Two new turkey products have been introduced to retail stores in the Prairies thanks to testing and tasting at Red River College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts.
The College’s School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts conducted its first College and Community Innovation research project in 2014 in partnership with Granny’s Poultry Co-operative Ltd. Researchers developed and tested four new poultry products for the consumer and food service markets.
Granny’s Poultry Director of Product Development, Jason Wortzman, worked with college chefs and a culinary student to finalize the recipes and test how the products held up in large commercial ovens and steam tables. Each product also underwent pre-market consumer tasting before the products were launched. Trials were conducted at the RRC’s Paterson GlobalFoods Institute, which provided access to 400 study participants across all demographics.
Granny’s Poultry was able to launch two new products by the end of the year. The Cornbread Stuffed Turkey and an Unstuffed Slow Cooker Turkey Roast are now sold through a major retailer in over 100 stores across the Prairies. The products are the first on the market to be naturally gluten-free and cooked straight from the freezer without thawing.
“By working closely with chefs and students at the college on the final phase of development we were able to fine tune our unique corn bread stuffing formula and validate cooking methods,” said Wortzman. “After testing our finished product on a broad demographic we were able to confidently partner with a national retailer on an ambitious new product launch plan.”
