5 Food Product Development Challenges Every Food Business Should Understand

Author's note: This article was originally written by Mo Shehu and updated by Good Food Studio in November 2026 to reflect current information and practices. Developing a food product involves far more decisions than most people anticipate.

A sauce might taste excellent during kitchen trials but separate when processed in larger quantities. An imported ingredient may deliver the perfect flavour but make the product too expensive to manufacture. A functional beverage may generate excitement during concept testing, yet struggle to attract repeat purchases.

These are familiar challenges in food product development, and they have become particularly relevant as manufacturers navigate fluctuating ingredient costs, price-sensitive consumers, evolving food trends and increasingly complex product requirements.

Whether you're developing a product for the first time or improving an existing range, five areas deserve careful attention.

1. Formulation: Will the Product Perform as Intended?

Every ingredient contributes something to a formulation, whether it's flavour, texture, colour, structure, preservation or nutritional value.

Understanding those functions becomes particularly important when ingredients interact or undergo processing.

Consider a high-protein beverage. Increasing the protein content may improve its nutritional profile, but it can also affect viscosity, flavour, sedimentation and stability.

The developer may need to investigate protein type, solubility, pH, processing temperature and interactions with other ingredients.

Similarly, reducing sugar in a jam affects sweetness, but sugar also contributes to preservation, texture and gel formation. A successful reformulation requires understanding how those functions will be replaced or adjusted.

What developers should investigate

• Ingredient functionality: What does each ingredient contribute, and how does it interact with the others?
• Processing behaviour: How does the formulation respond to heating, cooling, mixing or fermentation?
• Sensory quality: Does the finished product deliver the intended flavour, texture and appearance?
• Stability: Does the product maintain its desired characteristics during storage?
• Formulation flexibility: Which ingredients can be substituted without compromising performance?

Ingredient selection should be guided by the requirements of the finished product.

A technically sound formulation gives manufacturers a more reliable foundation for subsequent development.

2. Ingredient Sourcing: Can You Maintain Consistent Quality and Supply?

Ingredient sourcing affects everything from formulation performance to production scheduling.

In South Africa, manufacturers may need to account for exchange-rate fluctuations, imported ingredient availability, transport costs and seasonal changes in agricultural supply.

However, price alone is a poor measure of ingredient value.

Understanding the cost of functionality

Imagine developing a fruit-flavoured yoghurt using two different fruit preparations.

One costs R65 per kilogram, while the other costs R80.

The cheaper preparation may have a lower fruit concentration, requiring a higher inclusion rate to achieve the same flavour intensity.

If the formulation requires 150 g of the cheaper preparation but only 100 g of the more expensive one, the ingredient cost becomes:

• Preparation A: 150 g × R65/kg = R9.75
• Preparation B: 100 g × R80/kg = R8.00

In this example, the higher-priced ingredient delivers the required flavour at a lower cost per finished batch.

Actual selection would also depend on composition, texture, stability and the product specification.

What to establish with suppliers

Before approving an ingredient for commercial use, request relevant information about:

• Composition and technical specifications.
• Microbiological and quality requirements.
• Allergen information.
• Minimum order quantities and lead times.
• Storage conditions and shelf life.
• Batch consistency and traceability.
• Availability of suitable alternatives.

For ingredients with variable agricultural origins, such as fruit, herbs, spices and botanical extracts, differences between harvests or suppliers may affect the finished product.

A reliable sourcing strategy includes specifications that define acceptable variation.

3. Food Safety and Regulation: Is the Product Suitable for Its Intended Market?

Food safety requirements depend on the ingredients, processing method, packaging, storage conditions and intended consumer.

These considerations become more complex when developing products containing novel ingredients, botanical extracts or components associated with functional benefits.

Functional ingredients require careful evaluation

Consider a beverage formulated with a botanical extract.

Before commercialisation, the developer needs to establish the identity and composition of the material, its suitability for food use, potential safety concerns and any applicable regulatory restrictions.

If the product is intended to carry a functional claim, the supporting evidence must also be evaluated.

Research showing that a compound has biological activity under laboratory conditions does not establish that a finished beverage will deliver the same effect.

The concentration, processing conditions, serving size and available human evidence all influence whether a claim can be supported.

