Health & Wellbeing Category: 2024 Winner Harraways - Fibre Rich Creamy Original Oat Sachets
Harraways Oats, a beloved Kiwi brand based in Dunedin, has been serving New Zealanders since 1867. As the country's only remaining oat mill, Harraways is committed to constantly evolving and innovating to meet the changing needs of consumers.
Their latest product, a fibre-rich oats offering, responds to the growing demand for health-conscious options in the food market. Developed by the company's dedicated product innovation team, the idea was shaped by valuable insights from shoppers, consumers, and trade partners. These insights highlighted the increasing importance of gut health and fibre’s role in overall wellness, making it a key focus in today’s food industry.
With a surge in FMCG products centered on health fortifications, particularly fibre-rich options, Harraways saw a unique opportunity to combine convenience with health benefits. The result is a fibre-rich oats product that offers a delicious, convenient, and health-forward solution in a high-potential market.
Judges were impressed by how the product caters to the rising consumer interest in gut health, offering a tasty, easy-to-enjoy, and health-boosting option.
“When it comes to choice of breakfast foods oats are top of the pops! Turbocharged with additional dietary fibre Harraways Big Serve oat sachets stand out from the crowd. Dietary fibre is known to promotes fullness, help lower blood sugar levels and benefit both heart health and gut health yet many New Zealanders eat less than half of the recommended amount. Harraways Big Serve oat sachets are quick and easy to prepare, provide recyclable packaging and deliver 25% of the recommended daily fibre intake.”
Entry (extracts):
1. Product Name
Harraways
2. Description
FIBRE RICH CREAMY ORIGINAL. Each 45g, kerb-side recyclable sachet serving delivers 7.4g of fibre, or 25% of your recommended daily fibre intake, or at least 37% more dietary fibre than standard Harraways Rolled oats. Ready in just 90 seconds, each serving has no added sugar and is free from artificial colours and flavours.
Innovation
3. Where did the idea for this product come from?
This new product idea was created via our new product development team and via the process the business has running, to develop new consumer concepts that stem from insights. Inputs into the NPD process includes shopper, consumer and trade customer insights. All these current insights converged to agree that the health and wellness area of gut health and the effect of increased fibre and improving gut health and the positive health results is compelling within food right now. We had seen a lot of FMCG activity around health fortifications and in particular 'fibre rich'. Therefore, a fibre rich recipe within the convenient oats segment, seemed like a fertile commercial opportunity to explore.
4. How did you determine product originality and validate market need?
Once a commercially feasible recipe and concept was created we validated this via our 5000 size Harraways consumer panel group who screen new ideas for the business. Consumer in home testing of the concept validated appeal for both the health claim and the sensory appeal. Following on from this, meetings with retail grocery buyers confirmed their interest in ranging the new concept.
5. Did your company incorporate new technologies or ingredients in the development of this product and if so, please describe them.
This product fits within an established oat sachet manufacturing area/infrastructure within our oat mill, but we did introduce a new dry powdered prebiotic (tapioca based) that enabled our quick cook spec'd rolled oats to become 'turbocharged' with added dietary fibre per serve.
6. What were some of the challenges in developing this product and how did you overcome them?
1. Cost of ingredient mix had to be contained to ensure we could still market this product at the unfortified range price point. Keeping ingredient purchasing prices low and driving cost advantages in some areas was enabled through - (a) supplier buying advantages negotiated, (b) some new process efficiencies in plant being generated to offset some added costs.
2. It is critical that this added prebiotic does not display hydroscopic properties (does not facilitate moisture transfer from the processed oats and create 'clumping'). Our food science work - using a few different options - validated that tapioca fibre managed this aspect the best
7. In your food technologist’s words (using science, technology and engineering explanations), what was the proudest moment in the product development process?
Seeing a product development insights and development process unfold and that a new concept such as this hits the supermarket shelves and gains positive consumer feedback and sales are our proudest moments with this launch. Presently initial sales (units per store per week) are exceeding the target number set for success. This is very pleasing.
Sustainability
8. Describe how environmental outcomes have been optimised across the life cycle of the product entered. Demonstrate your process with examples of initiatives.
