Reference no: EM133950157

Question

Technology on the Menu

Adopting High Pressure Processing (HPP) technology has enabled The Soup Spoon to increase the shelf life of its soup products, reduce food wastage and gain more opportunities for growth. With HPP, the company can get up to 120 days of shelf life compared to just 14 days previously, without having to tweak their recipes or compromise on taste.

Satisfied with the outcome of the technology, the company decided to purchase a HPP machine despite its high cost. The company was able to defray part of the cost with assistance from SPRING Singapore.

Being one of the early adopters of HPP technology in Singapore, their Executive Director Ms. Anna Lim believes that the technology and its benefits was worth the journey. "It has helped us increase the shelf life of our soup products, which in turn has opened new doors for us both locally and globally", says Ms. Lim. "This has enabled us to enter new domestic retail channels, expand into the B2B market and even export our soups".

Its more recent B2B collaboration is with FairPrice Finest, in addition to partnerships with Cold Storage and Redmart. "Advanced food processing technology has given us a way to grow the business and our distribution channels, and not depend solely on our own retail F&B stores to generate sales", says Ms. Lim.

The company also worked with local fitness center GymmBoxx in 2017 to increase the shelf life of its protein products. The Soup Spoon is also working with food services, The Common Good Company, to produce healthy, long shelf-life ready meals for one of its clients, Cheers, a local convenience food chain.

In the coming months, The Soup Spoon plans to further expand its distribution channels to South Korea. There are not many players in the South Korean market that sell soups in chilled format, with long shelf lives and no preservatives. On why expanding into these markets are important, Ms. Lim says that the ready meals market in Singapore will soon become saturated with competition. 'That is why it is important to be open to technology and innovation, to be able to stay competitive in the long run".

(Adapted for academic purposes from Technology On the Menu, Spring News, November 2017)

1. Critically evaluate the factors/attributes that affect the speed of customer acceptance of a new product like chilled soup with long shelf-life and no preservatives.

2. Analyse the main issues in designing suitable distribution channels for The Soup Spoon as it ponders expansion into South Korea.

3. Appraise three (3) basic ways to enter South Korea for The Soup Spoon based on your analysis in (a) and (b).