Business Innovation Category: 2019 Winner The Pure Food Co

The Pure Food Co, winner of the Business Innovation category was awarded the title in 2019 for their innovative products that can help transform the lives of many. 

Witnessing a family member unable to eat due to an illness motivated Sam Bridgewater, co-founder of Pure Foods Co, to begin the journey to create healthy and nutritious meals made with the finest local ingredients for those experiencing challenges with eating meals. 

Extensive research revealed too many people were also struggling to enjoy food and therefore get the nutrition they need. In fact, almost a quarter of older people are malnourished, meaning they are more frail, less independent and too often unhappy. The Pure Food Co helped to change that! 

 Since its conception, The Pure Food Co have served more than 2 million pureed meals a year. They’ve perfected the balance of the right nutrition and right texture by making a product that is delicious and convenient, but most importantly easy to swallow. 

 Sam and the team are immensely proud that their products are not only delivering a better quality of life but also that they have been recognised as leading the way in innovation and nutrition by being named winner of the Business Innovation category at the New Zealand Food Awards.  

“It was an absolute honour to win the Business Innovation category. The recognition and credibility has had a positive impact in both New Zealand and Australia. It was also a great night for our team!” 

Entry: 

1. Brand Name 

The Pure Food Co 

2. Business Description 

The Pure Food Co’s new pre-shaped food product presents an exciting new way to offer highly nutritious pureed foods in a visually pleasing way. Using innovative technologies, and our successful fortified purees, these new pre-shaped foods will revolutionise food for people living with dysphagia and other eating difficulties.  

Innovation 

3. Where did the idea for this business/product come from? 

The Pure Food Co was founded in 2013 by Sam Bridgewater and Maia Royal after watching a family member’s illness make it impossible for them to eat and therefore get the nutrition needed to recover. Since then, The Pure Food Co has developed a range of nutritionally fortified purees using innovative processes and technologies. These products have been very popular with hospitals and retirement homes across the country.   
  
However, we didn’t want to stop there. Working closely with a number of the top care homes in New Zealand, and now in Australia, meant we got first-hand experience and market feedback. We spent time with our customers to understand their requirements and challenges to come up with innovative ideas to provide better products and services to them. One thing that became clear is that many kitchen staff struggle with the time, equipment and skill needed to present pureed foods in an appetizing way.   
  
While our purees provide all the nutrition these people need, research has shown that food presentation has a significant impact on the eating experience and on food intake - something especially important for people with eating difficulties who often struggle with low appetites. We saw an opportunity to make it easier and quicker for kitchen staff to provide their residents with an overall positive and encouraging eating experience by providing pre-shaped pureed foods.  

4. How did you determine the business/product originality? 

Our new range of pre-shaped, nutritionally fortified pureed foods will be a first in New Zealand and highly innovative even on the international stage. Our fortified purees stand out in the market as high-quality pureed foods thanks to our novel recipes, processes and technologies and extensive input from clinicians. With the new pre-shaped foods, we set ourselves even further apart from our competition.   
  
We have developed unique intellectual property in shaping technology that creates food shapes that are desirable, viable and feasible. To the best of our knowledge, this technology is completely original and will meet the needs of both people in need and those that care for them. This unique IP includes original food science with complex formulations that maintain intricate shapes throughout a global supply chain while maintaining the quality of the food (flavour, colour, mouthfeel and aroma). This unique IP also includes original processing technology, carefully designed with input from design and engineering experts to deliver desirable shapes in a commercially viable way, at a global scale.  

5. Did your business consider any new technology in the development of its products? 

To develop premium New Zealand-origin proprietary, high-quality pre-shaped food products that help improve the health of the vulnerable senior population, we adopted two new technologies. 

• Food Technology: We have developed unique food technology –complex formulations that maintain the shape throughout a global supply chain, without impacting quality, nutrition, mouthfeel and texture, therefore improving food presentation, food intake and ultimately health outcomes.  

• Process Technology: We developed unique process technology that allows us to create intricate shapes of pureed food at commercial scale. The process technology was a first of its kind application of multiple existing forming, dosing and sealing technologies.  

