Inside an innovation lab: developments at Premier Foods

1 November 2012



Maria Bracken goes behind the scenes at the R&D laboratory of the UK’s largest branded food producer Premier Foods to speak to Paul Molyneux, head of technical innovation of baking, cake and milling, about cutting-edge developments and the product pipeline for next year.


Maria Bracken: How is the Premier Foods Innovation lab set up and what areas are your experts working in?

Paul Molyneux: We have three centres of excellence: one in milling with a cereal chemistry lab, including a mini-milling facility, which allows us to assess new wheat varieties way before there are commercial quantities available; a baking centre capable of testing everything from small-scale 2kg dough up to a mini-zonal oven capable of mimicking our large 10,000-loaf-an-hour plants; and a cake development centre where cake technologies are tested on a pilot scale.

“Building recipes is a collaborative activity, joining the suppliers’ knowledge of their products with our knowledge of the finished article.”

Each has the analytical equipment alongside to objectively evaluate the products we produce, whether that is the extensibility of the wheat protein, the 'butterability' of a slice or the crispness of a fruit pie pastry.

We employ a group of skilled creative technologists who take a project from an idea on a piece of paper, right through to a product that chefs can use or that consumers can buy in a shop. It is our intention to develop people within our business, taking on people from food technology and artisanal backgrounds, and building their skills to be able to develop great taste in large scale production. We have an active graduate scheme, and often recruit from the people who have worked with us in their sandwich years.

What are some of the new concepts that are being produced from the centre?

We have recently launched Hovis 7 Seed Wholemeal and 7 Seed Original premium loaves, which incorporate 20,000 seeds a loaf. Following hot on their heels are our new Hovis Breakfast Bakes, helping retailers and foodservice operators to benefit from the growth both in the breakfast occasion and also food-to-go sectors. The bakes are available in Oats & Honey, Malted Crunch and Milk & Oats varieties and, like other Hovis products, they will be made with flour milled from 100% British wheat.

We work closely with our marketing colleagues, and all these flavours have been confirmed by consumer testing to be sure that it is not just our say, but they have also been assessed by the very people who we hope to buy them. Each flavour has been through a number of rounds - I think it was version 6 of the Milk & Oats that was finally selected.

To celebrate the very British year that was 2012, we had a busy time producing British Fancies, a red, white and blue twist on the traditional fancies. Now, our focus is on new Mr Kipling slices to be launched in 2013, so more on that later.

Talk me through some of the projects you are currently working on and the processes these will go through in the lab.

Using Mr Kipling slices as an example of how the Innovations Lab process works, we start with insight; listening to and talking with our consumers. Once we are clear of what demand is and where the gaps in the market fall, we get to do the fun part of coming up with the ideas.

Having refined the ideas through further discussions with consumers, we then start work on how to build the recipes. Increasingly this is a collaborative activity, joining the suppliers' knowledge of their products with our knowledge of the finished article. At each step we learn lots and apply this into the following iteration of the plan.

Our next step is to refine the prototypes; this is where our pilot plant equipment comes into its own. We will often make ten or 20 prototypes as we work out how to deliver the product concept; only once this is done do we commence plant trials, with our technologists working with site teams to test them out in the 'real world'.

These early trials provide us with samples to test with our consumers and at this stage we have a critical Go No-Go business decision, so getting everything in place for this is a big piece of work. Launch day after all of this work and preparation should be straightforward, and increasingly is so, though, as with anything, there are always a few last minute glitches and wobbles before the first shippings.

So, what are the current challenges for the technologists and for the management team in the lab?

As our main aim is to deliver great-tasting products at the right price for our customers, increasing commodity costs are the biggest challenge we face. As well as seeking ways to maximise production efficiencies without compromising on quality, the answer also lies in understanding what customers and consumers want from the products, and making sure that is what we deliver, to help ensure they perform well, in the case of ingredients, and sell well in the case of finished products.

What are the key development trends coming down the pipeline at Premier Foods?

In addition to the specific plans mentioned earlier, for bread the focus remains on great products which are as healthy as possible, whereas for cake we are looking at developing products that give consumers an affordable treat, so it is much more about great taste and textures.

Is there one ingredient not in the mainstream currently that you can see making a breakthrough in the food market in 2013-2014?

Certified Identity Preserved palm oil will be a real focus for many. The demand for palm oil has increased in recent years and it was vital to find ways of producing and harvesting it without causing environmental damage.

“Without a doubt, the cost of commodities is the biggest challenge for the industry. It is something that we’re acutely aware of and we can’t simply sit back, watching our costs creep up.”

