When Science meets Food

I am not sure about you, but I for one, never fully understood the science behind food or how they were interlinked – well that all changed after I listened to Dr. Lisa Ryan (Head of Dept. of Naturel Sciences, GMIT) deliver a very gripping lecture to the class. Many of us have heard the words carbohydrates, proteins and fats when it comes to our diet but I am not sure that we fully understand the science or nutrition behind those words. This lecture educated the class on energy balance, food composition, functions of macro/micronutrients, body absorption and food sources. Dr Ryan explained that understanding how certain nutrients and minerals affect the body could influence why people eat certain foods and follow a particular diet. The class were highly intrigued, interested and in some cases surprised to learn the science and nutrition behind certain foods. Knowing this information and being able to speak to someone as experienced as Dr. Lisa Ryan is in food science, will be a great aid to the students as they develop their food products.

Dr. Ryan also discussed the importance of food labelling and the regulation around same, something everyone in the food industry needs to be aware of. Consumers need to be educated about any new product so correct labelling of your food product will serve as both an educational and marketing tool. From now on I will be paying much more attention to food labels and plenty of your potential customers will be the same, so make sure your label is accurate!

I think it is safe to say people are becoming more and more aware of food composition and are more concerned about the health benefits of what they eat. If you are planning on bringing a food product to the market, you need to understand the science and nutrition behind that product and its potential place in the health markets. The saying “you are what you eat” makes a whole lot more sense to me now!

Understanding problems gives us better solutions…

With the classroom resembling a preschool with post it notes, coloured card, markers, plasticine, stickers, scissors and tape at the ready, I really did think I stepped into the wrong class this morning. But no, sure enough once our guest lecturer Maurice Knightly walked through the door I knew it was going to be a very creative and fun day! Design Thinking – a concept alien to most of us but applicable to all of us, was the topic of the day. In Maurice’s own words “to talk about and explain it for the day would bore anyone” but get out there and put it into practise – now that you will remember, and so that is exactly what happened. Design thinking is a process, use it correctly and developing your product or business just got a whole lot easier. Most people start with an idea – it’s a good start I think myself but after listening to Maurice a better start would be to start by understanding. Understand what the problem is. In order to do that observation (not assumption) is key, ask your customers, define the product, ideate using dozens of post it notes, prototype and test the product. By following the design thinking process and keeping the end users needs in mind, you will create a successful product – it’s that easy! To put theory into practice, the students were challenged with designing the perfect piece of luggage, using the design thinking process. With notebooks to the ready, the conversations and observations began and the end results……… 3 very innovative luggage prototypes! Presenting their findings and designing a prototype of the luggage (yes all the cardboard, glue, stickers, markers and plasticine were put to good use) I was intrigued and inspired by the students creations – from customising your own high tech suitcase powered by solar panels and fingerprint scanners, to lightweight bamboo luggage with carbon fibre wheels and a suitcase encompassing every compartment one could think off with a digital tag attached that included a flight reminder alarm (only one of many of its functions)   – the presentations were the most interesting I have ever sat through….and I wanted all three pieces of luggage! It was without doubt a day full of creative thinking but demonstrated a learning curve for most of our entrepreneurs – understand, don’t assume and give the customer what they need!

Know your customer!

Customer Discovery was the hot topic in this week’s class. It is all very well knowing your product, but do you know your customer? Well that was the question Ronan Byrne (The Friendly Farmer) put to the class. Ronan decided a group challenge would be the most interesting way for the students to experience customer discovery first hand. So armed with some short open ended questions, they hit the streets to find out exactly what the customer is looking for and what influences their choices when buying a particular product. With some very interesting results and excellent presentations by the students, we all learnt just how important it is to use Customer Discovery as a tool at the start of any business. Knowing what your customer wants and giving that to your customer is key to any business start-up. Ronan spoke to the class about his experience and how he still uses customer discovery as a tool to develop his business on a continuous basis. So get out there and start asking questions, understanding your customer needs will make developing your business a whole lot easier!