The development of both technologies required extensive research and testing and leveraged the expertise of numerous experts. The result are innovative technologies, and this also means there is substantial opportunity to develop new IP.   
  
The new IP will allow us to bring this exciting new product to the market but will also positively impact the future of our business as we continue to innovate and find better ways to make sure everyone can get the nutrition they need to thrive.  

6. What were some of the challenges your business has faced in developing products and how did you overcome them? 

The objective was to create pre-shaped food products that provide visual appeal and variety to a homogeneous texture while maintaining the high quality of the food that increases nutritional intake and leads to improved health-related quality of life. Achieving this objective was both technically and financially challenging and required the input of experts in science, design and engineering.  
  
One of the biggest challenges we had to overcome was that the food had to hold its shape throughout the whole process of being shaped, frozen and then heated for eating. To overcome this challenge, we conducted considerable research into the structures of the food formulations and the development of unique food formulations. 
  
The design challenge involved research into what shapes would be most desirable by our vulnerable consumers and then designing those shapes in a way that is also technically feasible and financially viable.  
  
We also faced challenges around identifying and developing the processing technology that can efficiently and effectively shape the food, while being economically and environmentally responsible.  
  
To overcome this challenge, we needed to engineer equipment that would accurately form/fill/seal multiple intricate shapes, with high throughput, while minimising downtime for changing shapes and using only sustainable materials.   

Sustainability 

7. Describe how environmental outcomes have been maximised across the entire business or life cycle of the product and your company processes for achieving these outcomes. 

With the new pre-shaped product, we have a goal of efficiently using only renewable sources of energy and recyclable materials, sourced from environmentally responsible suppliers, and supplied to environmentally responsible customers.  

• Sustainable Processing: Where possible, we source renewable materials from approved responsible suppliers.  

• Sustainable Packaging: We use only recyclable packaging, that will ultimately be reused as packaging, while extending shelf life to minimise food wastage. We are also aiming to close the loop and reuse our packaging. 

• Sustainable Customers: We are also enabling our customers to be more sustainable through reducing food waste and encourage them to recycle our packaging material.  

Excellence 

8. Briefly outline your business’s product development process. 

Our product development begins with understanding the consumers' needs and desires. Based on these insights, we generate a range of product ideas which we then prototype and test to ensure that they meet the needs and desires of the consumer but are also technically feasible and financially viable. The products are then launched, regularly evaluated and optimised. Throughout this process, we can get a better understanding of the consumer, which then leads to more product innovations.  
  
The pre-shaped product development journey began 24 months ago when we saw that, while we were delivering delicious and nutritious food, our hospital and retirement home customers found it difficult to present the food in an appealing way. Further investigation demonstrated that better presentation would lead to an improved eating experience and better health outcomes - a key objective of ours and our customers.  
  
Based on this insight, we brainstormed ideas on how we can improve the presentation of our foods; from technical presentation techniques to moulding the food. However, it was clear that due to resource constraints, retirement homes and hospitals required a pre-prepared product, and we did have the capacity to develop technology that would pre-shape the food products.  
  
We then prototyped the pre-shaped food to confirm that there was a customer need and desire, as well as test our product in different formats. Once we were confident that there was a need for this new product in the market, we began designing our pre-shaped food product and process to meet this customer need. Throughout, we regularly tested the concepts with the customer and cross-checked to make sure that the design would be technically feasible and financially viable.  
  
The next step in the product development process was investing in building the process, which required unique processing technology and a new state of the art manufacturing facility. This investment has been successful and ultimately led to the successful launch of the pre-shaped product this year, which will be closely monitored and the product regularly evaluated and optimised to achieve the ultimate objective: to help people thrive when they are vulnerable, starting with food.   

9. How did you determine the business’s likely success in the market? 

Determining the product’s likely success in the market involved phasing the new product research and development into three phases.  

• Phase 1: Prototype  
  Involved prototyping a shaped product by operating a small-scale manual shaping process at The FoodBowl to test different shapes with our consumers.  

• Phase 2: Design  
  Involved engaging experts in design, science and engineering to develop desirable food shapes that can be feasibly manufactured in a commercially viable way.  

• Phase 3: Build  
  Once we were confident in the success of the product, phase 3 involved investing in the building of the processing technology that will allow us to viably manufacture pre-shaped foods at scale.  

