1. They’ve got food on the brain
Product developers always on the lookout for new trends that often end up on our tables
Product developer
Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Sari Goldenberg, a product developer for the deli department at Loblaws' President's Choice testing kitchen in Brampton,
prepares some cheeses.
Guelph Mercury
TORONTO — Does the world need another pizza?
If so, what toppings should be on it? How about pancetta, to catch the current bacon trend? Or should it
feature ingredients grown in Canada, to reach the local-food movement?
These are the sorts of questions food product developers ask themselves as part of their work day. Is
cheese still hot? What can I do with Moroccan flavours? If meat on a stick is popular, would dessert on a
stick also sell?
Sari Goldenberg, a food product developer for Loblaw, spends hours reading about food, thinking about
food, travelling to other countries to taste food and cooking food. If she sees a trend being yakked about
on food blogs that she likes, chances are that you will be able to buy a product based on it in a few
months.
“The internet is my best friend,” says Goldenberg with a big smile.
Goldenberg is enthusiastic about all aspects of food. As one of 12 product developers working on
branded lines such as President’s Choice and Blue Menu, she feels she has the perfect job.
She and her fellow product developers work from a large test kitchen at the grocery chain’s headquarters
in Brampton. Two full-time chefs and three freelance chefs help them develop their ideas.
Developers have varied backgrounds but usually a degree in a food science or culinary skills. Goldenberg
graduated from the George Brown Culinary Institute in Toronto, worked in restaurants and as a caterer,
served hors d’oeuvres to Bill and Hillary Clinton.
From their travels around the world and the internet, Loblaw’s developers, who are assigned specific food
categories such as deli, bakery or “frozen grocery,” bring their ideas to the test kitchen to bounce off their
fellow foodies. Sometimes the chain will identify a particular hole in a product line that they would like to
fill.

2. Goldenberg, who specializes in deli products, recently came up with a new President’s Choice-branded
blue cheese using milk from Canadian cows, something the retailer had wanted to add to its lineup for
ages.
“I know a lot about cheese. It is my specialty,” says Goldenberg. “I force myself to eat a lot of cheese.”
She doesn’t sound too unhappy at the assignment.
The concept for the new product is worked out around a table in the test kitchen, where product
developers gather twice a day to discuss their own concepts and give feedback on others. They decide if
the idea has a home in their product lines — is it Blue Menu (health-oriented) or does it fit somewhere
else?
In the Case of the New Blue Cheese, for instance, Goldenberg first sampled cheeses from various shops
to decide what direction she should go. Pungent or passive? What sort of sensory or visual appeal was
wanted?
These questions were discussed with the team and when a decision was reached that an “entry-level”
blue was the ticket, Goldenberg worked with a cheese maker to come up with some samples, which she
brought back to the group at the test kitchen for feedback.
Once a sample got the thumbs-up, such issues as cost, packaging and the size of the production run
were established and an order went back to the manufacturer for production. For some products, there
might be some back and forth between the product developers and the plant as the final decisions are
made.
Then it is committed to production and writers who create the copy for the packaging as well as the
chain’s Insider’s Report magazine are brought into the loop to come up with descriptions to entice
shoppers into tossing it into their shopping carts.
It’s a fast turnaround — Loblaw doesn’t do product testing with consumers in the traditional sense. This
enables them to get new products on store shelves quickly.
It does use volunteers from among the 3,000 employees who work at its headquarters for testing. They
can sign up to test products and give feedback to the product development team.
The ultimate test comes when the product hits store shelves. At Loblaw, there is no hard time frame put
around when a product is deemed a success, says Ian Gordon, senior vice-president of Loblaw brands.
“We have a lot of products that are amazing, but they take two, three years for customers to find,” says
Gordon.
Sheer volume in sales is not the only measure of a hit, says Gordon. They also look for “high repeat”
sales — a product that maybe doesn’t sell in huge volume but that some customers just love and buy
repeatedly.
And they know from experience that certain ingredients are “polarizing” — some people will never buy
products that contain mushrooms or olives, for instance. “People either love them or hate them,” says
Gordon.
Sometimes products don’t work out. Fresh mayonnaise, which Loblaw’s developers loved and thought
delicious, didn’t sell. Shoppers conditioned to buying mayonnaise in a jar may have been confused by
one sold alongside yogurt in the refrigeration aisle, says Maria Charvate, vice-president of product
development.
Timing is everything, says Charvate. “We’ve launched products ahead of their time.”
For Goldenberg, the payoff comes when she sees something she developed on the shelves at her local
store. She still remembers the time she saw her first baby — smoked meat rolled and packaged in a
pouch — for sale.
“You see all the work you’ve done come to fruition. It’s very satisfying.” The Canadian Press