Ethnography is a type of qualitative research that involves immersing into a community or an organization to observe behaviour and interactions in their daily life. In product development, it helps to understand a routine which in turn helps map a customer’s journey from purchasing a product until they use it and reap the benefits. It also aids to identify the problems and pain points they encounter daily. Product development and innovation are then generated to address these issues, making it an excellent tool for innovation and product development as not only helping to identify issues but also looks at developing a solution that is easy to implement; The simplest and best example of ethnography in product development is an easy tear feature in a sachet.

An example in our own business is our milk replacer premixtures. What is important is to know how the farmer interacts with our customer’s product, the milk replacer, to improve our quality. Mixing temperatures and times on-farm are important factors to consider because an insoluble premixture will leave residue at the bottom of the mixer, creating more work in cleaning and loss of nutrients. An excellent solubility will avoid a deposit at the end of the mixer or bucket, which will ease cleaning and ensure all the nutrients are ingested by the calf. Therefore, we have a strong focus on assessing each raw material in our premixture formulation for solubility.

Homogeneity and palatability are also important aspects to consider. The first weeks of age are the most important for average daily gain and ensuring health through the nutrient intake. Providing a quality consistent product with high intakes as well as good management practices can ensure young-stock achieve their maximum potential.

As a cooperative, we are always close to the farmer in what we do, constantly speaking to them as we look to solve problems on the farm and develop products that match these and are easy to use. We also have a multidisciplinary team involving veterinarians and nutritionists with a holistic approach to nutrition and health management on the farm. We are always looking for new collaborations within the industry and we have a new GMP+ accredited manufacturing plant specialized in powdered water-soluble and performance nutrition products.

Read more about our milk replacer business; Nutribio expands it’s manufacturing capacity for it’s milk replacer premixture business – News Nutribio and follow our social media pages to keep up with updates; LinkedIn,  Twitter,  Facebook