How do we decide to go forward with a new idea and then develop it?
Transforming an idea from an initial thought to something you can buy at your local shop takes a great deal of time and dedication. We have the very highest standards – at Cadbury a new product can’t just be ok; it’s got to be the very best it can possibly be.
So first, lots of us at Cadbury need to try it. Maybe our Senior Product Designer can’t get enough of his new aniseed-flavour chocolate bar, but if everyone else thinks its horrible, there’s no point in making thousands of them.
But when someone has a really promising idea, we need to test it on people. To perfect the idea we’ll make lots of variations, to see which everyone likes the best.
Then it’s time to ask members of the public what they think about all aspects of the new chocolate, from the taste and texture to the packaging and ideas for names.
It’s all part of the market research we constantly carry out while developing new products. This is crucial, because it’s hugely expensive to launch something new, and if people don’t like it, we might have just spent – literally – millions of pounds for nothing! For every new Cadbury chocolate bar that you see on the shelves, there are another fifty that didn’t make it through the development process, but the best products will always make it to market.
On to sensory science and testing