Scooping up new products
By Dave Dreeszen Journal business editor | Posted: Sunday, April 01, 2007
Le MARS, Iowa — Wearing a white lab coat and a hairnet, Logan Julstrom added spoonfuls of vanilla flavoring to soft-serve ice cream in a plastic gallon pail.
Her boss, Tom Aurand, Wells' Dairy senior director of research and development, watched as she mixed the creamy concoction, which she hopes to pair with a candy bar.
Aurand noted Julstrom, a product development technologist, likes to experiment with more exotic flavors.
"Logan's one of our more creative individuals," he said. "She’ll come up with a hot chili ice cream or something. I'll say, 'You're making what?' "
"But you’ve always tried it." Julstrom responded with a smile. Aurand quickly agreed, "I've never turned it down."
Whether it's new flavors of Blue Bunny ice cream or fresh yogurt sold in supermarkets, tasty frozen treats dispensed from vending machines or succulent desserts served in casual-dining restaurants, Wells' relies on such creativity to develop new products that boost the bottom line.
"To a certain extent, there are consumers out there who are willing to take a risk, to try something new, So when they take that off the shelf, we want to them say, 'Wow!'" Aurand said. "We're willing to take that risk for them to say, 'Wow!' "
With the opening of Wells' Dairy's $26 million corporate campus in Le Mars last fall, its growing team of researchers, food scientists, engineers and marketing experts are now under one roof. A first-floor wing of the headquarters boasts state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to develop and test products and quickly bring them to market.
Built with future expansion in mind, the Research & Development wing boasts four mini plants, high-tech labs, a culinary kitchen and rooms for consumer focus groups and taste tests.
The new hub covers 29,000 square feet, 10 times larger than the space previously devoted for R&D functions in a series of buildings scattered around Le Mars. To make test batches of new products, for example, researchers had to temporarily halt production in one of the main ice cream plant. In the former lab, a small modified kitchen, there was only enough room for two people to work at any one time.
"In the old environment, we did Herculean tasks to get new products out simply because we didn’t have the same facilities," Aurand said.
Wells' leaders are counting on a multi-million dollar investment in research and development to help achieve their lofty goal of becoming the No. 3 brand of ice cream, fresh yogurt and frozen novelties. Depending how you calculate the rankings, Wells', the nation's largest family-owned and managed dairy processor, is now fifth or sixth in novelties and seventh or eighth in yogurt sales.
"To grow the brand, we’re going to have to grow products," Aurand said. "When we went to build this new building, we identified early on the only way we are going to make it in the marketplace is to come up with innovative ideas. What we have here is a fully functional facility to come up with those new ideas."
Consumer trends
The company also beefed up its research and development staff. Twenty-six people now work in the department, a five-fold increase from the mid-1990s. Eight hold advanced degrees, including three with PhDs. Among those with doctorates are Aurand, a 27-year food industry veteran who joined Wells' 1 1/2 years ago.
Wells', which does business in all 50 states and 24 foreign countries, introduces 15 to 25 new products each year for its retail and food service customers, spokesperson Leslie Bartholomew said. New ice creams and frozen novelties typically are rolled out in February or March, coinciding with the one time a year most retailers reset their shelves. With fresh yogurt, new flavors are launched twice a year, usually in December and late May or early June, she said.
Of the products it develops, Wells' has a "very high" success rate, said Bartholomew, though she did not cite a specific percentage. The hottest products are rushed to market in as little as a few months. Two years ago, Blue Bunny launched 12 different Weight Watchers items in three months shortly after inking a deal with the national weight loss organization.
Aurand said consumer trends drive development of many products or concepts. Blue Bunny's new Lite 85 Superfruit yogurt line, for instance, tapped into the growing demand for the exotic fruits pomegranates, acai and black currants, which are loaded with powerful antioxidants. Wells' paired them with more traditional fruits to create unique flavors like pomegranate blueberry and raspberry acai berry.
The Lite 85 and Weight Watchers lines are among the roughly 15 percent of Wells' products in the fast-growing "better for you" category. The products, which include fat-free, no-sugar added and low carb ice creams, reflect the buying patterns of the increasing numbers of health-conscious consumers. But Bartholomew said Blue Bunny has been careful not to compromise on taste or enjoyment of its products.
