A lesson in product development

Students on the College's Culinary Arts Management programme were recently finding out more about the development of new products, when they paid a visit to one of the area’s leading food manufacturers.

Shire Foods Ltd, based in Leamington Spa, produces over 15million pies, pasties and sausage rolls each year, and is the leading supplier to football and rugby clubs in the UK. The firm employs around 80 members of staff and recently moved into new, purpose-built premises.

The 28 final year students were given a tour of the factory and a presentation on how the New Product Development process works from an initial concept, through the specific development stages to full-scale production, including labelling, packaging and hazard analysis.

Lecturer Bernard Schumacher said: "The factory was very modern, using the latest technology for the production of high-quality food products.

"The visit was extremely beneficial for our students by showing them the effective implementation of New Product Development by a locally-based, high-profile manufacturer.

"We'd like to give a special thanks to managing director Michael Tzirki and technical manager Earl West for giving us the opportunity to visit their plant."

Product development is an important part of the BSc (Hons) and FdA Culinary Arts Management courses, where students complete a project in the final year, where they devise a new food product and consider how it would be produced.

Student Abbi Holtzmein said: "I found the day very informative and relevant to the subject of new product development."

Tim Woodhead added: "The trip was very useful, and it added practical relevance to the theory we’ve learned in lessons."