Who we can support and how

We work with food entrepreneurs, small food businesses, investors, accelerator programmes and those new to the food industry.

We offer focused training that covers all stages of the commercialization of an idea from “Thought to Fork”.

Services

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"Thought to Fork" Academy

A three day interactive workshop covering all aspects of a successful product launch.
Face to face or Online

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NPD 101

A four hour interactive workshop covering the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” of New Product Development. Face to face or Online

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Topic Specific Training

Topic specific webinars e.g. Creating a HACCP plan, Basics of project management, Basics of nutrition and labelling.

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Tailored Training and Support

Tailored to your needs, we can provide training, coaching or project specific on location support.

Free Resources

Are you Launch Ready?

Knowing whether you have checked all the necessary boxes before launching your product(s) is vital.

Articles relating to Launch Readiness.

Order size vs Batch size

Order size vs Batch size

Sizing your batch to match order quantities can reduce wasteA small jam producer had perfected their recipe for artisanal jam. They knew exactly what quantities of raw material to buy for a batch. A batch would make a multiple of 12 jars. Everything would work...

Costing in the real world

Costing in the real world

Hobby or Entrepreneurial Business? Costings will show you which one you haveCosting a product in your home kitchen should be easy, but is it? All the elements of making your product are there in front of you but… My mother in law made pies in our kitchen for a local...

Ingredient Lead Times

Ingredient Lead Times

Making assumptions about lead times can come at a cost.So here you are, recipe done, packaging done, ingredients identified and tested, shelf life completed, product sold in! You are approaching your first production run with confidence. What could possibly go wrong!...

Order size vs Batch size

Sizing your batch to match order quantities can reduce wasteA small jam producer had perfected their recipe for artisanal jam. They knew exactly what quantities of raw material to buy for a batch. A batch would make a multiple of 12 jars. Everything would work...

Costing in the real world

Hobby or Entrepreneurial Business? Costings will show you which one you haveCosting a product in your home kitchen should be easy, but is it? All the elements of making your product are there in front of you but… My mother in law made pies in our kitchen for a local...

Ingredient Lead Times

Making assumptions about lead times can come at a cost.So here you are, recipe done, packaging done, ingredients identified and tested, shelf life completed, product sold in! You are approaching your first production run with confidence. What could possibly go wrong!...

Thought to Fork

The Thought to Fork concept allows us to help you at every stage of your food business journey.   

Services

Through the ‘Thought to Fork’ stages, these are all the ways we can help.

Concept

Getting the concept right is the keystone to success. We can help you to identify and robustly test:-

  • What consumer problem are you solving?
  • How your product is different from the competition?
  • What is your brand positioning?
  • Success with “Me too” products is difficult but “Me Three+”  is almost impossible.

Design

To translate a concept into a viable product design, requires expertise. Our experience is invaluable for:

  • Logically developing commercially viable recipes
  • Designing in food safety controls
  • Ensuring Legal and Regulatory compliance
  • Shelf Life Measurement and Optimisation

Processing

Successfully executing a Product Design in to a Processing environment involves many challenges we have beaten before.

  • Ensuring product consistent performance
  • Continued food safety control
  • Optimising production efficiency at scale
  • Make or Buy options
  • Cost Effective Production

Scale Up

Product behaviour in a kitchen environment often changes when volumes and batch sizes increase. Our expertise in a factory environment ensures that:

  • Product characteristics and controls are retained 
  • Process change options are understood
  • Operating processes and costs are optimised
  • Supply chains are robust

Commercialisation

We can work with you to get your product to market by:

  • Developing a business case for a profitable business not an expensive hobby
  • Ensuring your Product and your Business are Supermarket Ready
  • Devising a low cost marketing programme to build your brand profile
  • Proposing a “Go to Market” Strategy

Launch

When everything is in place we can make a list , and  check it twice to provide the best chance for your success:

  •  “Pressure test” your product against the original concept and target market
  • Ensure a launch plan is in place
  • Monitor product performance from day one
Ensuring success

Method of Delivery

We can deliver most of our services through different methods, geared towards what suits you best, keeping all of us Covid secure.

One-to-One Support

We offer support on a one-to-one consulting basis from any of our four partners whose skills are matched to your needs.

Workshops and Training

One of the best ways to get started is to join us at a workshop and we will be able to help you with all of the services outlined above and more!

On-location Support

We are also able to offer hands on support on location, whether that’s your kitchen, pilot plant or factory.