NEXT-GEN SPICE

NPD Team

At the heart of innovation, our New Product Development (NPD) team are the flavour scouts and culinary strategists behind every bold idea.

Armed with insights from global Food Safaris, Supermarket Sweeps, and deep-dive research papers, they explore, analyse and distil trends into actionable concepts. Each idea is rigorously trialled across a range of meat blocks to test versatility, performance, and consumer appeal.

Only the strongest survive this flavour gauntlet. After countless tastings and tweaks, a carefully curated shortlist emerges — primed for the final seal of approval from our Development Chef.

 

Food Safari

(aka how we hunt down the next big flavour—without getting lost)

Throughout the year, we pack up our forks and head off on a Food Safari. Destination? Depends on where the good food’s hiding. Mood? Hungry.

Armed with TimeOut guides, stretchy waistbands, and a suspicious number of napkins, our team of brave taste explorers sets off to uncover what’s hot on the plate right now.

One Dish. One Stop. All Flavour.

We book into a bunch of buzzy new restaurants—sometimes five, sometimes ten—and order a selection of dish at each. Could be a starter, could be a main. Could be whatever they tell us is weird and brilliant. No wine, no faff—just flavour. Each dish gets passed around like a hot potato (clockwise, of course) so everyone gets a bite. Then it’s straight on to the next spot. No time to snooze. It’s fast. It’s focused and it’s photographed. Street snacks, retail finds, and restaurant one-offs

• New flavour combos, clever ingredient twists and brilliant plating ideas
• Hidden ingredient heroes and claims your customers will care about
• Clues from across cuisines, categories and menus
• Basically: anything delicious that makes us say “ooh, that’s clever”

Why We Do It
Because:

• The best way to spot food trends is with your mouth
• We want to know what your customers will be craving next
• It’s way more fun than reading flavour forecasts

We bring it all back to the kitchen - where the real flavour work begins.

Fancy Tagging Along?

We can’t promise you a seat (they go fast), but we can promise your projects will benefit from everything we saw, tasted and scribbled in our sauce-splattered notebooks.

Food Safari Bookings

Meet FREDA

(Our sausage—and beyond—obsessed trend-spotting software)

We tried a few tools out there, but most were stuck in the past and didn’t give us the answers we needed. Old data. Vague insights. Yawn.

So, we rolled up our sleeves and built our own.

Say hello to FREDA — our in-house flavour-forecasting queen with her finger on the pulse and her nose in the grill. So… Who’s FREDA? FREDA (short for Flavour Research, Evaluation & Data Analysis — but she prefers first-name terms) is our bespoke market trends tool. Built by Foodmaker, used by Foodmaker, and shared with our clever customers. She’s on a mission to track every sizzle, snap, and snack trend across the UK and Ireland — especially the meaty stuff. What FREDA’s Keeping Tabs On

• Burger and sausage ranges in major UK supermarkets
• Snack and crisp flavours (because good ideas don’t only live in a bun)
• Product positioning, claims & ingredients — think “plant-based”, “low-fat”, “stuffed with awesome”
• Weekly updates — because trends don’t take time off

Basically, she’s a flavour sleuth with access to all the aisles.
Why You’ll Love Her
As a Foodmaker customer, you’ll get access to all this juicy insight.
Which means you can:

• Plan smarter NPD
• Spot flavour trends before your competitors do
• Enter new product spaces with actual confidence
• Win at burgers, sausages, and whatever comes next

Want the Inside Scoop? FREDA’s standing by — ready to spill the beans (and the beef). Just give her a click and start flavour-hunting like a pro.

Foodmaker's Exclusive Forecast

At Foodmaker, our dedicated team of Development Specialists sits at the heart of flavour discovery. With over 60 years of combined experience, they’re passionate about staying ahead of the curve—tracking, analysing, and forecasting the trends that will shape tomorrow’s tastes.

Our bi-annual Flavour Forecast is designed to support your innovation flight path. It highlights the most influential trends across the market—giving you the inspiration and direction needed to spark new ideas and drive product development.

At Foodmaker, we don’t just predict trends — we bring them to life.

Download

Development Chef

At the heart of Foodmaker’s innovation is our resident Development Chef, Andy Benn — a culinary craftsman who brings ideas to life and transforms trend insights into flavourful, functional reality.

As a key member of the team responsible for identifying emerging food trends, Andy takes the theory and turns it into tangible, mouthwatering concepts. With years of experience, he ensures each blend not only meets the brief but excites the palate.

Customers interested in exploring new concepts or enhancing existing products are invited to choose from our bespoke development menus. These are designed around your specific needs — whether you’re innovating for a retail launch, foodservice application, or ready meal solution.

Visiting our dedicated development kitchen in Corby is more than just a meeting — it’s an immersive experience. Expect a hands-on presentation, packed with theatre and wizardry, as Andy showcases new flavour concepts and creations. The session culminates in a professional tasting where every detail — from aroma and mouthfeel to visual appeal — is considered.

Come see innovation in action. Book a development session and let’s bring your next big idea to life.

Brief Us

Chef Andys Demostrations