10. Demonstrate the business’s success with sales and distribution information. 

Over 50% of all New Zealand care homes, 90% of all hospitals and the two largest multinational catering companies are already serving our products to those in their care - with more being added every month. Between all of them, more than 2 Pure Food meals are being served this year alone. We want to have the same impact on Seniors in Australia and are already serving our products to several Australian care homes.  
  
We recently launched our new pre-shaped foods through well-known and respected retirement home networks, and feedback has been extremely positive. Market feedback confirms that we will be able to sell the pre-shaped foods at a commercially viable price point. Kitchens and head office management across NZ and Australia are signalling a keen interest in moving to our pre-shaped foods once widely available.   
  
Considering the size of the aged-care market in New Zealand (and Australia (, not to mention the predicted growth of the market locally and globally over the coming years it is easy to see how a product that meets a real need, like our pre-shaped foods, will be very successful. Many New Zealanders have been denied the ability to eat meals that deliver visual appeal, given the operational constraints of shaping food. Up until now.    

Business Innovation Award Questions: 

11. Provide evidence of particular consumer insights that drove and influenced product design and routes to market. Where possible please provide data showing your achievements. 

One in four older people are malnourished. 

Our research showed that older people need extra nutrition to meet their nutritional requirements, as they tend to eat less food, due to social, physical and psychological reasons, and their bodies are less able to absorb nutrients. We observed many older people in care struggling to eat, losing weight, and having a rapid adverse impact on their health and wellbeing.  

However, speaking with those who were malnourished, they told us that all they wanted was food that they have always enjoyed and that reminded them of the joys of life. When they needed the best nourishment, what they really wanted was home-style cooking from local New Zealand produce. 

Improved meal presentation increases nutritional intake and decreases hospital stays. 

While we were delivering delicious and nutritious food, our customers found it challenging to present the food in an appealing way. Further investigation demonstrated that better presentation would lead to an improved eating experience and better health outcomes - a key objective of ours and our customers. 

Based on this insight, we brainstormed ideas, together with some of our customers, on how we can improve the presentation of our foods, from technical presentation techniques to moulding the food. However, it was clear that due to resource constraints, care homes and hospitals required a pre-prepared product. From working closely with our customers, we realised that, to truly add value, we need to develop technology that would pre-shape the food products for them. 

Malnutrition affects all older people, not just those with dysphagia. Research shows that even people who can eat regular texture food were not getting the nutrition they need. Research also shows that protein requirements increase by 25% when people reach the age of 70. 

Those insights meant that many more older people could benefit from nutritionally fortified food. This led to us considering other ways to provide fortified food to vulnerable older people. Soups and smoothies were common suggestions from consumers. We worked with our hospital and retirement home customers, as well as chefs, dietitians and speech pathologists, to prototype, test and launch a range of fortified soup and smoothie recipes, which now account for 40% of our revenue. 

12. Describe a successful business initiative your company has introduced in the last 12 months, such as a new product, marketing, export undertaking, or a system that dramatically altered the orientation of the business and the way it operates. 

In addition to our successful puree products for people with dysphagia, we have recently successfully launched a range of chef-inspired fortified soup and smoothie recipes that use our purees as a base but are freshly finished at the retirement home or hospital. These fortified soups and smoothies are suitable for all older people in care and provide an opportunity for their carers to boost the nutrition of those they care for in a delicious way. 

The soups and smoothies now contribute to 30% of our sales volumes.  

Pure Food Training & Research 

We provide training modules and research reports–to our customers. The training bridges the gap between research and practice in aged care. The training modules are shared widely throughout the aged care community with the ultimate goal of improving the quality of aged care globally. Our research reports utilise existing healthcare data to demonstrate the benefits in health outcomes resulting from improved food and nutrition, and improved training on food and nutrition. Since its launch in 2019, these tools have been hugely successful with over 2500 users completing 11 of our training modules on topics ranging from nutrition, hydration, plate presentation, dining experience to continuous improvement of care. 

13. Describe how you have improved the efficiency of the supply chain, including manufacturing, operations, logistics and service levels. Please provide quantifiable data to cover areas such as productivity, delivery times, stock turns, overall equipment effectiveness. 

