*4.1. Implications*

In the current scenario of globalization and high competition, the methodology and results produced in this study could serve as a market-based source for innovation. The market-based approach is a form of open innovation that uses markets as a source for external knowledge [3]. The inclusion of this methodology in the innovation process can be beneficial for the industry. More specifically, it is beneficial for revenues from incremental innovation, reduced time to market, to achieve marginal improvements to existing products, and tremendously impact new product performance [3,105,106]. However, to capitalize market knowledge for innovation, food companies and developers are required to increase absorption capacity [107,108]. The adoption of this methodology could give developers an edge in the hyper competitive environment, capture merging and fast changing consumer needs, and other requirements that can be included in innovation process.

#### *4.2. Limitations*

The NPD methodology used in this study to generate new texture concepts could be used for other food product categories. However, researchers are advised to do rigorous homework before applying the suggested methodology to other markets or market categories. This study suggests the utility of sensory methods in market assessment and ideation. However, the adoption of these methods does not guarantee the success of new products, especially if the market has not been evaluated thoroughly. The prototypes developed by using this methodology only confront consumers with products developed within the existing framework of the market tested. This can be noted in two ways: (1) the products selected drive the PM and the descriptive profiling. If the products are not representative of the market or category tested, the results will have limited application or could even be misleading; (2) current products do not necessarily lead to "outside-the-box" innovation. It may be difficult to understand unfulfilled needs by examining the prototypes based on the existing marketplace. This is where the creativity of the product development team including the food scientists, sensory scientists, engineers, and marketing specialists need to come together to "imagine" and then create new product concepts and prototypes for testing.

Results projecting products from one market onto another also are not always successful depending on the similarity in preferences and consumer segments between countries. For example, one study showed that the same segments of consumers existed in multiple countries for a product (pomegranate juice) [109]. However, the proportion of consumers in those segments was completely different in the US and Spain, suggesting that a juice developed for the Spanish market may not be successful in the US. On the other hand, this could be the result of products not being readily available in certain countries or the difference in consumption rates among countries. Testing with consumers who regularly eat certain products in a category is quite different from testing with consumers who are new to the product type. Thus, prototypes developed using the JP and SK snack market framework could be a potential opportunity for the US market or maybe too far out of the current repertory of snack products to be successful. Testing with consumers for acceptance within the current framework and within an "altered framework" is required when testing completely new products.

#### *4.3. Future Research*

It is important to conduct comprehensive studies that analyze the impact of a market source innovation model on the performance of new products, incremental income and the cost associated with them. Although these are recommended methods, they need to be examined in a critical light based on case-studies and other use research. In addition, future studies must be conducted to explain what kinds of human capabilities the industry must develop and use to capitalize on external market knowledge.

#### **5. Conclusions**

The world is changing rapidly, i.e., more global, less predictable, and more abstruse. The product developers' task is full of multi-faceted challenges. A plethora of literature has been published to deal with these challenges. For example, "open innovation, agile development, design thinking for ideation, stage-gate development, and lean product development". The developers require more creative techniques than "just ask consumers what they want" to increase the chances of success in competitive markets.

This paper showed one method of how new product concepts can be developed using sensory science tools such as product categorization, PM, and descriptive profiling. This research approach for novel and distinctive market opportunities displays an innovative, practical side of NPD research as a compliment. This study also identified the foremost sensory attributes of the JP and SK snack foods that drive consumer benefits. The proposed methodology can be used by food manufacturers to develop new product ideas from unfamiliar markets.

The results of this study can help developers learn to find white spaces in the marketplace and fill these spaces by designing prototypes. The developers can use tested products (close to white spaces) for initial specifications and then build several concepts for consumer assessment. This study is unique in its approach because it allows developers to use sensory methods to put several new ideas on the table for refinement and consumer feedback. The significance of product innovation is critical to business prosperity and consumer satisfaction, however, the keys to success remain indefinable.

**Supplementary Materials:** The following are available online at https://www.mdpi.com/2304-815 8/10/2/474/s1, Table S1: Definitions and references.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, R.K., E.C.IV, D.H.C.; methodology, R.K., E.C.IV, J.L.; software, R.K., E.C.IV; validation, R.K.; formal analysis, R.K, J.L.; investigation, R.K., E.C.IV, D.H.C., J.L.; resources, E.C.IV; data curation, R.K., E.C.IV; writing—original draft preparation, R.K.; writing review and editing, R.K., E.C.IV, D.H.C., J.L.; visualization, R.K., J.L.; supervision, E.C.IV, D.H.C.; project administration, E.C.IV; funding acquisition, E.C.IV. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This research is based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hatch under accession number 1016242.

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was approved by the Committee on Research with Human Subjects at Kansas State University with protocol #7297.3.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all participants in the descriptive sensory study and a notice of informed consent was provided to all consumer survey participants who were anonymous to the researchers.

**Acknowledgments:** We are indebted to our colleagues at Frito-Lay USA for their inspiration and comments on the portions of this project and their help in product procurement. We are also grateful to the sensory scientists and panelists from Kansas State University who participated in the panels for this project.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**

