14 replies to this topic

[jburnie]

Hi all,

I'm looking for some help with my university project if you will!

I'm proposing to design a product for people who currently use pasteurised liquid egg. This product would save the user:

-around 25% of the cost of pasteurised egg yolk.
-around 40% of the cost of pasteurised egg white.
-around 70% of the cost of pasteurised whole egg.

I'm hoping you can take part in the discussion of how much you (the customer) would value the product?

Any help would be appreciated.

Joe Burnie.
Product Design & Technology - Northumbria University.

Please note that any responses to this post may be used in my final year project but no reference to the author will be made.

[KennethT]

Can you be a little more specific? How can the product be used? Only as a component in other products (ie pasta, cakes, batters, etc) or by itself (ie omlette, scrambled eggs, etc) ?

[jburnie]

Hi Kenneth T,
Thanks for your reply. The product will essentially take cheap shelled eggs and make them into pasteurised egg yolk, egg white and whole egg (which you would normally pay more for). You could then use the product (pasteurised liquid egg) in anything it is required in.

Joe.

[RobertCollins]

I guess I have never used pasteurized eggs. what would one use them for. Whole eggs seem fine.

Doubt this helps but ....

[Baselerd]

I'm pretty sure most people around these parts are going to prefer nice large whole eggs. Liquid eggs are more of a convenience thing, and eggs are hardly a high cost grocery item. Seems like a good idea if you find the market though...

[jburnie]

Thanks for the feedback, it's really appreciated! This post is aimed more towards commercial market users who currently use liquid pasteurised eggs. For example hotel restaurants in the UK generally use cartons of liquid pasteurised eggs. Some examples of use are in ice cream production, custards, meringues and scrambled egg.

Thanks again.

Joe.

[MSRadell]

Like any other kitchen product, especially those used in commercial kitchens, the value is going to be determined by the cost to purchase and use the unit. The end user is going to have to factor in the additional costs incurred to use the unit (the time to prepare the eggs, process the eggs and cleaning the unit) as well as the purchase and operating costs. If it saves them money they will consider buying it if not they won't. Without knowing more about what you're proposing it's not possible to calculate its benefits.

[jburnie]

Hi MSRadell,

Thank you for your feedback! To clarify - the savings created by the product are stated in the original post. For the purpose of this exercise any other factors don't need to be considered as at this stage in the design process we can assume other factors (such as cleaning, preparation, operating costs etc.) can be addressed through design solutions. However I take on board your point about the purchase cost and I would like to clarify that by value I mean purchase cost (i.e. how much would you (the user) be willing to spend on this product if it could make the savings stated above).

Cheers,

Joe.

[IndyRob]

You have to tell us how quickly it works. Your audience are not designers, but food service people. Quick in, Quick out. Okay, so I might like to make some safer Mayo, what will it cost me in capital (buying the device), and ongoing labor costs? As opposed to buying a carton of pasteurized egg product?

[Edward J]

Currently, I buy in frzn whl egg (2 kg carton), frzn yolk (10% sugar) (2 kg carton), and liquid eggwhite (500 gr carton). I buy them for the convienience, the savings vs shell eggs, and "brownie points" from the health inspector. I will not go back to shell eggs unless there are significant savings--which there are not.

I do have time issues using up a 2 kg carton of whl eggs in a "timely manner", a 1 kg packing would be much more practical. With the yolks, I "chop up" the carton into 4 chunks on the meat saw while frozen and put back in the freezer, a 500 gr chunk lasts me just the right time once thawed.

[Mjx]

Hi MSRadell,

Thank you for your feedback! To clarify - the savings created by the product are stated in the original post. For the purpose of this exercise any other factors don't need to be considered as at this stage in the design process we can assume other factors (such as cleaning, preparation, operating costs etc.) can be addressed through design solutions. However I take on board your point about the purchase cost and I would like to clarify that by value I mean purchase cost (i.e. how much would you (the user) be willing to spend on this product if it could make the savings stated above).