"Our consumers tell us they are tired of typical "diet" foods," she said. "They want products that are premium and indulgent in quality and taste, just tailored to meet their diet needs."
Consumers play a key role in development of most any new product or packaging. The first-floor of the new corporate center houses a sensory kitchen and lab, which regularly hosts groups of 12 consumers at a time, both from the local area and from outside cities like Omaha. In the lab, rows of narrow tasting booths with touch-screen computers allow testers to register their findings in a semi-private setting.
"We want to learn what the consumers think of the products and how to make it better," said Dave Smetter, senior director of corporate marketing and communications. "We want their candid comments. We don't want them influenced by their fellow panelists."
The lab also includes focus group rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and one-way mirrors, which allow company officials on the other side of the mirror to view the discussions. "We can monitor what people are saying and how they’re saying it because there's a lot that can be picked up from body language," Aurand said.
Prior to the opening of the corporate center, the company usually had to go out of town to conduct focus groups, Smetter said.
In the focus groups, consumers relate personal experiences that give birth to new ideas or reinforce the company's plans for new products. For instance, test groups found Blue Bunny's new elliptical containers easier to use than traditional square half-gallon cartons.
"One of the key things we found out was when people dip out of a square half gallon, they get old ’knucklemuck’ — ice cream all over their knuckles," Aurand said. "They didn’t get that with the elliptical container."
The research and development team also gets ideas from outside sources such as competitors, suppliers and trade publications. A room near the entrance to the research and development wing is reserved for suppliers to pitch different ingredients.
Mini plants
If an idea sounds promising, a prototype is developed, and tested in a series of mini plants that duplicate the main production areas. It's vital to know if an item can be commercially produced, at the rate of hundreds of units or more per minute, Aurand said.
"One of the worst things we can do is come up with a new product that we can’t scale up to the (main) plant," he said.
Raw materials like milk, cream and sugar are automatically mixed in the pasteurization lab. Next door, there is a culture lab to prepare yogurt bases.
After an ice cream base is pasteurized, it's pumped into the freezer lab, where researchers make small batches of a flavor, from a half gallon to 10 to 20 gallons. They typically fill containers with a soft-serve ice cream machine, much like you would see at a Dairy Queen. Other methods are used to prepare novelties, like novelties on sticks.
Test products are taken across the hallway to a large blast freezer, where temperatures are kept at a frigid minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Once hardened, they’re brought to the main development lab, where food scientists experiment with flavors, mixing in various ingredients, from chocolate chunks to caramel to marshmallows to coconut.
In an adjacent lab, researchers use high-tech equipment to analyze Wells' own products, as well as those of competitors, for content such as protein and fat. The lab also tests new technology before it's installed in a plant.
"We’ll start here to make sure we understand the methodology before we take it out into a production setting," Aurand said.
Culinary kitchen
In many cases, prototype products are made from scratch under the direction of company culinologist John Kennedy III.
What's a culinologist? They’re part food scientist and part culinary artist. Kennedy, the second graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's groundbreaking culinary arts program, became the first full-time, on-staff culinologist in the U.S. when he joined Wells' Dairy two years ago.
Kennedy, who is also a chef, now has a state-of-the-art kitchen in which to weave his culinary magic. Gleaming pots and pans hang from racks in the 1,800-square foot kitchen, lined with stainless steel appliances that include ovens, grillers, fryers and smokers.
What's a fryer got to do with ice cream? "I had to scratch my head on that one," Aurand said. "I said, ’Oh, fried ice cream!’ "
At first, the need for a smoker in the kitchen was even more difficult to comprehend. "One of the big trends we see today is smoking various types of ingredients, like chocolates, spices and herbs," he said.
The culinary kitchen is modeled after those used by restaurants and food service companies that do business with the company. Casual-dining chains like Applebee's serve speciality desserts and appetizers created by Kennedy.
"It's integrating our ice cream and yogurt into their restaurants," he said. "
Kennedy regularly hosts representatives of restaurants, who sample desserts and see what they would look like on a diner's table.
To give the culinary kitchen a more homey feeling, there are plans to add wood floors and drapes. Think the Food Network.
Aurand said many projects that start in the culinary kitchen achieve the "gold standard" in product development. It serves as a baseline to maintain product quality over time.
"The gold standard would serve as the best that product would ever be," he said.
