402 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS After an interval for excellent refreshments, the members and visitors assembled to hear the President's Address on "The Development of a New Product." Dr. R. H. Marriott moved the vote of thanks to the President for his interesting address, which was carried with acclamation. DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PRODUCT The Address of the President to the British Society, 1956 R. T. DOBSON* Mr. Dobson submits a general scheme for developing a formula for a new product and for testing it to make sure that it will have a satisfactory shelf lite. He then explains the use of, and gives a design for, a market research panel for the assessment of customer reaction. MANY in my audience to-night will have been concerned with the develop- ment, from time to time, of new products, and there may be in my talk to you much which appears obvious. Nevertheless, we all know that new products are introduced on to the market, and not infrequently problems concerning either the product itself, or the container in which it is packed, give cause for anxiety because some unforeseen reaction occurs which may well seriously affect sales and also cause severe disorganisation by the necessity to withdraw stock from the retailer in an effort to minimise adverse consumer reactions. I am fully aware that with all possible precautions prior to the launching of a new product an unforeseen latent defect may occur only after the product has been on the market for several months, and the only real way such an unforeseeable defect may be prevented from coming to the attention of the consumer is to give adequate length of shelf-life tests under all condi- tions of storage for as long as the product might be expected to remain in the retailer's stock. If, however, we resort to such tests, any one product could remain under conditions of test for so long a period that the conditions of the market could well be no longer favourable for its introduction. Before turning to the type of tests which should be carried out on new products to eliminate so far as is reasonably possible product trouble after marketing, let us spend a few minutes on the study of the method by which the product may be first conceived and see if we might, right from the start, arrange our programme for the introduction of a new product on the market into an order which, if followed, might well show up any inherent faults and, at the same time, allow the most rapid progress consistent with a low probability of fault development after marketing. * Chesebrough-Ponds, Ltd., Perivale, Mddx.

DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW PRODUCT 403 We might well start off by asking ourselves how does the new product commence life at the moment. The answer to this question will vary considerably from organisation to organisation ß in some cases a new product will stem from the laboratory in others from the marketing side, or, again, from the advertising section. It may be that no really new idea is involved, but merely the desire to follow existing competitive products already established on the market. Some of the questions to which an answer should be forthcoming prior to any work on a new product are as follows ß Do we wish to appeal to a wide or to a select market ? What is the market potential and on what price structure should this best be attacked ? What is the probable market acceptance of various types of containers, and is the market more prone to accept our product in the form of an opaque or clear or translucent liquid, semi-liquid, powder or compressed product ? What are the advertising claims we can make ? Can we afford to break entirely new ground in the presentation of our product ? If so, will this entail an educational advertising campaign ? In my opinion, an answer is required to all of these questions before any serious consideration can be given to formulation and testing of a new product, and the right type of answer can only come from a meeting at which are present' top management, marketing and advertising representatives, cosmetic chemist, production and purchasing representatives. In other words, I believe that the establishment of new products on a sound basis can only stem from a new products' committee formed from personnel representing the various sections of the organisation which will ultimately be concerned with the product once it is launched. When thoughts have been finalised on type of product required, style of pack, basic advertising claims, type of market to be aimed at, price structure and approximate time of launching, the cosmetic chemist may commence formula- tion work with the know.ledge that his ingredient costs may not exceed X, that certain ingredients may be ruled out of consideration because of style of packing, the inclusion of certain ingredients is a "Must," because of basic advertising claims that the formulation has to be adaptable to production at the rate of Y pounds per day in order to accommodate sales potential, and that the datum line for completion for his work is D. The time necessary to produce a satisfactory formulation will, of course, vary considerably, depending upon many factors, such as existing knowledge upon which to draw, the staff with available time and the probable difficulties of .e•stablish- ing a stable formula. However, the experienced cosmetic chemist should be able to evaluate the probability of completing his project within a specific time and must, unless the project is to drift on for an indefinite period, lay down a