In addition to creating food products that will help people heal and thrive when they are vulnerable, improving supply chain efficiency has been an important focus due to the resource constraints, particularly financial constraints, of the healthcare customers we are supplying to.  

We, therefore, staged our investments in manufacturing, operations and logistics to ensure that we are never over-capitalising the business and don't pass on unnecessary cost inefficiencies to customers. 

This staged investment included completing R&D at Massey University in 2013, then launching at The FoodBowl in 2015, before setting up a small-scale manufacturing facility in 2017, and now setting up a large-scale state of the art manufacturing facility in 2019. 

We have also employed a continuous improvement approach, targeting incremental improvements in the supply chain to efficiently use materials, space, energy and utilities, without impacting food quality, so that our customers can enjoy high- quality food products within tight healthcare budgets.  

14. What initiatives in quality assurance have you introduced that have been specific to your company and resulted in improved customer satisfaction levels? 

Because of the vulnerable nature of our consumers, quality assurance has always been the most critical aspect of our business, with our processes needing to exceed standards of other food producers. 

This has led us to develop comprehensive quality assurance systems that are automated where possible, digitised and accessible to everyone across the business, and systems that are the responsibility of everyone in the business, to create food that will help people thrive when they are vulnerable. 

An example of a system that has resulted in improved customer satisfaction is an open-access register accessible to everyone in the organisation that records any food safety or quality issues. The system then notifies those responsible for corrective action, who then record the root cause and permanent solution. These food safety and quality issues are reported monthly to our board of directors. 

A specific example of a quality improvement initiative that was initiated based on customer feedback of ongoing pick and pack issues is a new automated scanning system. The system has eliminated pick and pack mistakes, ensuring that customers always receive the correct order. 

Customer satisfaction feedback is also automatically requested from all customers, with feedback requested on flavour, ease of use, level of service, and any additional feedback requested. Our net promoter scores over the last six months has averaged 4/5. 

15. What are you doing to improve the skills base of your staff, attract the best people and retain those people to improve the overall quality and morale of your workforce? 

Finding, attracting and retaining top talent is key to our growth strategy. We know we won't be able to achieve our goals without a team of highly skilled and highly motivated A-players.   

We are lucky in that our society-focused mission and vision already naturally attracts the kind of people who want their job to be about more than making money. We are driven by a passion for helping vulnerable people get the nutrition they need to thrive. Our staff buys into that vision and are motivated by knowing their work really makes a difference in people's lives.   

We also have a clear strategy to succeed in a growing global market with no clear market leader, meaning there is an opportunity to create a truly global food business from New Zealand, which is very attractive to ambitious and talented executives looking to further their career with a growing, fast-paced, innovative company. 

We proactively search for the best talent available in relevant areas of nutrition, science, marketing, and strategy. This has led to us identifying top dietetic talent in Penny Bailey and Bella Piper-Jarrett, top food science talent in Anu Gnanavinthan, Tim Ferry and Danielle Merton, top marketing talent in Deeksha Reddy, top operational talent in James Puah, as well as top governance talent in John Penno and Maury Leyland. 

However, we also know that a strong social vision, a clear growth strategy and a proactive talent search alone wonʼt be enough to attract and retain top talent in the long-term. That is why we invest heavily in supporting, upskilling and motivating our team. Some of the initiatives we run include: 

• Clear direction 

• Regular feedback 

• Celebrating success  

• Learning environment   

• Professional Development - all staff are encouraged to develop, with our sales team furthering their professional development in dietetics and sales training, the marketing team training in digital and design, the innovation team attending seminars in food science, and the operations team undertaking lean manufacturing courses. 

• Wellness seminars - we hold wellness and productivity seminars to ensure that staff have the tools to be healthy and well. 

• A sense of purpose - we have a clear sense of purpose, to provide food that will help people thrive when they are vulnerable, but we make sure that our staff regularly engage with our consumers to understand this purpose, such as delivering orders or providing soups and smoothies. These are great ways to connect with our consumers and see the great work that they do, and we do together. 

All of that, in addition to a collaborative, open and fun work culture as well as competitive salaries enables us to attract and retain top talent.