Hans Sticks
Hans Continental Smallgoods
RESEARCH and development was a key to developing Hans Sticks, a finalist in the Meat and Smallgoods category of this year’s FOOD Magazine Challenge Awards, proudly sponsored by .
took their existing leg ham and salami recipes as a base and concentrated on value-adding with emphasis on creating a new segment within the category.
Continual market research identified this untapped market segment of customers looking for school lunch and snack alternatives.
Finding appropriate stick-cutting machinery was one of the project’s biggest challenges.
In the limited timeframe allocated before launch the company found nothing available off the shelf.
The engineering department coordinated with R&D, quality assurance and factory staff to develop a cutting system that was easy to clean, easy to operate and could keep up with the required throughput.
The product is sold in a carefully designed tear-off package that provides individual serves ideal for lunchboxes.
The sticks, now carried in major supermarkets, are gluten free and contain no artificial flavours or colours.