PRODUCT INNOVATION: THE CASE OF A SEARCH FOR GUAVA’S APPLICATIONS AND NEW USES

Resumen

Competitiveness, to many firms, and even to countries, depends on the maintenance of constant launch of new products. The objective of the present paper is to present a case of product innovation, resulting from the search of guava producers’ association for applications and new uses for the fruit. In order to attain this objective, the method employed is the exploratory research, using secondary data analysis and qualitative research, through depth interviews with the president of this association. In the bibliographic survey, the context of product innovation in a small firm is underlined, emphasizing some critical issues on the new products development process, the characteristics that favor new products success, the influence of institutional factors on innovation and some questions related to innovation, exportation and association of small firms. By means of a model adequate to the situation portrayed in this paper, the association produced the first of six new products derived from red guava. In conclusion, it was seen that the idea to form the association facilitated the interactions and interdependencies among the producers.  This new product reflects a gain of competitiveness of Brazilian producers due to the higher quality level needed for exportation, and also to productivity gains, as these producers insert themselves in the constant innovation context of markets.