Diseño de un producto alimenticio que responda las tendencias actuales del mercado utilizando banano de descarte de la variedad Gros Michel de la especia (Musa acuminada L)

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to design a freeze-dried product that responds to current market trends using discarded Gros Michel bananas of the species Musa acuminata L. Based on the premise of the needs of banana exporters and producers to reduce and better manage the country's solid waste. Therefore, there was an opportunity to create an innovative product for the company Diversibanano. The product developed was a bite-sized snack made from freeze-dried banana with a chocolate coating, vegan, gluten-free, and with no added sugars. The Stage-Gate system was used to develop this product, creating different prototypes which were subjected to sensory analysis and a focus group. These analyses determined that the product developed was accepted by Guatemalan consumers, as 93.3% of the sensory analysis panelists voted that they would buy it. However, they associate the product with a traditional snack, which means there would be high competition, and not with a gourmet, light, or gluten-free product, which means there would be high competition due to its high price compared to other products in that segment, which are lower in price. On the other hand, the plant and production process for this product were designed with a total area of 604m2 and a production capacity of 115,477 bags of freeze-dried chocolate-covered bananas, starting with 365. 36 kg of bananas per week, producing two batches of 985 bags and another of 394, taking into account 117 net working hours per week and a total of four workers for the process. Finally, a financial study was conducted, which concluded that the project is risky, as there is a high probability of obtaining a negative NPV and an IRR of less than 7.8%, and also because the price range determined for the simulations is very high compared to that of the competition. Therefore, establishing the product in the Guatemalan market is very difficult at present. That said, it is recommended that this product be exported (to regions such as North America and Asia-Pacific) as the names of this product could be a factor in purchasing decisions in these countries.