(see, e.g., Earle, 1997), which often begins with idea generation, either
on the basis of market information the firm already possesses or market
surveys. This phase is seen as a creative phase, the aim of which is to
generate ideas for concepts and products, which are subsequently tested
in various consumer tests. Decisions are therefore related to the concept
that is thought to be best suited to satisfying consumers’ preferences.
Whether the end product is successful or not, therefore, depends to a
large extent on how good firms are at developing concrete products and
concepts. For the QFD team, it is more a question of finding good so-
lutions to consumers’ needs. In other words, firms’ technological or agri-
cultural competencies are directed towards consumers’ needs.
The purpose of this chapter is to introduce QFD and the House of
Quality as an integrated quality concept and describe the two central el-
ements of QFD, food quality and consumer needs, with special atten-
tion to the translation processes for fruit and vegetables. Finally, an
example of translation of consumer needs for good sensory quality into
measurable sensory attributes is given.
With fruit and vegetables in mind, obvious areas for the use of House
of Quality and the integrated view of quality could be the development
of completely new fruits and vegetables; a new variety; special sizes,
cuts, assortments; packaging; distribution systems; or the establishment
of fruit and vegetable departments in supermarkets, all in accordance
with consumer (and customer) needs and wants and within the techni-
cal possibilities available. It is, however, obvious that the use of House
of Quality in this area may be less technically oriented than within other
types of products. This part is discussed in the section Translation of
Needs.
Food Quality
Food quality has been the subject of endless debate, and this has in-
evitably given rise to a proliferation of different terms and definitions
recently discussed by, e.g., Shewfelt et al. (1997). What is needed for
the product development and quality control of food, however, is a ver-
satile and dynamic quality concept that can also be related directly to
the goal of product development, i.e., the creation of long-term com-
petitive advantages, perceived advantages in consumers’ and other cus-
tomers’ eyes.
From a strategic point of view, there is wide agreement on the fol-
lowing quality definition for the goal of product development: “prod-
Food Quality 201