Product development has been a major activity in the food industry for over 40 years, but only gradually has it developed as a strategic business area and also as an advanced technology. For a long time it was essentially a craft, loosely related to the research and engineering areas in the company. The pressures for product development came very strongly from the needs of the growing supermarkets for a constantly changing, extensive mix of products and for continuous price promotions. So there was the drive for product difference