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News You Can Use
Twisted development at Farmland impacts kids.
Summer 2006 |
Farmland Foods is pleased to introduce the new Farmland
Twister Dog™. This spiral-cut hot dog “uncoils” when heated,
turning the ordinary hot dog into a fun-to-eat, spiral-shaped
treat that kids will love. The OPERATOR spoke with Farmland
Product Development Manager Scott Cusick to find out about
this interesting development.
OPERATOR: Where did the idea for the Twister Dog come from?
CUSICK: From our Senior VP of Sales & Marketing, Jim Sbarro. He was
looking for different ways to present hot dogs for sales promotions.
OPERATOR: Tell us about the R&D. Does the Twister Dog have
any special production needs?
CUSICK: We started cutting hot dogs by hand with
a razor blade and then boiling them. Next, we
went to a small engineering design fi rm to
discuss ways to automate the cutting
process. This brought us to the
creation of a hand operated
cutting jig, which we used
to cut small quantities of
product for test purposes.
We developed and patented
the first industrial Twister Dog
machine.
OPERATOR: Is there a recommended preparation method
for the Twister Dog?
CUSICK: Boiling is recommended, but the twist is noticeable
with any form of cooking.
OPERATOR: This product seems to be a natural for kids.
CUSICK: Kids will be a good target audience. Kids tend
to look for things that are different from their normal
routine. I believe chefs will find interesting ways to utilize
its uniqueness for different menu applications, as well.
OPERATOR: Was there much research and testing done
with kids before launching the Twister Dog?
CUSICK: A large-scale cutting was held in Kansas City where
the product was evaluated across a broad age spectrum.
Another evaluation was conducted in our corporate office
during “Take Your Kids To Work Day.” Our third cross section
of opinions was collected in a stadium setting from many of
our key customers.
OPERATOR: Is the Twister Dog a fairly significant
development in the hot dog category?
CUSICK: It could be; it will definitely be a new twist (no pun
intended) on the product line.
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