P.PSH.0721 Final Report - Meat & Livestock Australia

Project code: P.PSH.0721

Prepared by: Vulture Street Pty Ltd

Date published: 8 December 2015

PUBLISHED BY Meat and Livestock Australia Limited Locked Bag 991 NORTH SYDNEY NSW 2059

Simplot – Identifying new products for the healthy

ageing sector – ideation capability development

This is an MLA Donor Company funded project.

Meat & Livestock Australia acknowledges the matching funds provided by the Australian

Government and contributions from the Australian Meat Processor Corporation to support

the research and development detailed in this publication.

This publication is published by Meat & Livestock Australia Limited ABN 39 081 678 364 (MLA). Care is taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication. However MLA cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information or opinions contained in the publication. You should make your own enquiries before making decisions concerning your interests. Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication is prohibited without prior written consent of MLA.

final report

P.PSH.0721 Simplot – Identifying new products for the healthy ageing sector

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Executive Summary Simplot have identified that the successful development of meal solutions for the over 60 demographic has the potential to increase demand significantly for red meat through market uptake in Australia and South East Asia. Currently the market demand for red meat meal solutions has not adequately been met. Simplot have initiated a project to identify the key trends and red meat opportunities within the segment labeled 'Foods for Healthy Ageing'.

In order to generate ideas for addressing this market opportunity, Simplot identified a need for a contemporary idea generation process. To fulfil this need Vulture Street were engaged to run an online innovation ‘Jam’ event. The Jam allowed 150 participants to submit ideas, comment and vote over the duration of the event.

The Jam was promoted as the “Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge” and was held from Wednesday 22nd July to Friday 7th August 2015. The aim was to discover new ideas and perspectives on what will drive the success of future food solutions to support healthy ageing for all Australians aged 60 and over. The Challenge was commissioned by Simplot’s Innovation Group as part of a broader initiative to develop new food solutions to address the challenges of healthy ageing, and was sponsored by General Manager for Business Development - B2B, Maria Kucherhan.

In order to encourage contributions, theme questions for the Challenge were designed to be simple and concise, with a focus on seeking ideas and opinions in a transparent, constructive manner. Under the broad topic of ‘Help us discover what will drive the success of future food solutions to support healthy ageing for all Australians?’ six specific questions were posed:

- How could our meal solutions better meet the nutritional requirements of healthy ageing?

- What changes to taste, flavour and texture would better address the preferences of seniors?

- What packaging changes, portion sizes and product formats will best serve the needs of healthy seniors?

- How might we improve the cooking and culinary experience for seniors living at home?

- What changes to the way we deliver food and meal solutions would improve outcomes for ageing consumers?

- What else do we need to consider to drive the success of future food solutions for healthy ageing in Australia?

Invitations to participate were issued to 102 people drawn from internal Simplot staff and a range of external organisations including key B2B customers in the aged care and health sectors, research organisations (including Universities and CSIRO), industry associations and individual subject matter experts. Invited participants were asked to post their ideas, vote and comment on ideas posted by others, in response to the six questions above. In total the Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge generated 63 ideas, 31 comments and 214 votes. A subsequent prioritisation workshop was held to rank a consolidated list of ideas and identify those having the highest potential based on perceived impact and feasibility. The ‘Jam’ method executed in the Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge demonstrates a number of benefits that are applicable to the wider industry. The collaborative, online nature of the event encourages a bottom up approach to generating ideas, while the ability to comment and vote on ideas encourages idea iteration and facilitates constructive debate. This approach has the potential to increase the quantity and quality of ideas generated while at the same time vastly reducing the time taken to do so, creating options for future product, service or market opportunities.


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Table of Contents

1 Background 4

2 Project Objectives 5

3 Methodology 5

3.1 Online Jam Design 5

4 Results 6

4.1 Online Jam Results by Challenge Question 8

4.2 Top Ideas by Popularity 9

4.3 Prioritisation Workshop 9

5 Discussion 9

6 Industry Benefits 10

7 Appendix 11

7.1 Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge Jam Ideas 11


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1 Background

Ageing is determined by complex interactions between biological, environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural factors, some of which are beyond the control of individuals. Factors that contribute to the ageing process, such as poor nutrition, physical inactivity, smoking, and psychosocial characteristics (such as stress), may be modifiable. These factors are associated with the development of chronic diseases that are, in themselves, associated with physical and mental frailty and could be tackled at an individual level throughout life.

