INNOVATION in vegetable processing could hold the key to premium consumer dollars, according to Professor Roger Stanley.
Professor Stanley’s presentation on creating new, high value innovative products from vegetables, root and tuber crops, headed a symposia on vegetable value at the International Horticultural Congress.
The Director for the Centre for Food Innovation, University of Tasmania, Launceston, said the value of an innovative product is determined by what the buyer or consumer thinks it is worth to them.
When it came to what drove consumers to purchase, Professor Stanley said “the big three” were: quality, health and convenience.
“This perceived value affects the price they are willing to pay rather than the true cost of production,” Professor Stanley said.
He said new horticultural products should be targeting consumers with this in mind.
Other drivers such as novelty, indulgence, luxury, provenance and credence values can add higher value if they are in accordance with consumer’s own beliefs and needs.
He gave an example of the human attraction to colours as being representative of health.
He said the idea of “eating a rainbow” had merit with people more likely to consume something that appears colourful.
With this thinking, he said vegetable varieties such as carrots and potatoes of different varieties have marketing potential when used together.
“Innovation and value can be added at any point along the supply chain,” Professor Stanley said.
“It can start from cultivar selections that enhance desired properties like health content, be added to by horticulture production technology such as organic credence values, and include processing options, such as fresh-cut and packaging, that create new desired product forms and properties.”
He said it also extended to added consumer services such as communication technologies like QR codes which help influence consumers’ perceptions of the product.
