Inovação em pequenas empresas de alimentos para consumidores com restrição alimentar : o caso da empresa Gourmet Brasil

Abstract

The way people feed constantly changes over time and along with these changes diets went through significant advances in medicine in recent years, leaving in evidence many health problems that are related to food. Currently the number of people with some kind of food restriction has grown exponentially affecting the lifestyle and the relationship with your friends and family, and the two most common dietary restrictions are lactose intolerance and gluten. This new situation ends up influencing the food branch companies and how they position themselves in the market to continue to maintain its customer base and thus ensure its existence in Brazil food companies toward this group of consumers face many challenges, that it is not yet a wide range of these products on the market. According to the authors in this context becomes essential to the process of product development so that there is an effective launch of these lines and improvement of existing products, the same with innovation as to remain in the market businesses at some point will invest in innovation to modernize its processes. Held, then a qualitative research through an interview with the marketing manager of a company Porto Alegre, the food industry aimed at consumers who are intolerant of gluten and lactose. This research aims to analyze the development process of the company's products and how is the production process also analyzing its partners in the production chain, it will also be analyzed as is the innovation in the company. Thus we realize – that being a small business many stages of the product development process are not performed in its entirety, and that the company creates various types of innovation that impacts along the production chain. Finally will be described the main barriers to the growth of the company analyzed.