Product Evaluations, Inc. and IFMA Collaborate on Webinar Series Examining Best Practices in Innovation Process

Business Wire,  March 26, 2008  

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LAGRANGE, Ill. -- Product Evaluations, Inc. and the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA) will hold a webinar on April 24, 2008 at 4 p.m. (EDT) to discuss "Best Practices in New Product Development - Stage I - Finding the Best Ideas."

In this webinar, Jane Wood, President of Product Evaluations, Inc., will offer an in-depth look at idea pipeline development, management and usage. Specific topics covered will include:

* "Laying the Groundwork": establishing strategic criteria and setting the innovation plan.

* "The Innovation Pipeline": organizing, goal setting and maintenance.

* "Filling the Pipeline": traditional ideation, gathering ideas from internal teams, brokers and customers, software tools available and web-sites to visit.

* "Selecting/Prioritizing the Best Ideas to Develop": how to effectively sort through the maze of ideas.

* "Pitfalls": The top 5 mistakes companies make.

"With so many new products failing, it is critical that companies better understand market demand and predict success for new products," says Jane Wood, president of Product Evaluations, Inc., "This webinar will help innovation teams better focus efforts on the right ideas and maximize resource spend."

Industry research indicates that 39% of new products fail within two years. A product failure can cost a company millions, not to mention the cost of the negative impact on brand identity, reputation with customers and lost productivity of sales and marketing.

"We are happy to be partnering with Product Evaluations on this series of product innovation webinars," says Michael J Licata, president and CEO of IFMA. "This collaboration will join Product Evaluations' long history of product innovation expertise with our focus on creating positive change and actionable solutions benefiting foodservice channel partners."

This IFMA sponsored webinar is presented at no cost to attendees, but space is limited. Advance registration is required. For more information, or to register, visit http://www.productevaluations.com/ or call 708-482-7750.

About Product Evaluations Inc.:

Product Evaluations, Inc. is a leading strategic marketing research firm that specializes in new and existing products for the foodservice industry. Since 1971, Product Evaluations has been helping food-away-from-home partners successfully build their businesses through opportunity identification, new product development and improved product/brand performance.

To support new product development innovation, Product Evaluations, Inc. has developed Success MetriX[TM]. This revolutionary system helps to enhance the innovation process by significantly improving product success rates with customizable state gates at all key points of development: idea generation (Idea MetriX[TM]), concept development and testing (Concept MetriX[TM]), product development and testing (Product MetriX[TM]), and new product launch with customer feedback (Launch MetriX[TM]).

About the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association (IFMA):

IFMA is a leading trade association comprising more than 400 of the world's most prestigious food, equipment and supply manufacturers in the $632 billion foodservice industry, as well as related marketing service organizations, foodservice trade publications, distributors and brokers. IFMA's mission is to shape the future of foodservice by creating an environment for positive change and actionable solutions benefiting manufacturers and their foodservice channel partners. IFMA is a broad-based, total-industry association whose core values focus on innovation through products and technology; forecasting and facilitating through research, education and events; marketing and sales solutions through customer relations and initiatives; and alliances and customer alignment through foodservice trade organizations and supply chain partners.

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