Strategic Approaches to New Product Development (NPD): A Case Study of Ohonos Snack S.A. in the Competitive Snack Industry

The introduction of new products in the market is a powerful tool of strategy so that it can gain or maintain an important market share. Businesses must be able to develop new products and services in order to handle the increase in competition as a result of financial misery in the markets. This article refers to the procedure of producing new products. In an era in which financial crisis has limited the available resources of businesses, it is especially useful for the business to produce products which will be able to support it in its goal to maintain its market share. In this project, the case of the Ohonos Snack S. A. Company was examined. This company belongs to the field of snacks and it mainly operates in Northern Greece and the Balkans. The goal of this research is to investigate the strategy of developing new products and if it contributes to the development of the businesses’ competition and their survival in the present-day hard competitive market.

Having used the selected research method –Panizzolo, Biazzo, and Garengo model- the ways of improving production and the assurance of the suitable conditions for introducing a product in the market were presented.

Qualitative research was conducted through a semi-structured interview held through an interview guide. The research, which was conducted through interviews, showed that the procedures mentioned in the bibliography are followed to a great degree. This means that the suggestions to the company are mainly related to its being able to have both an economical and efficient process.

The research conducted in the Ohonos Snack S. A. Company showed how much the right handling of the product marketing and more especially the process of producing new products can help a business to achieve its goals. The conclusions drawn showed that the introduction of new products has proved to be a powerful tool of strategy the industry has in order to maintain a large market share.