New ready meal company, Done, sought the expertise of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI) to help prove their product concept, carry out product development and to gain valuable advice with how to scale their business. The founders of Done were looking to develop innovative ready meals which would provide consumers with the daily recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables in each meal.
The project was funded by the Healthier Product Innovation Fund by Interface and Food and Drink Federation Scotland’s Reformulation for Health Programme.
The project has resulted in the client being more confident with the next steps they have to take in order to launch the 6 innovative recipes.
"We had a great experience working with the team at QMU. Not only did they help prove our concept and develop our prototype recipes, but they shared industry advice and information freely. They suggested future partners, potential routes to market, and highlighted possible pitfalls we might encounter along the way. The team were a pleasure to work with and with their help, we’re now taking the next steps with a little more of the confidence required "
- The Brief
- The Research
- The Outcome
- The Impact
The brief was to develop a range of ready meals that will be a market first, all of which will include 5 portions of fruit and veg in each meal. The meals will provide an easy and convenient format for consumers to enjoy and obtain their 5 a day.
As part of the ‘Diet and Healthy Weight: Monitoring Report 2020’ it was reported that in 2019, only 22% of adults consumed the daily recommended 5 portions of fruit and vegetables. In addition to this, it was reported that 10% of adults consume no portions of fruit and vegetables in a typical day (Scottish Government 2020). There are many reasons why people struggle to achieve 5 a day, this includes, but is not limited to: the price, a lack of confidence with cooking skills, too much preparation required and some simply don’t like the taste (British Dietetic Association, 2019).
The concept for the meals will remove the worry for consumers trying to consume 5 portions of fruit and veg as they will achieve this goal when consuming just one of Done’s ready meals. The meals will also contain protein and carbohydrates and will all be under the maximum desired weight of 550g. The meals were also required to meet Public Health England’s Salt reduction targets for 2024 for ready meals. The team had to use their nutritional knowledge to formulate recipes that would not exceed the maximum salt targets but whilst still enhancing flavours.
The SCFDI team have experience and knowledge of recipe innovation, product development, ingredient sourcing, nutrition, food labelling and have manufacturing contacts throughout Scotland.
The SCFDI team already had knowledge of the 5 a day scheme and what could be counted as a portion of fruit or vegetables. Further research was carried out to determine clever inclusions like blending vegetables to form sauces or including pulses to substitute meat. One of your 5 a day should weigh in at 80g of fruit or veg. Therefore, in order to eat 5 portions, a consumer would need to be eating at least 400g of fruit or vegetables alone. This was a challenge as the target weight for the meals was between 500-550g. The team applied their culinary skills to develop a number of meals in the kitchen, over three recipe development stages. At the end of each development stage the client came to the development kitchen at Queen Margaret University to taste each of the ready meals and provide in person feedback to steer the direction of the next development stage. This resulted in the approval of six different recipes, these recipes were nutritionally analysed by a UKAS accredited lab which can be used for back of pack labelling.
The project resulted in the company receiving product information for 6 innovative ready meals. An information pack for each of the ready meals provided details of the formulations and kitchen scale methodology which was developed to allow for upscaling to production. Nutritional information and a labelling declaration, including any relevant allergen information, was provided for each recipe based on the kitchen scale recipes. The team provided invaluable advice on how to progress to the next stage of their business, either self-manufacturing or co-manufacturing.
After the completion of the project, the company brought a chef on board to help further develop the meals that were made during the project. The company have launched their website, and they plan to give away a total of 800 meals (across two different stages) to gain valuable customer feedback and promote their innovative ready meals. Beyond this, the company hope to launch in late September 2024 with an initial offering of four ready meal options with more to follow suit.
