NPD Skills Training - New Product Development in a Volatile World

The New Product Development in a Volatile World course supports professionals in food-related roles to strengthen their skills in managing innovation under volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous conditions. It focuses on using scientific evidence to guide governance during the cost-of-living crisis, applying global market and consumer trends to new product development, and addressing post-pandemic challenges in food safety and sustainability.

Participants learn to connect nutrition, health, and sustainability data with practical strategies for resilient product design. Through real case studies and interactive exercises, you will gain the tools to create solutions that balance affordability, nutrition, and sustainability while responding to emerging market and policy demands.

As part of the NPD Skills Training programme, the course offers a hands-on, practice-based approach to innovation.

You can:

Learn: Build a practice-level understanding of how cost-of-living pressures, consumer trends, and sustainability challenges shape food product development.
Practice: Develop practical skills to apply scientific insights and real-world knowledge in designing effective and resilient food solutions.
Innovate: Collaborate with peers to create product concepts that integrate affordability, safety, and sustainability.

Take your food innovation skills to the next level – learn, apply, and make an impact in the functional food space!

By the end of the course learners will be able to:

• Implement research findings into global food product needs to address nutrition security challenges in the food industry.
• Implement sustainable development principles when addressing food industry trends in the development of new products.
• Apply post-pandemic market and consumer trends to address current demands and challenges in the food industry.
• Analyse the food system in the context of new emerging quality system challenges (such as the availability of raw materials) with regard to the impact on the new product development process.

During the course, participants will work in groups on real case scenarios, analyse evidence from nutrition, health, and sustainability data, and co-develop product concepts responding to current industry challenges. They will also practice communicating their findings and solutions in a professional setting.

Key Topics:

• Cost-of-living crisis and its impact on food and nutrition security
• Science for policy and governance in food systems
• Global consumer and market trends in product development
• Sustainable diets and resilient production systems
• Post-pandemic challenges in food safety and innovation
• Evidence-based decision-making for household and systemic interventions

New Product Development in a Volatile World (three mandatory sessions):

• Part I: 18.11.2025 (9:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. CET) – Global Trends in the Food Market: Challenges in the New Product Development Process
• Part II: 20.11.2025 (9:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. CET) – Post-pandemic Food Industry Trends: Navigating New Product Development and Safety
• Part III: 21.11.2025 (9:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. CET) – Navigating the Cost-of-Living Crisis through Science for Food System Governance
   

The training is designed for food professionals who wish to improve their competencies in a particular area.

The ideal applicant should:

• Be a food professional employed in companies, academia, or research institutes
• Have an entrepreneurial approach to problem-solving and a willingness to share their knowledge with other participants
• Have relevant knowledge and experience in the food sector
• Have working knowledge of the English language (the course will be held in English)
• Be a citizen of one of the RIS countries, including:
  ● EU Member States: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain.
  ● Horizon Europe Associated Countries: Montenegro, Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel
  ● Outermost Regions: Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Réunion, Martinique, Mayotte and Saint-Martin (France), the Azores and Madeira (Portugal), and the Canary Islands (Spain).