Ageing affects people in different ways, with a wide variation in age related physical and mental functioning. Healthier ageing is achievable through modifying some lifestyle factors—such as stopping smoking, being more physically active, and eating a balanced diet. For healthier ageing, eat mainly nutrient dense foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals and low in fats and sugar

Balancing energy intake and expenditure is important for maintaining healthy weight Diet is arguably the single most important behavioural risk factor that can be improved to have a significant impact on health. As the quality and quantity of foods and drinks consumed has a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals, society and the environment, better nutrition has huge potential to improve individual and public health and decrease healthcare costs. Simplot has identified an opportunity to develop a range of meal solution products targeted at consumers 60+ years of age. Simplot have identified the market demand for red meat meal solutions has not adequately been met and therefore, the initial activity will be to identify the key trends and red meat opportunities within the segment labeled 'Foods for Healthy Ageing'.

Successful development of meal solutions for the over 60 demographic has the potential to increase demand significantly for red meat through market uptake in Australia and South east Asia.

In order to generate ideas for addressing this market opportunity, Simplot identified a need for a contemporary idea generation process. This project enables provisions for MLA and Simplot to evaluate an approach to ideation using Vulture Street's online 'Innovation Jam' for idea generation and prioritisation for new food/meal products and services.


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2 Project Objectives

The primary objective of this project has been to identify new product ideation opportunities, methods and tools in the 'Foods for health ageing' market segment that will drive demand for red meat, delivering value back along the value chain for this emerging segment and trend.

The specific objectives of the project were defined as:

Evaluate the collaborative online ‘Jam’ as a unique and novel process for idea generation and identification of market opportunities that can create a sustainable demand for red meat

Identify high potential ideas at a prioritisation workshop according to impact and feasibility

3 Methodology

3.1 Online Jam Design

The following Challenge design elements were agreed:

Title: Simplot Foods for Healthy Ageing Challenge

Aim: To discover ideas and insights into what will drive the success of future food solutions

to support healthy ageing for all Australians

Timeframe: 22 July – 7 August 2015

Sponsor: Maria Kucherhan

Number of Participants: 150 (maximum)

Participants: Drawn from a range of external organisations including key B2B customers in

the aged care and health sectors, research organisations including Universities and CSIRO,

industry associations and individual subject matter experts

Categories/Themes: nutrition, flavour profiles, portion sizing, packaging, delivery format

(frozen/chilled), supply chain, business model

Challenge Questions:

How could our meal solutions better meet the nutritional requirements of healthy ageing?

What changes to taste, flavour and texture would better address the preferences of seniors?

What packaging changes, portion sizes and product formats will best serve the needs of healthy seniors?

How might we improve the cooking and culinary experience for seniors living at home?

What changes to the way we deliver food and meal solutions would improve outcomes for ageing consumers?

What else do we need to consider to drive the success of future food solutions for healthy ageing in Australia?


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The online platform was configured according to these agreed design parameters, as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1: Home Page for the Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge

4 Invitees

Invitations to participate were issued to 102 people drawn from internal Simplot staff and a range of external organisations including key B2B customers in the aged care and health sectors, research organisations (including Universities and CSIRO), industry associations and individual subject matter experts.

5 Results

The Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge generated 63 ideas, 31 comments and 214 votes from participants over the two-week duration of the online event (refer to appendix 7.1 for full idea generation results).

5.1 Participation

In total, just over 48% of invitees made a contribution by posting an idea, commenting or voting on ideas posted by others. This breakdown is shown in Figure 2 below.


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Figure 2: Participation Breakdown

As shown in Figure 3, just over half of participants (55.1% in total), participated through more than one channel i.e. through some combination of ideas, comments and votes. This indicates a relatively high level of collaboration amongst those invitees who did make a contribution.

Figure 3: Participation By Channel


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Figure 4 shows that participation was spread over a wide range of external organisations

plus Simplot representatives.