1. Ingredients (positive environmental outcomes) - locally grown oats are sourced that reduce carbon food miles
2. Production (positive environmental outcomes) - oat mill uses oat by-products to fuel its boilers which is demonstrating a 'circular economy'/less waste approach to our production and optimising our precious resources
3. Packaging - we actively market a 'less waste' packaging solution whereby our boxes are smaller (20% less cardboard used versus our competitors and we talk to 'selling oats not air') and all packaging (box and sachets) is kerbside bin recyclable.
9. Describe how social outcomes have been optimised for the product entered. Demonstrate your process with examples of initiatives.
1. Local employees are 100% used in the farming and production of this product
2. Through our local working connection to Otago University, this product was developed by our 2023 new product development intern - so we have created a new learning and development outcome with the development of this product for our NPD intern incumbent, Duncan Kennett
3. Local suppliers of associated raw materials have also been engaged and connected into this process. So, this product has helped to further stimulate the local economy and keep jobs and family security inside New Zealand
10. Outline the likely commercial sustainability of the product entered, without compromising the environmental and social objectives detailed above.
1. Domestic commercial sustainability. We can confirm that this product (whilst on sale for less than a QTR!) is achieving the sales targets set
2. Since launch some overseas customers have expressed future interest in buying this product for their overseas based consumers
Excellence
11. Briefly outline your product development process including team expertise involved.
Process occurs over a 9 month process and via the following stage and gate phases:
1. Ideation (Key business functions involved - Marketing, Sales, Foodscience (NPD), CEO)
2. Feasibility (Marketing, Foodscience (NPD), Operations, Finance, QC, Purchasing, Sales)
3. Commercialisation - as above plus associated company, 3P agents such as: materials suppliers, design agencies, printers
4. Launch & subsequent 3 month post launch review (same parties involved as stage 3)
12. Explain how your product is at the forefront of food science and technology, food safety or customer experience.
Harraways believes this product is at the forefront of food science & technology, food safety/customer experience because the end concept ticks all the boxes that are top of mind right now in food and consumer drivers, e.g.
- health and wellness benefits offered (gut health)
- locally farmed/sourced and crafted
- food concept presented, offers value for money and serving versatility (tailoring) per serve
- has been developed with sustainability and good corporate responsibility in mind
- actual sales results (i.e. people trialling and replenishing) is living up to expectation so far
13. Demonstrate the product's success with sales and distribution information
1. Distribution build. Within just 1x month of being on sale this new sku is now ranged in 75 Foodstuffs (PNS/NW) grocery stores nationally. This is a good pick up of stockists within the ranged Foodstuffs account. Within 1 year, the Foodstuffs success, saw the sku ranged in Woolworths, too
2. Rate of sale. 5 units/store per week was deemed a pass grade. Presently the product is reaching and meeting forecast expectation
Health and Wellbeing category
1. Nutritional Information Panel (Nutrients per l00gm)
Energy 1500kJ
Protein 12.9g
Fat, Total 6.53g
- saturated 1.48g
- trans Less than 1g
Carbohydrate 54.8g
- sugars 0.91g
Dietary Fibre, Total 16.5g
- soluble fibre 7.5g
- insoluble fibre 9g
Sodium Less than 5mg
2. Health: Ingredient list %
New Zealand Oats (93%), Prebiotic (7%)
3. Target market for this product
People with active, time pressured lifestyles who are focused on their health and wellness yet want easy food solutions. Female skewed, active family life-stage
4. Describe how this product meets the nutritional guidelines for this target market
By achieving the 7.4g of fibre delivery per serve this product can deliver a fibre rich benefit which promotes an active, busy and healthy lifestyle - all the things our target market is seeking from the food they consume
5. Contribution to Recommended Daily Intake and any clinical evidence of the benefits
"Extra fibre for a healthy bowel" - delivers 25% of the RDI for fibre, or 7.4g of fibre delivered per serve and has been laboratory measured to enable these claims. There is much published evidence that links increased fibre intake with bowel and digestive health
6. What health claims or allergen declarations have you used?
Health claim = Extra fibre for a healthy bowel
Allergen declaration: Contains Gluten. May contain traces of Milk, Peanuts, Soy, Wheat & Sulphites.
