might take their ideas and show them to competitors. But there's an obvious issue between food manufacturers who want to keep their processes confidential and ingredients manufacturers who understand their ingredients," he says.

"The biggest problem we have is that manufacturers ask for our ingredient, but they won't tell us what their process is because it's confidential and therefore when they try to use the ingredient, it doesn't work. Then they come back and complain and when we ask what the problem is, they can't tell us." In order to help its customers, the ingredients company is forced to adopt a rather backwards method - it requests a sample of the manufacturer's product, recreates it in the lab and then tries to work out the best way to add the ingredient.

Malt supplier Muntons is also disturbed by some manufacturers' lack of trust. "With a lot of the companies we supply, we don't know what product the ingredient is going into," says technical sales support manager Jonathan Pritchard. "It's okay with ongoing business, but it can be a problem with NPD because it's hard to sell the benefits without knowing the production process and the end consumer. It could even turn out that the customer needs less of the ingredient!"

He claims that there's plenty of collaboration going on, but the issue is more about the quality of the information being shared. "We have the phone calls, make the ingredient and then send it off. Then the company asks us to make changes, but we aren't told why."

So what can ingredients firms do to put manufacturers at ease? Sparks suggests that meeting outside of the often hectic manufacturing environment is a good starting point. "It's important to have somewhere where you're not trying to fit around a production schedule. It can be embarrassing if you invite an ingredients manufacturer to your factory and you have a high order, so production is increased and it's too busy," she says. "If an ingredients firm can replicate the production line on a small scale, then it removes much of the pressure and you get quicker results."

Speed of service is very important, she adds. "Gone are the days when you just hand an ingredient over the table - it's also about the process. Do you just get a package through the post with the ingredient, or do you get a phone call and information at your fingertips?"

Both sides of the story

And it isn't just manufacturers that can feel vulnerable. "We spend time developing a new product and then a manufacturer may choose someone else to take the project forward with," says Pritchard. "It's quite frustrating when there's no business at the end of all your hard work and it doesn't bode well for trust."

Sparks also admits that it isn't just ingredients firms that need to make more of an effort. "Sometimes companies haven't investigated all the avenues that an ingredients company can provide," she says. "I'll challenge a firm if I think they are capable of something more. As a manufacturer, you have to work really hard for retailers, but if you're lucky, you can get the ingredients suppliers to work hard for you."

So it seems a problem shared is indeed a problem halved. "There is an element of risk [involved in sharing confidential information], but we will never progress if we continue to be so restrictive," says Sparks. "You have to take a chance and try these things, but it has to be done in good faith." FM