Figure 4: Participation By Organisation

5.2 Online Jam Results by Challenge Question

Figure 5: Ideas, Comments and Votes by Challenge Question

As shown above, the ideas and opinions generated by the Challenge were distributed across the six challenge questions evenly, however nutrition, packaging and delivery methods were the leading themes emerging from the challenge. Challenges are most successful when directed at future-oriented theme questions, as was the case here, in contrast to surveys, which capture people’s views on current or past circumstances.


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5.3 Top Ideas by Popularity

Idea Category Author Organisation Votes Comments

Packaging Sandra Capra University of Queensland 15 3

Product Sandra Capra University of Queensland 11 1

Packaging Emma Lourey National Seniors Australia 10 2

Customer service Michael Lee Meat and Livestock Australia

10 2

Packaging Angeline Achariya Mondelez International 9 0

Table 1: Top five ideas by popularity

Table 1 shows the categories of the top five ideas posted during the Challenge by group-voted popularity. From this list of ideas that resonated most strongly with the group, three relate to packaging issues or innovations, demonstrating the importance of access in creating effective meal solutions for seniors. It is also important to highlight that the top five ideas and the vast majority of the 63 ideas submitted relate to products or services, which form only a subset of innovation opportunities. An effective enterprise innovation system must be designed to educate participants on the range of innovation options and foster, evaluate and potentially implement ideas across the innovation spectrum (i.e. including product, service, process, marketing, organisational, management and business model innovations), even for strongly product-oriented businesses. A food-related prize has been awarded to Professor Sandra Capra from the University Of Queensland for her two popular ideas that were voted into the top five.

5.4 Prioritisation Workshop

A prioritisation workshop was held on 28th October to rank the ideas generated by the Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge according to perceived impact and feasibility. In collaboration between Simplot and Vulture Street, the 63 ideas were consolidated down to 24 to eliminate duplication and group together common themes. This shortlist of 24 was broken into two groups of twelve ideas and voted on by the workshop participants. Ideas ranged from innovating current delivery options, creating meal solutions for different target groups, to introducing a digital component to meal ordering.

A subsequent voting round was held using the top four ideas from each group of twelve to determine an overall ranking, with each participant allocating three votes. Collectively the group decided that ideas 4, 7 and 12 were to be combined prior to this final voting round. The highest number of votes was given to ideas belonging in the categories show below in Table 2.

Idea Number Idea Categories

4,7 & 12 Nutritional

6 Digital

20 Snacks

8 Packaging

19 Community

14 Flavour

Table 2. Idea categories with the highest votes


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6 Discussion

Simplot have determined that the 60+ demographic is a significant market opportunity and have undertaken an innovative approach to sourcing ideas regarding how best to take advantage of this market. The highest rated idea of an age specific, nutrient dense and nutritionist approved meal product presents a significant opportunity for the red meat industry.

The specific objectives of the project were defined as:

Evaluate the collaborative online ‘Jam’ as a unique and novel process for idea generation and identification of market opportunities that can create a sustainable demand for red meat

o The online ‘Jam’ model demonstrated the benefits of a collaborative bottom up approach to idea generation. Online delivery enables scalability not possible in traditional live participation events and allows people to contribute at a time convenient to them.

Identify high potential ideas at a prioritisation workshop according to impact and feasibility

o The workshop successfully identified a prioritised list that can be taken forward by Simplot to develop value propositions to address the 60+ demographic. The prioritisation process used at the workshop also demonstrated that online, collaborative tools also have significant benefits when used in live workshops.

7 Industry Benefits

Identifying new product, service or business model opportunities is the crucial first step in any innovation program. Improving both the quantity and quality of the ideas being generated will improve the returns from innovation.

The ‘Jam’ method utilised in the Simplot Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge demonstrates a number of benefits that are applicable to the wider industry. The collaborative, online nature of the event encourages a bottom up approach to generating ideas, ensuring all participants are able to have productive input. The ability to comment and vote on ideas encourages idea iteration and facilitates constructive debate. In addition the Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge demonstrated the benefits of an open innovation approach where participants are drawn primarily from outside the organisation. Generating ideas from a diverse pool of participants reduces groupthink and assists with thinking outside the constraints of the existing business. At the same time, the involvement of participants from across a range of organisations assists in the development of an ‘innovation community’ focused around the important topic of food solutions for healthy ageing.

