Market Context — Why This Technology, Why Now

Global consumer markets are rapidly evolving, driven by personalized experiences and a demand for products that align with individual values and preferences. This shift necessitates sophisticated analytical tools to move beyond demographic segmentation to psychographic understanding. Regulatory pressures for transparent product claims and sustainable practices also push companies to ensure their offerings genuinely meet consumer expectations, making precise preference mapping a critical competitive differentiator.

Key Competitive Advantages
01

Quantifies evaluation terms prioritized by specific consumer attributes, revealing latent needs in food preference judgments that traditional surveys often miss.

02

Reduces prototype iterations and enables effective promotional strategy development, potentially shortening product development cycles by up to 30% and cutting costs by 20%.

03

Clarifies product characteristics and appeal points for target demographics, with the potential to increase post-launch hit rates by 1.5 times.

Market Opportunity
Food Manufacturers
$130B–$130B globally (AI est.)
Increasing consumer demand for diverse products and intense competition drive the need for data-driven new product development and marketing strategies.
Large-scale food corporations Specialty food producers Food ingredient suppliers
Food Service & Prepared Meals Industry
$200B–$200B globally (AI est.)
Demand for enhanced customer experience and personalized menu offerings makes leveraging preference data crucial for differentiation.
Major restaurant chains Catering service providers Ready-meal manufacturers
Food Distribution & Retail
$250B–$250B globally (AI est.)
Consumer-centric evaluation term analysis contributes to optimizing shelf layouts and developing effective promotional strategies.
Supermarket chains Online grocery platforms Food wholesalers
IP Defensibility — Why Competitors Can't Replicate This
What This Patent Covers

This patent protects a system for identifying evaluation terms, covering its core functions and application scope across 12 claims. It successfully navigated two office actions and five prior art citations during examination, demonstrating clear differentiation and robust patentability against existing technologies. This strong protection offers a stable foundation for licensees.

Competitive White Space

This patent primarily covers the identification of evaluation terms. White space exists for developing predictive sales models based on these insights or integrating with AI-driven content generation for automated marketing campaigns.

Economic Impact
~$200K/year estimated marketing cost optimization per facility (est.)
estimated ROI · USD · AI analysis
ROI Calculation Logic

Assuming a company develops 5 new products annually. If each product typically incurs $50K (AI est.) in market research and $150K (AI est.) in prototyping/refinement costs, this technology could reduce market research costs by 20% and prototyping/refinement costs by 10%. This translates to (($50K (AI est.) × 0.2) + ($150K (AI est.) × 0.1)) × 5 products = $125K (AI est.). Including reduced sales opportunity loss and improved hit rates from precise marketing, an estimated annual economic impact of ~$200K (AI est.) is projected.

Speed to Market
6× faster than in-house development
The system components (consumer terminals, analysis server, communication network) are generic, suggesting easy integration with existing IT infrastructure and survey systems. The core data analysis algorithm is established as a patent and, being an invention by a national research and development agency, is likely to have undergone significant validation. Adopting companies could integrate this technology's analysis module into their existing data collection platforms for rapid operational deployment.
Competitive Positioning

X: Depth of Consumer Insight
Y: Product Development & Marketing Efficiency

Business Models & Applications
☁️ SaaS Data Analysis Service
Offer this technology as a cloud-based SaaS, allowing food manufacturers and marketing firms to access the evaluation term identification system via a monthly subscription.
💡 Product Development Consulting Partnership
Partner with consulting services that leverage this technology's analysis results to support new product development, existing product refinement, and marketing strategy formulation.
🔗 API Integration & Licensing
License or provide API integration of this technology's analysis engine to existing market research platforms and CRM systems.
Adjacent Application Opportunities
💄 Cosmetics & Apparel
Sensory Evaluation Axis Identification System
Identifies how consumers prioritize sensory evaluation terms like 'skin feel' or 'comfort' for cosmetic and apparel products. This could optimize product concept design and advertising messaging, potentially increasing market appeal by 15-20%.
🏨 Service Industry
Customer Experience Evaluation Optimization
Identifies specific evaluation terms (e.g., 'cleanliness,' 'hospitality') that constitute customer satisfaction in service industries like hotels or entertainment venues. This could enhance service quality and boost customer retention by up to 25%.
🚗 Automotive & Home Appliances
Product UI/UX Evaluation Articulation
Identifies user-prioritized evaluation terms (e.g., 'intuitive,' 'premium feel') for automotive interior design or home appliance usability. This could provide concrete guidelines for UI/UX design and product improvement, potentially reducing design iterations by 20%.
Integration Roadmap — Estimated 12-Month Deployment
Phase 1: Existing Data Integration & Platform Setup
Duration: 3 months
Establish an integration platform between the licensee's consumer preference data and survey results and this technology's analysis server. Focus will be on API integration with existing systems.
Phase 2: Analysis Model Customization & Validation
Duration: 6 months
Tune the evaluation term dictionary and adjust analysis algorithms to align with the licensee's specific product categories and target markets. Conduct validation with pilot data to enhance accuracy.
Phase 3: Strategy Formulation & Full Operation
Duration: 3 months
Begin practical application of the validated analysis model for new product development and marketing strategy formulation. Establish a regular cycle for evaluating and improving analysis results.
Technical Feasibility
This technology is based on a generic system configuration including consumer terminals (PCs, smartphones, etc.) and an analysis server. The patent claims and detailed description suggest easy integration with existing survey systems and consumer data collection platforms. No new specialized hardware is required; technical feasibility is high, primarily involving integrating software modules into existing IT infrastructure. This allows for rapid deployment without significant capital investment.
Success Scenario
Upon adoption, companies could clearly identify evaluation terms prioritized by specific consumer attributes in food preference judgments. This may enable designing resonant product concepts from the initial planning stages of new product development, potentially reducing rework during the prototyping phase by up to 30%. Consequently, this could shorten time-to-market, allowing for the development of approximately 2 additional products annually or an estimated 10% increase in existing product sales.
Patent Record
APPLICATION NO.
特願2020-128404
REGISTRATION NO.
7520349
FILING DATE
2020/07/29
GRANT DATE
2024/07/12
EXPIRATION DATE
2040/07/29
PATENT HOLDER
国立研究開発法人農業・食品産業技術総合研究機構
Examination History
2023年05月25日
出願審査請求書
2024年03月21日
拒絶理由通知書
2024年05月13日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年05月13日
意見書
2024年06月13日
拒絶理由通知書
2024年06月18日
意見書
2024年06月18日
手続補正書（自発・内容）
2024年06月27日
特許査定