Market research shows that people are concerned with their health and with the food they eat. In addition, the research shows that people may be willing to buy nutritional alternatives to commonly available snacks. A food company has hired your team to develop a new line of nutritional snacks. Your team is going to submit a proposal to the company for a snack that not only tastes good, but is nutritional as well. Your teamÍs goal is to convince the company to make your snack. Your team's proposal will contain four parts.

Before developing any product a company must find out if there will be a market for the product. The needs of consumers and the availability of existing products are two important pieces of information a company must consider.

1. A. Design a survey for consumers to find out what ingredients people like in their snacks. Think about the ingredients you want to ask about in the survey and any other information you would like to collect. Give your survey to a sample of consumers (about 100). Analyze the results of this survey and include this analysis and a discussion of its implications in your proposal.

2. Collect information on foodstuffs already on the market that are related to the type of snack your team has selected. These are your competitors. Describe the advantages and disadvantage of these various foods.

3. Collect nutritional information about various proposed ingredients for your snack.

4. Collect information on the USRDA recommended daily requirements of various nutrients. This information will serve as a guide as you develop your snack.

1. Decide on the characteristics (e.g. ingredients, texture, nutritional value, caloric content, etc.) that your snack will have. Explain why you decide on these characteristics. Also, discuss why your snack is better than (or at least as good as) those already on the market.

2. Develop a recipe for your snack. Be specific. The company should be able to take this recipe and actually make the snack. Include all the ingredients that will go into your snack and explain why you chose these ingredients.

3. C. If possible, make a sample of your snack. You may need to adjust your recipe after making the snack. If you make samples of your snack, have some individuals outside of your team try it. Collect information on their responses to your snack. Describe and explain any changes you made in your recipe.

1. Design a package for your snack. Include a label that lists all the ingredients and the nutritional information that you think are important.

1. Develop an advertisement for your snack. Your advertisement should highlight the important features of your snack and convince consumers to buy it. Your advertisement can be a radio commercial, television commercial, magazine advertisement, or a poster. Do not feel constrained by things that have already been done- be creative!

2. Design a taste test for consumers. Explain what you would do and what questions you would ask consumers.

In the back of your proposal include appendices that list all the information you collected. This may include tables, forms, etc., that would serve as a summary of your activities during this project.