Combined these elements have the potential to increase the quantity and quality of ideas generated while at the same time vastly reducing the time taken to do so, creating viable options for future product, service or market opportunities.


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8 Appendix

8.1 Food for Healthy Ageing Challenge Jam Ideas

Title Challenge Questions

TLC Meals - Market Intel Future food solutions for healthy ageing

Structuring/designing soft textured foods that are easy to chew and swallow Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Who is at nutritional risk? Community based screening, referral and solutions

Future food solutions for healthy ageing

SIMfresh to your door, utilising all our Simplot businesses so we can provide a fresh meal box to your door.

Improve the culinary experience at home

Foods for Active Ageing Consumers in Asia Future food solutions for healthy ageing

3D Printed Meal Solutions Future food solutions for healthy ageing

Smarter Packaging to Protect Seniors Improve the culinary experience at home

Differential Heat Points What packaging changes?

Sauce it up What changes to taste?

Collaboration range - The Probus club collection Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Lifestage range Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Regional healthy ageing food vans/trucks Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Snacking - Active seniors on the go out of the home looking for quick nutritious snacks when out and about Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Eradicate the confusion - how to read the food labels on packets and ensure you are eating the rights foods for better health


Easy Cook & Storage - Looking for simple meals to prepare with easy to follow steps and simple storage solutions for less waste

Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Menu Plans - Consumers are wanting choices but make it simple to cook & prepare What packaging changes?

Provenance & origin - Consumers are wary of manufactured/overly produced foods and have mistrust on where the ingredients are from


Designing your meal with a calculator Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Sensing with sensors What packaging changes?

Pre plated meal trial - QLD What packaging changes?

What is fresh? Does it lead to waste? Why not cook from frozen? Improve the culinary experience at home

Chef Competition-Challenge equivalent of crowd sourcing an answer? What changes to taste?

Omega 3 for the old using under-valued seafood Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Variety the spice of life/ Mix and match/ Your choice Future food solutions for healthy ageing

Flavour bursts What changes to taste?

Fit for Purpose Packaging What packaging changes?


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Fine Dining In the Home - Celebrity Chef Range Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Lighter food What packaging changes?

Packaging that talks when touched What packaging changes?

On the go; snacks for active elders Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Improve social connectedness among seniors Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Fresh meal boxes Improve the culinary experience at home

Easy to read What packaging changes?

Soft texture options What changes to taste?

Fresh ingredients What changes to taste?

Australian Dietary Guidelines Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Frustration Free Packaging & Labels You can Read - See Photos of What’s Possible What packaging changes?

Food to Smartphone to Doctor Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Powdered Beef Bikkies Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Pack formats - meet consumer wants, and at the same time provide cost and material efficiency What packaging changes?

Product formats What packaging changes?

Packaging sizes What packaging changes?

Restaurants networks for Active Agers Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Beyond the meal Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Appealing texture modified meal solutions What changes to taste?

Senior Customised foods What changes to taste?

Separate Vegetable Compartment - Vegetables Cooked Just Way You Like Them What changes to taste?

Enriched - Delicious, Nutritionally dense Ready Meals created by Dieticians ordered through your Home Care provider

Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Light & Easy Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Easy meal kits to utilise independence & love of cooking. Improve the culinary experience at home

Seniors are discouraged from buying packaged healthy food because the retailer only provides specials for multiple purchases

Future food solutions for healthy ageing

Meals with mates Future food solutions for healthy ageing

Promote the Health Benefits of Food for Seniors Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Packaging can prevent eating What packaging changes?

Tasty and tiny What changes to taste?

Meals to manage different diseases Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Cooking Show for Active Aging Improve the culinary experience at home

My meals, my lifestyle, my ideas Improve the culinary experience at home


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Digital App for active ageing Future food solutions for healthy ageing

HPP and time-temp indicators What packaging changes?

Super 60’s, Strong 70’s, Entertaining 80’s Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Meal ordering at the Chemist or Gym Improve outcomes for ageing consumers

Design for specific physical activity levels Meal solutions of healthy ageing

Documents

P.PSH.0721 Final Report - Meat & Livestock Australia