DSM Nutritional Products, a global manufacturer and marketer of nutritional ingredients, will hold its Innovation Conference June 25 through 26 in Parsippany, N.J. The conference is an opportunity for startups and young companies to showcase their work and potentially gain the support of DSM in commercializing their products.  Candidates will be selected based on their applications submitted by May 9 through Nutrition Capital Network at www.nutritioncapital.com/The_2014_DSM_Partnering_Innovation_Conference.

The finalist companies will have an opportunity to participate in a half-day learning academy, which will feature presentations by five senior DSM executives representing innovation, research and development (R&D), regulatory affairs, sales and marketing, and venturing. The executives will provide insights about DSM’s approach and criteria when collaborating with entrepreneurs to develop new products for the global human nutrition market. 

“Collaboration with entrepreneurs has been a key business strategy at DSM for many years. We recognize that great ideas occur not only within our company, but outside as well.  With the help of our resources and expertise, some of these can go on to become players on a worldwide stage," said Rob Beudeker, innovation program director.  “Our goal is to have innovative products and applications account for 20 percent of our total sales by 2015."  Beudeker will present an overview of the DSM innovation process, portfolio optimization, and the criteria used to select companies for investment and partnership.

Krijn Rietveld, senior vice president of innovation and R&D, will lead a session on the DSM R&D process for new products and ingredients.  His presentation will cover R&D and innovation competencies at DSM, including an overview of the DSM R&D organization, its portfolio of competencies, and examples of how the R&D organization and innovation programs work together to foster both internal and open innovation.

William Turney, DSM’s head of regulatory affairs and product quality management in North America, will present on how to develop a global regulatory strategy for new ingredients.  Participants will learn how the cost of bringing a product to market and its growth potential are affected by the requirements and timelines for obtaining global market clearance and by the level of evidence needed to substantiate marketing claims.

DSM’s vice president of global marketing, William Black, will discuss the process of taking a new product to launch, with special focus on the key dimensions of safety, efficacy, cost of use, claims, regulatory considerations, IP and consumer research that dictate how the product can be marketed. 

Greg McParland, senior investment manager of DSM Venturing will discuss the current portfolio of investments, the investment process and timelines, the criteria used to assess potential investments and the ways that DSM works with entrepreneurs post-investment.