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a not-for-profit organisation that brings together all those involved within the palm oil industry, to create and implement global standards. Its certification means that the palm oil can be traced to a particular supply base and that the production is responsible and sustainable.

Premier Foods is wholly supportive of RSPO's work and, last year, Hovis became the first major brand to move to certified status. Going into 2013 and beyond, companies that have not made this move will find themselves challenged hard from all angles.

Still looking ahead, what do you think will be the industry's big challenges for 2013, and how do you see businesses overcoming these?

First, without a doubt the cost of commodities is the biggest challenge for the industry. It's something that we're acutely aware of and we can't simply sit back, watching our costs creeping up and having a cumulative impact on the costs of our own products.

There are no easy solutions, but we need to be more stringent than ever in ensuring each ingredient is delivering the optimum functional impact. The fact that we're in the same position as every other company out there means that the industry will be more competitive than ever as we head into 2013.

“There are no easy solutions, but we need to be more stringent than ever in ensuring each ingredient is delivering the optimum functional impact.”

With this in mind, factors outside of cost will play a key role for businesses. Premier Foods has always placed a great deal of importance on high-quality products, customer service and good customer relationships and this won't change going forward. If anything, there will be more emphasis than ever on these aspects of our business, helping customers who face the same challenges to drive their own businesses forward.

Secondly, I think that corporate social responsibility will have an increased impact on businesses globally and, within this, sustainability and carbon emissions. It will become less voluntary and more of a requirement, and, as consumers become more aware of its importance, an expectation.

Sustainability is one of the most important areas of the Premier Foods business strategy and it's our mission to ensure that our products are sustainably and ethically sourced, manufactured, distributed and consumed, with our use of Certified Identity Preserved palm oil being a good example of this.

In 2011 we were presented with a 'Good Egg' award from Compassion in World Farming for switching Mr Kipling to 100% free range eggs, were awarded top marks in the World Wildlife Fund's 'Responsible Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard' and were runners up in the Green Manufacturing category of the European Strategic Manufacturing Awards.

Amongst all these challenges, innovation remains a crucial driver for food producers in today's competitive market, so what are the factors that make a good innovation lab?

To achieve a good innovation lab, you need a team of technologists who know their products but can also draw ideas from different sectors of the food industry, adapting them to work in new situations, or developing into something new altogether.

Once you have a good team, you have to provide them with the tools and the space to play with those ideas as that's the only way to come up with the great products we want.

I think the strength of the Premier Foods Innovations lab lies in the breadth of our expertise. Our technologists almost always know someone who can help, whatever the idea and whatever the technology required to pursue it.

“Corporate social responsibility will become less voluntary and more of a requirement, and, as consumers become more aware of its importance, an expectation.”

That breadth also allows us to test out ideas on a range of processes, spanning the food industry; on my desk at the moment I have an aseptically packed toastie that has remained stable for two years... watch this space.

Open-mindedness is also key; within the lab our technologists are a team and keen to make something happen if a colleague puts forward a good idea, and outside the lab our Premier Foods colleagues are very supportive of new concepts and their potential.

In your opinion, what are the top global future labs and why?

I think deciding on the best development centre depends on the product and the locality. We, for example, focus on the UK market and as such want to generate products that are loved by UK consumers. Some others focus on bringing cutting-edge science to global food. It all depends on what you are trying to achieve.

What I have observed is that our ingredient suppliers have generally improved the level of support and innovation they bring to us. It is of course a good strategy to avoid commodity pricing, but it's also been a welcome trend.

Thinking innovation, are there areas that Premier Foods could be improving in?

Our team is critical to our success, so it is important to pay constant attention to building and training our individuals, and sharing our know-how across the brands. We do this pretty well but it is a focus for us, because it needs to be; it's all too easy to become complacent and apply the same training principles again and again.

Overall, then, how is business faring at Premier Foods?

It's no secret that we have made changes within the business and now focus on eight key power brands. These brands - Hovis, Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Batchelors, Lloyd Grossman, Bisto, OXO and Sharwood's - have the necessary platforms to grow, so I think we are in an excellent place for the future to excel as a company that produces the best in British food. It's a case of driving business forward as effectively as we can and, with initiatives such as the Premier Foods Innovation Lab, we're in a very good position to achieve it.

Paul Molyneux is head of technical innovation of baking, cake and milling at Premier Foods.
Technologists at the Premier Foods innovation lab can test all scales of loaf production.


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