Cheers,

Joe.

You're essentially asking a group of people interested in food to do a financial exercise. The things is, we get the point about the alleged savings, but 'cheap' is not enough, if it compromises quality (something very quickly noticeable in eggs); how has the quality of your product been assessed by your target market?

Without having any idea of what your specific product is (other than cheap), how it differs from what's currently out there, and what it is about the product that might make it cheaper than what is already available (manufacturing process/location? ingredient grade? other?), there's no way of telling whether or not your product would be of any interest to your target market.

Pasteurized yolks, whites, and whole eggs (both conventional and organic) are readily available in many countries at acceptable to highly competitive prices, even in the very expensive country where I currently happen to be.

[Lisa Shock]

The performance has to be there. I mean, changes in product taste and texture would probably affect opinion more than anything else. I'd want to taste it in my custards, ice cream, etc. before deciding. Of course, distributing samples would help with that. But, I wouldn't be excited to switch if I felt my product would be compromised. Right now, for us, 'real' ingredients are a bog selling point.

That said, shelf life is an area where you might be able to add value. Yes, the frozen product does a lot for helping manage a kitchen, but, once thawed, as mentioned above, we sometimes have issues finishing cartons on occasion. We also have costs associated with storage in a freezer and refrigerator. A shelf-stable product would save a lot of money and free up valuable space in my freezer and walk-in. For me, freezer space is at a premium. Yes, my purveyor can deliver more product in a day or two, but, the purveyor also has costs associated with frozen goods. Dunno if that's part of your plan or not. Just an idea.

[jburnie]

Hi everyone

Thanks again for the feedback! The end produce quality would be the same if not better than the pasteurised liquid egg which is currently available from the supermarket / suppliers (it would be fresher). The product would require around 5 minutes of the user's time in set up and a further 15 minutes (of which no supervision is needed) to produce 2L of chilled whole pasteurised egg. The running costs during this time would be negligible. The user can effectively specify the quantity of pasteurised egg produced by altering the input of raw ingredients.

Given this information and the potential savings this product could create (stated in the original post) what price would you value this product at?

Please feel free to give other feedback on the concept and I'll do my best at answering your questions.

Kind Regards,

Joe.

[DiggingDogFarm]

Personally, I've never used pasteurized eggs and can't think of a reason why I would.
Even the best quality real whole eggs are a relatively inexpensive food as it is, I think that you'll find that most folks with an appreciation of good food look more for quality than they do price, unless the product improves quality, I don't think there'll be much interest from those with high quality standards.
So, is what you're proposing to sell a process or piece of equipment rather than a ready to use product?
That's a totally different animal.
I think that you're going to have to be much more specific about what your proposing in order to get input that's truly useful along with targeting folks who already use pasteurized eggs.

Just my 2 cents.

~Martin

[Mjx]

Hi everyone

Thanks again for the feedback! The end produce quality would be the same if not better than the pasteurised liquid egg which is currently available from the supermarket / suppliers (it would be fresher). The product would require around 5 minutes of the user's time in set up and a further 15 minutes (of which no supervision is needed) to produce 2L of chilled whole pasteurised egg. The running costs during this time would be negligible. The user can effectively specify the quantity of pasteurised egg produced by altering the input of raw ingredients.

Given this information and the potential savings this product could create (stated in the original post) what price would you value this product at?

Please feel free to give other feedback on the concept and I'll do my best at answering your questions.

Kind Regards,

Joe.

At this point, what you are actually asking is 'Would you like to save money?' The answer to that is almost always 'Yes'.

That doesn't mean anyone is going go for this product, since without tring it, there is literally no usable information on which to base any feedback.
People don't regard money as saved unless the cheaper product meets some minimum standard, and there's no way of knowing whether or not this is the case without trying the product.

The only way you're going to get useful feedback is if you get samples out there, and then start asking questions.