Making contact
You can contact any member of NCC for a potential project or advice. The consultant will inform the Cooperative about your question. A project coordinator will be suggested and he or she will compose a project proposal in consultation and interaction with you.
Within one week you will receive a first project proposal and quotation from NCC. This quotation includes at least results, timing, costs, terms and conditions, and invoice schedule.
Project realisation
After your formal approval the assigned project leader is your single point of contact for NCC. Of course, other arrangements are possible. The dedicated project leader is responsible to carry out the project and finalize the agreed results of the project on time.
The project leader will mobilize the relevant and required expertise and coordinate the planned tasks. Subcontracting additional expertise or (laboratory) capacity is an option and will be discussed with before a subcontractor is approached in order to get your approval for this step.
Full service
It is NCC’s responsibility to ensure that your project will be completed in accordance with the work packages, terms and conditions of the contract. The project leader will integrate the inputs from all experts involved in your project.
You receive an overall invoice on the agreed moments and financial amounts. You will be regularly informed by the project leader about the progress of the project and the project leader will inform you right away in case any anomaly from the project plan occurs.
Scientific Literature Review
The foundation for many projects is a comprehensive high-quality scientific review. NCC plans and produces these, via a detailed flow chart. In close consultation with the customer, we generate a comprehensive plan and assignment, a detailed quotation and a customised output.
NCC collectively represents more than 200 years of experience in Nutrition and Health. Our combined scientific, regulatory and consumer expertise can add unique value to your business, and an effective and efficient service is guaranteed.
Products need a healthy start in the market.
Consumer groups ask increasingly for healthier and more sustainable food products. However, it is known that about 75% of the new food products are pulled back from the market within one year. The sales of almost half of these launches only last half a year, whereby it is questionable whether the costs of the product development and market introduction will be recouped. So, new food product launches are challenging. One reason: the quickly changing trends. Furthermore, consumers might not be convinced of health benefits of the launched product. Persuasive communication needed, based on deep consumer insights, is needed to motivate consumers to buy a product, again and again. For that a product must deliver the claimed attributes. Nutrition and health claims are strictly regulated. Authorized claims can be used by any company which might make them a less effective marketing instrument. But there are other ways to support your message convincingly. A winning concept can overcome the different complex hurdles in the market introduction with the help of experts. The NCC has extensive collective experience in successful development of food products. We can support the whole process, from the very first idea up to the actual launch and aftercare of your market introduction. NCC will give your idea a healthy start!
Multidisciplinary design is the basis for outstanding products.
Innovation is needed for success in the current competitive and complex food markets. However, innovation is not limited to a good idea, but it is a multidisciplinary process with the contribution and integration of various disciplines. The NCC can help to develop or refine your innovation pipeline to enhance future sales. Our multidisciplinary team has longstanding experience in product development, nutrition science, product quality and safety, product communication, and food law. This knowledge can be used to assist in a complete R&D strategy but also in the design of a specific new product or the reformulation of an existing food product. NCC will always use state of the art science so that new product concepts will be up to date and competitive. NCC also designs human intervention studies to assess safety or efficacy of your products in preparation of your future market launch. The assistance of NCC will be tailormade based on the needs of your company and the approach can be stepwise which makes the co-development cost-effective. NCC can act as leader of the innovation-project to guide the process in a professional way.
Project cases
Caelus Health
In 2017 NCC provided advice to a privately held company, Caelus Health, developing new microbiome-based strategies for disease prevention. We delivered an expert opinion on further steps with a new lead. This project included identifying business scenarios for supplements to consumer markets and potential market entries for EU and USA. Based on a thorough analysis of the scientific and regulatory environments we advised on communication strategies and a storyline for the product(s). A rough valorization of the scenarios was made as well. The whole task was performed in one month in time and in full, using our own expertise and one external professional. The NCC opinion was highly valued by the client. Since then the company moved the product to a Phase 2B clinical trial.
Sport Innovator: sports nutrition
Sportinnovator is a Dutch Governmental organisation that stimulates the development of sport innovations. The organisation focusses on materials, facilities and nutrition. NCC conducted a feasibility study on a new "all-in" concept in sports nutrition, specifically designed for endurance capacity and recovery. The feasibility study shows that the concepts is feasible from a scientific, economic and societal perspective. The basis of a diet of endurance sport athletes should be build on the Guidelines for a Healthy Diet. Combining proven nutrition interventions in a "all-in" daily diet concept, build on specifically designed foods that increases acceptability and compliance, may help to improve physical performance and recovery in endurance athletes. Our feasibility study indicates that the concept can easily be expanded to other types of sports, recreational sports and other target groups that require relatively high physical efforts, like the elderly and militaries. The concepts needs to be build on a combination of specifically designed foods and IT-technology. The IT collects data on personal preferences, diet, physical exercise, and other physiological indicators. This results in advice with respect to nutrition, training and rest.
Food Nutrition and Health Research Infrastructure
In 2018 we supported Wageningen Universiteit in writing a science case to apply for a Food, Nutrition and Health Research Infrastructure at ESFRI. The science case needed to be composed of several elements. We proposed science fields that should be included, a vision and mission statement, and a concept of a long term science program. In addition we provided the basis of the scientific leadership, the feasibility of the FNH-RI and a proposal for the design of the RI. Furthermore we developed scientific use cases on the future protein transition and on personalised nutrition and health with a focus on the increasing obesity problem. Our work facilitated Wageningen University to proceed with the application which will be submitted in 2020.