Production Development

SITUATION

Start-up production of a new snack food product at a second co-packer site to meet a surge in demand. Product formulation and process were proprietary to the initial co-packer and are not available for reference.

SOLUTION

This project required the development of both the formula and process. The key was co-ordination between Marketing, Operations and R&D functions. The product was analyzed to determine the approximate make-up. A literature search was run to determine the make-up of similar product types and identify critical process variables. The structure of the new product was revised to match the literature standard, which significantly improved stability and product shelf life. Flavor screens were run using the improved base product to select the final formulation. Evaluation of proposed process options at the new co-packer identified three critical process variables, two were related to heat transfer and one was based on blending efficiency. Equipment modifications were made to address the heating transfer issues and an alternate raw material form was identified to address the blending efficiency issue.
Product prototypes were produced on bench-scale equipment and submitted for monadic testing with excellent results. Tests vs. material from the initial co-packer showed the new source product was significantly preferred.

BENEFITS

Product was in production twelve weeks after project initiation, sales have increased by 200% due to increased capacity.

For more information, contact Barry Weinstein at 714-526-8165 or [email protected].