Drinks Recipe Development

If you have ever wanted to create your drinks brand, then Drinks Chef are the perfect development patterns for you.
                       
Drinks Chef, have perfected its four phase process, that you will see many of the development competitors are now also following.

 

Feasibility or Scoping Out Services

                        
Beverage recipe development must always start with phase one, feasibility or scoping out services. When a brand chooses to work with Drinks Chef for its bespoke recipe development, you are working at Director level.
                       
So when scooping out is completed you will be working with industry experts who will walk through all the granular details most new brands fail to learn when going through beverage formulation.
                       
Scooping out always starts with the brand's objectives, how many flavors, what is the drink's unique selling point, or what journey created the inspiration for the development of the drink.
                       
The feasibility then moves onto the practical aspect of the drinks development, what format will you be entering in the market, can, glass bottle, pouch, aluminum bottle? What shape of format? Pack sizes and cap specifications?
                       
Once basics have been discussed the scooping out process moves into the brand's liquid, what is the viscosity that they imagine the liquid to be like, the aroma, the color? At Drinks Chef, we pride ourselves in working with natural ingredients and no preservatives for stability of the development liquid. The scooping out allows the Drinks Chef to understand the vision of the drink discussing requirements further such as calories, Alcohol % (ABV), the key flavors, does the development recipe require a function, awake, energize or calm for example?
                       
When Drinks Chef has collated all the details which allows us to create a smooth recipe development process, this also allows the brand to have an idea of its indicative costs for packaging and liquid. One of the best features of the scooping out process is that once drinks requirements have been discussed we then start to go into the business details. Working at Director level, who have owned their own drinks brands and worked in large corporate companies means discussion regarding trademarks, AWRS, basic financial skills like a profit and loss, margin scheme and how to active the brands by targeting key channels are all shared and the new brands is given all the knowledge to make its new drink brand a success.

 

   Onsite Lab Days

Drinks Chef Phase two of the recipe development, incorporates onsite lab days where the clients get to come and relax in our modern lab, with pool tables, putting greens and is able to tape into all the day to learn of running a drinks development company that owns its own brand in the market. The client is able to pick the Directors brains on business strategy and past experiences of what not to do and new trends so they can perfect the recipe. Drinks Chef prides itself on quality and does not consider the recipe completed until the client has signed this off no matter how many samples it may take. Once the recipe is approved, Drinks Chef creates a handover pack, which includes the supply chain so the product codes, where they come from and the MOQs of what the suppliers offer. Drinks Chef, choose to work with UK suppliers to give the new drinks brand the best lead times, MOQD and a solid supply chain that can be relied upon. Within the handover pack, the client is issued a document that will manage all costs of the product by updating the MOQs and prices per KG to always keep the brands unit prices accurate and by entering volume the requirement a shopping list for ingredients that are required.

               
Compliance

Once the liquid is created and the supply chain confirmed, Drinks Chef starts to test the product on critical stages like the liquid shelf life, nutritional information, forms of degradation for example CBD or vitamins, do you still have the same dosage after 12 months in the product? Drinks Chef also, looks at the claims the brands would like to make, which would have been discussed in the scooping out service, so the recipe holds the required dosage to claim for energy, calm, recover or aids cognitive function for example.
                       
With the skills at Drinks Chef, we are able to work on key tests if the brands wanted to, like accelerated shelf life. Through the recipe development Drinks Chefs are able to reach 12 months, but a further extension on this, then tests are required to be completed which would provide the brand a certificate of the success, at 18 or 24 months extended shelf life.
                       
Drinks Chef, also offer can compatibility, which is a key test all brands are advised to take due to the fast advancement of can ingredients for example the use of magnesium, CBD and other new natural ingredients going into products having a adverse effect on the can liners and causing cans to leak before the shelf life of the liquid expiration.

              
Proof of Concept

     
Drinks Chef fourth phase, is a day in our production site, this is the brand's big day at the end of the development. The first time the liquid is mixed in bulk, for example a 1000L if you are in a 250ml serve. This is where methodologies are created, that give the new drinks brand all the production knowledge and specification to continue to have successful productions.
                       
The proof of concept, is a day made to challenge the liquid to make sure it is scalable and to perfect the manufacturing aids, for example how cold to chill the liquid in tank to create as little foaming/ fobbing when being filled, the brands perfected carbonation level and of course it gives the client stock to go off and challenge the market with.
                                           
The Day starts early, where content for the drinks brand launch can be taken for its socials and website to create a buzz for the new product coming to market. The client will be able to videos and photos of the product mixed in full, being canned or bottled, pasteurized and finally labeled or sleeved, essentially the brand owns its own production space for the day.

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If you are interested in developing a drink recipe, simply contact us and one of our friendly staff will be in touch