Instructors: John Lord (355 Mandeville; x3150; fax: x3153; jlord@sju.edu)

Ned Dunn (278 Mandeville; x3481; fax x1997; ndunn@sju.edu)

Readings

There is no textbook for this course. There is a readings list which will expand with new, added articles as the semester progresses. I have placed 2 sets of the current readings list on reserve in the Food Marketing Library. The readings list will be placed on the course website before the Sept. 9^th class. The website will contain links to a variety of websites, including periodicals, which will contain material both required and recommended for the course.

Course Objectives

1. To develop skills necessary to be a contributing member of a team.
2. To enhance oral and written communications skills.
3. To develop skills in analyzing ill-defined problems and developing strategies to resolve them.
4. To better understand how food company managers gain knowledge about the process for developing food products.
5. To comprehend the fundamental principles, generalizations and theories of product development.
6. To understand the specific skills, competencies and points of view needed by product development professionals.
7. To appreciate the interdependencies of finance, formulation, marketing, packaging, process engineering, production and quality assurance in the development of food products.
8. To enhance the ability to use contemporary communications and information technology.

Semester Project

The major emphasis of the course is on the new product planning process and to that end, each student will be assigned to a student team. Each team will take on the identity of a food processing company and will be challenged to identify a new product opportunity, conceive a new product, and and develop a launch program to support introduction of this new product to the supermarket trade. Both a written paper and a formal oral presentation will be required of each student team. The top three (3) teams will go to the "challenge finals" and will present their plan to a panel of retail buying executives.
More Project Details.

In order to avoid conflicts with final examinations, team presentations will be held during class on on December 2^nd and during the free periods on December 1^st and 3^rd. The finals will be held on Tuesday, December 9th, at 5:00 p.m. All students will be required to attend the final presentations. Students not presenting during the finals will be required to prepare a set of questions for each presentation they observe.

Class Format

Our classes will consist of a combination of lecture, presentations, discussion and exercises. We will have some typical classes and four teleconferences (the final presentations wll also be a teleconference.)

Assignments and Grading Policy

FMK 2091 Section 101 is a team-based course. You will have one major individual task – a midterm examination. Other assignments will all be team-based. Your grade will be determined as follows:

                    Midterm examination..........................30%

The project consists of several parts, including a (1) company review and assessment, (2) category assessment, (3) concept development and screening, (4) product development and testing and (5) introductory marketing program and launch plan. We will discuss more specifics about the project in class, as we will details on the midterm and the project. The paper is due at the time of your scheduled presentation, on December 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd. We will assign presentation times by mid-November.

Attendance Policy

I will use a seating chart and will note your absence. If you have more than two absences during the semester, you will be subject to grade penalties, up to an FA in extreme situations. You are also expected to be on-time, and present for the entire class period. Please note that it is very disrupting, and therefore disturbing to the instructor and other students, when students arrive late for class or leave the classroom during class. In cases where there are compelling reasons for these types of behavior, the student is expected to provide an explanation. I will allow a short break during class.

Academic Honesty

The Saint Joseph's University Academic Honesty Policy is in effect for all aspects of this course.

                            Schedule of Topics and Assignments

Class    Topics                                                                         Assignments/Due Dates

9/2     Course introduction
          Team-building exercise (teleconference)

9/9     The environment for new product development                     Readings 1-14
           Eating trends, trends in new food products                           Teams assigned
           Statistics on NPD
           The role and importance of new products to the firm
           Strategic planning for new product development

9/16 Using the course technology

Web assignment
Format for the class
Teams

9/30   Industry Drivers: presentation by
          Ned Dunn and Barry Zoumas (teleconference)

10/7   Attend Part of "Edible Connections" A Food Communications Forum
          Co-Hosted by SJU and PSU in Mandeville Hall (time TBA)

          Team activity: internal analysis and category assessment

10/14 New product failure and success                                         Internal Analysis
          The new product development process                               Category assessments
                                                                                                    Readings 15-20

10/21 New product launch case study (teleconference)                 Readings 21-23, 34-39

10/28 Ideation and concept development                                      Midterm Examination

11/4   Concept testing                                                                  Product Concept and Rationale
          Estimating sales volume and financial evaluation                   Readings 24-28
          R&D, technical development, testing and sensory evaluation:
             Presentation by David Michael Company

11/11   Decision case (teleconference)                                         Case (TBA)
            Presentation by Bob Drain of Oscar Meyer on
            the process for developing and launching Lunchables
            (Format for this class to be determined)

11/18   The introductory marketing plan                                        Readings 29-33, 40-41
            Market Testing
            Launch
            Guest presentation on product launch: Kevin Smith from Merck and Paul Nunnery
                from Johnson & Johnson

11/25   Thanksgiving Holiday – NO CLASS

12/1-3 Presentations - schedule to be determined                         Final Paper** due

12/9     Final Presentations at the Haub Center

**Outline for Paper

Review of company, product lines
Category and opportunity analysis
Rationale for the new product
Product development issues
Key research findings
Target market, concept, positioning
Brand, package strategy
Launch program: consumer program, trade program (incl retail promo materials)

Appendices:
All supporting data (in tables, exhibits)
Launch timetable – key dates, advertising and promotions schedule
Product fact sheet
Sales presentation materials

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