Commitment to Packaging Product Development
Layfield is constantly looking at ways to improve and update our product offering. It has been this dedication to R&D that has been critical to our success. Products go through the stages their lifecycle (introduction, growth, maturity, and decline) and will eventually have to be replaced. At Layfield we are always looking at ways to extend our existing products life, be it through process improvements, new blend formulations, and/or through the use of new emerging technologies. We are also passionately looking at new products we can bring to the market which will give our customers a new way of packaging or marketing their product to the final consumer.
The process of new product development is crucial within any organization. At Layfield, we utilize a very methodological approach to new product development, going through an eight stage process. These stages include:
Stage 1: Idea generation - Product ideas are brought to use from various sources including: customers, suppliers, distributors, competitors and our employees.
Stage 2: Idea Screening - Product ideas are then screened based on feasibility and the resources needed to develop.
Stage 3: Concept Development and Testing – We spend time with our customers to review new product ideas to determine if the concept is practical and feasible and if there are any issues that we have overlooked.
Stage 4: Marketing Strategy and Development - A proposed marketing strategy will be written laying out the marketing mix strategy of the product, the segmentation, targeting and positioning strategy sales and profits that are expected.
Stage 5: Business Analysis - The business analysis stage looks more deeply into the cash flow the product could generate, what the cost will be, how much market shares the product may achieve and the expected life of the product.
Stage 6: Product Development - This is the stage that a prototype is finally produced. The prototype will clearly run through all the desired tests, and be presented to the target audience to see if changes need to be made.
Stage 7: Test Marketing - The product will be launched within a particular region so the marketing mix strategy can be monitored and if needed, be modified before national launch.
Stage 8: Commercialization - If the test marketing stage has been successful then the product will go for a full launch.
It’s an accepted fact that the key to increasing profitability and growth is through innovation. At Layfield, we are committed to working with our customer and various supply partners to bring new products to market.