Great enough for Blue Bunny customers to say, "Wow!."
Dave Dreeszen can be reached at (712) 293-4211 or davedreeszen@siouxcityjournal.com
Her boss, Tom Aurand, Wells' Dairy senior director of research and development, watched as she mixed the creamy concoction, which she hopes to pair with a candy bar.
Aurand noted Julstrom, a product development technologist, likes to experiment with more exotic flavors.
"Logan's one of our more creative individuals," he said. "She’ll come up with a hot chili ice cream or something. I'll say, 'You're making what?' "
"But you’ve always tried it." Julstrom responded with a smile. Aurand quickly agreed, "I've never turned it down."
Whether it's new flavors of Blue Bunny ice cream or fresh yogurt sold in supermarkets, tasty frozen treats dispensed from vending machines or succulent desserts served in casual-dining restaurants, Wells' relies on such creativity to develop new products that boost the bottom line.
"To a certain extent, there are consumers out there who are willing to take a risk, to try something new, So when they take that off the shelf, we want to them say, 'Wow!'" Aurand said. "We're willing to take that risk for them to say, 'Wow!' "
With the opening of Wells' Dairy's $26 million corporate campus in Le Mars last fall, its growing team of researchers, food scientists, engineers and marketing experts are now under one roof. A first-floor wing of the headquarters boasts state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to develop and test products and quickly bring them to market.
Built with future expansion in mind, the Research & Development wing boasts four mini plants, high-tech labs, a culinary kitchen and rooms for consumer focus groups and taste tests.
The new hub covers 29,000 square feet, 10 times larger than the space previously devoted for R&D functions in a series of buildings scattered around Le Mars. To make test batches of new products, for example, researchers had to temporarily halt production in one of the main ice cream plant. In the former lab, a small modified kitchen, there was only enough room for two people to work at any one time.
"In the old environment, we did Herculean tasks to get new products out simply because we didn’t have the same facilities," Aurand said.
Wells' leaders are counting on a multi-million dollar investment in research and development to help achieve their lofty goal of becoming the No. 3 brand of ice cream, fresh yogurt and frozen novelties. Depending how you calculate the rankings, Wells', the nation's largest family-owned and managed dairy processor, is now fifth or sixth in novelties and seventh or eighth in yogurt sales.
"To grow the brand, we’re going to have to grow products," Aurand said. "When we went to build this new building, we identified early on the only way we are going to make it in the marketplace is to come up with innovative ideas. What we have here is a fully functional facility to come up with those new ideas."
Consumer trends
The company also beefed up its research and development staff. Twenty-six people now work in the department, a five-fold increase from the mid-1990s. Eight hold advanced degrees, including three with PhDs. Among those with doctorates are Aurand, a 27-year food industry veteran who joined Wells' 1 1/2 years ago.
Wells', which does business in all 50 states and 24 foreign countries, introduces 15 to 25 new products each year for its retail and food service customers, spokesperson Leslie Bartholomew said. New ice creams and frozen novelties typically are rolled out in February or March, coinciding with the one time a year most retailers reset their shelves. With fresh yogurt, new flavors are launched twice a year, usually in December and late May or early June, she said.
Of the products it develops, Wells' has a "very high" success rate, said Bartholomew, though she did not cite a specific percentage. The hottest products are rushed to market in as little as a few months. Two years ago, Blue Bunny launched 12 different Weight Watchers items in three months shortly after inking a deal with the national weight loss organization.
Aurand said consumer trends drive development of many products or concepts. Blue Bunny's new Lite 85 Superfruit yogurt line, for instance, tapped into the growing demand for the exotic fruits pomegranates, acai and black currants, which are loaded with powerful antioxidants. Wells' paired them with more traditional fruits to create unique flavors like pomegranate blueberry and raspberry acai berry.
The Lite 85 and Weight Watchers lines are among the roughly 15 percent of Wells' products in the fast-growing "better for you" category. The products, which include fat-free, no-sugar added and low carb ice creams, reflect the buying patterns of the increasing numbers of health-conscious consumers. But Bartholomew said Blue Bunny has been careful not to compromise on taste or enjoyment of its products.
"Our consumers tell us they are tired of typical "diet" foods," she said. "They want products that are premium and indulgent in quality and taste, just tailored to meet their diet needs."