Shelf life must be demonstrated

A product's shelf life cannot be determined solely by observing whether it still looks or tastes acceptable.

Depending on the product, testing may involve:

• Microbiological analysis.
• pH and water activity measurements.
• Oxidation and flavour stability.
• Physical changes such as separation or sedimentation.
• Packaging integrity.
• Nutrient or active ingredient stability.

For example, a refrigerated sauce may maintain its colour and flavour while still presenting microbiological risks if its formulation, processing or storage conditions are inadequate.

Testing must reflect the product's intended distribution and storage conditions.

South African regulatory considerations

Food businesses should identify the legislation applicable to their product category, including relevant requirements under the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics and Disinfectants Act and associated regulations.

Labelling, permitted claims, hygiene requirements and product composition may all require assessment.

Products intended for export may be subject to additional requirements in their destination markets.

4. Manufacturing: Can the Product Be Reproduced at Scale?

A formulation developed in a five-litre batch may behave differently when produced in a 1,000-litre vessel.

Changes in equipment geometry, heating rates, mixing intensity and processing times can affect product quality.

For example, a sauce thickened with starch may achieve the correct viscosity during kitchen trials but become too thin during industrial processing because of prolonged heating or mechanical shear.

The solution may involve adjusting the starch type, processing conditions or ingredient addition sequence.

What happens during scale-up?

The manufacturer needs to establish processing conditions that consistently produce the required result.

These may include:

• Ingredient addition order.
• Mixing speed and duration.
• Heating and cooling profiles.
• Hydration and holding times.
• Filling temperatures.
• Product yield and processing losses.
• Critical quality and safety controls.

Pilot trials allow developers to evaluate these parameters using equipment and conditions representative of commercial production.

Documentation matters

A production team should be able to reproduce the product using an agreed specification.

This requires clear records of ingredient quantities, processing instructions, acceptable quality limits and testing requirements.

For example, specifying that a sauce should be 'thick and glossy' leaves considerable room for interpretation.

Defining an appropriate viscosity range, measured under specified conditions, provides a more objective manufacturing target.

The level of documentation will depend on the product and production environment, but consistency requires measurable standards.

5. Consumer Demand: Does the Product Offer Enough Value?

Consumer interest in protein-rich foods, convenient meals, functional beverages and products with recognisable ingredients creates opportunities for innovation.

The challenge is understanding which attributes consumers value enough to influence purchasing decisions.

A product may perform well during concept testing because people find the idea interesting.

That enthusiasm may change when consumers taste the product, compare it with alternatives or discover its intended retail price.

Test the product in the context of purchase

Consumer research should investigate:

• Who is likely to buy the product.
• When and how they would use it.
• Which alternatives they currently purchase.
• What they value most about the category.
• How they respond to the flavour, texture and appearance.
• Whether the proposed price is acceptable.
• What might encourage repeat purchases.

For example, a premium functional beverage may appeal to consumers interested in wellness.

However, if the product has a strong bitter aftertaste or costs substantially more than familiar alternatives, its market may be narrower than initially anticipated.

These findings can guide formulation adjustments, pack sizes, pricing and positioning.

Affordability influences product design

In a price-sensitive market, manufacturers may need to consider smaller pack sizes, alternative ingredient systems or more efficient packaging formats.

These decisions should be informed by actual consumer needs and manufacturing economics.

A smaller package, for instance, may improve the upfront purchase price while increasing packaging cost per litre or kilogram.

The most appropriate solution depends on the intended consumer, usage occasion and retail environment.

Bringing a Food Product to Market

Food product development requires coordination between research, formulation, sourcing, manufacturing, quality assurance and commercial teams.

Each discipline contributes information that influences the final product.

A formulation change may affect allergen declarations. A new supplier may introduce variation in ingredient composition. A packaging adjustment may require further stability testing.

Managing these dependencies requires clear product specifications, documented decisions and communication between the people responsible for development and production.

At Good Food Studio, we bring together culinary expertise, food science and practical recipe development to help businesses explore new food concepts and refine existing products.

Our work focuses on developing recipes and food applications that consider flavour, ingredient functionality and the intended use of the finished product.

Contact Good Food Studio to discuss your recipe development or food innovation project.