Abstract:

In Mexico the national capital companies have shown a strong disadvantage against companies with foreign capital. The disadvantage is presented when the those companies raw material suppliers are only foreign companies,as well as the lack of information technology management, innovation developments, market research, are a present disadvantage in local firms. Many companies prefer to be suppliers of raw material, than innovate its production and add value to make final goods and increase is revenues.

This article is a case study that presents the successful collaboration between the university and the company "Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao", company from the food sector in Mexico.

The company produces raw materials for the food industry such as chocolate, cocoa liquor and cocoa butter, but sought financial support to develop new production line to introduce a new product to the food market, in order to increase its profits and market share; for this reason "Agroindustrias Unidas de Cacao" linked with the Autonomous University of Querétaro through its Laboratory of Technology Management and Innovation by developing products with high added value as chocolate coatings addressed to a high and medium quality chocolate market.

The first step was to develop a technology plan involving the selection, deployment and monitoring technological lines, in the short and medium term to implement a pilot plant for the production of this new product, chocolate coating. Subsequently, it was made a technological monitoring to incorporate new technology to the implementations of the new processes, as well as a feasibility analysis for the pilot plant production by adding a production process to what already the company was developing.

The next step was making a market research, not only to understand the market for the new company's product, but also to detect potentially viable market niche for the project, determining who produces nationally chocolate coating in medium and high quality and the main exporters, to develop and strategically marketing plan. This chocolate coating was planned to cover medium and chocolate quality chocolate market in two presentations, one for the confectionery sector, and the other for the food and ice cream sector. The entire study was conducted by leaning students majoring in management, accounting, marketing, finance, systems engineering and chemistry bachelors and masters programs as well as support and guidance by research doctors.

In summary, this article analyzes a successful case where a university through its different areas that are able to achieve innovation studies, liked with a company in order to respond to new market needs and demands, supported by information technology that allows to open new opportunities that potentially exists within these but often the employer or senior executives fear explode.

Keywords:

Triple helix, chocolate coating, innovation, links education research.