Consumers play a key role in development of most any new product or packaging. The first-floor of the new corporate center houses a sensory kitchen and lab, which regularly hosts groups of 12 consumers at a time, both from the local area and from outside cities like Omaha. In the lab, rows of narrow tasting booths with touch-screen computers allow testers to register their findings in a semi-private setting.
"We want to learn what the consumers think of the products and how to make it better," said Dave Smetter, senior director of corporate marketing and communications. "We want their candid comments. We don't want them influenced by their fellow panelists."
The lab also includes focus group rooms with state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and one-way mirrors, which allow company officials on the other side of the mirror to view the discussions. "We can monitor what people are saying and how they’re saying it because there's a lot that can be picked up from body language," Aurand said.
Prior to the opening of the corporate center, the company usually had to go out of town to conduct focus groups, Smetter said.
In the focus groups, consumers relate personal experiences that give birth to new ideas or reinforce the company's plans for new products. For instance, test groups found Blue Bunny's new elliptical containers easier to use than traditional square half-gallon cartons.
"One of the key things we found out was when people dip out of a square half gallon, they get old ’knucklemuck’ — ice cream all over their knuckles," Aurand said. "They didn’t get that with the elliptical container."
The research and development team also gets ideas from outside sources such as competitors, suppliers and trade publications. A room near the entrance to the research and development wing is reserved for suppliers to pitch different ingredients.
Mini plants
If an idea sounds promising, a prototype is developed, and tested in a series of mini plants that duplicate the main production areas. It's vital to know if an item can be commercially produced, at the rate of hundreds of units or more per minute, Aurand said.
"One of the worst things we can do is come up with a new product that we can’t scale up to the (main) plant," he said.
Raw materials like milk, cream and sugar are automatically mixed in the pasteurization lab. Next door, there is a culture lab to prepare yogurt bases.
After an ice cream base is pasteurized, it's pumped into the freezer lab, where researchers make small batches of a flavor, from a half gallon to 10 to 20 gallons. They typically fill containers with a soft-serve ice cream machine, much like you would see at a Dairy Queen. Other methods are used to prepare novelties, like novelties on sticks.
Test products are taken across the hallway to a large blast freezer, where temperatures are kept at a frigid minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Once hardened, they’re brought to the main development lab, where food scientists experiment with flavors, mixing in various ingredients, from chocolate chunks to caramel to marshmallows to coconut.
In an adjacent lab, researchers use high-tech equipment to analyze Wells' own products, as well as those of competitors, for content such as protein and fat. The lab also tests new technology before it's installed in a plant.
"We’ll start here to make sure we understand the methodology before we take it out into a production setting," Aurand said.
Culinary kitchen
In many cases, prototype products are made from scratch under the direction of company culinologist John Kennedy III.
What's a culinologist? They’re part food scientist and part culinary artist. Kennedy, the second graduate of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's groundbreaking culinary arts program, became the first full-time, on-staff culinologist in the U.S. when he joined Wells' Dairy two years ago.
Kennedy, who is also a chef, now has a state-of-the-art kitchen in which to weave his culinary magic. Gleaming pots and pans hang from racks in the 1,800-square foot kitchen, lined with stainless steel appliances that include ovens, grillers, fryers and smokers.
What's a fryer got to do with ice cream? "I had to scratch my head on that one," Aurand said. "I said, ’Oh, fried ice cream!’ "
At first, the need for a smoker in the kitchen was even more difficult to comprehend. "One of the big trends we see today is smoking various types of ingredients, like chocolates, spices and herbs," he said.
The culinary kitchen is modeled after those used by restaurants and food service companies that do business with the company. Casual-dining chains like Applebee's serve speciality desserts and appetizers created by Kennedy.
"It's integrating our ice cream and yogurt into their restaurants," he said. "
Kennedy regularly hosts representatives of restaurants, who sample desserts and see what they would look like on a diner's table.
To give the culinary kitchen a more homey feeling, there are plans to add wood floors and drapes. Think the Food Network.
Aurand said many projects that start in the culinary kitchen achieve the "gold standard" in product development. It serves as a baseline to maintain product quality over time.
"The gold standard would serve as the best that product would ever be," he said.
Great enough for Blue Bunny customers to say, "Wow!."
Dave Dreeszen can be reached at (712) 293-4211 or davedreeszen@siouxcityjournal.com
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