New Product Development : Flavoring New Products

Since new product market success is never certain, what and how can your flavor supplier offer to help maximize the probability that a new product will yield an acceptable return on investment and eventually join the herd of healthy, cash cows?

Elements of NPD Success

As a flavor creator and manufacturer, abelei would like to think that a great tasting flavor is the be-all-end-all for NPD success. The truth is that many other factors are very important. Tops among these are the financial condition of the brand, the brand’s appeal to a customer base that is large, growing and with disposable income to easily afford regular consumption of its products. With those primary conditions satisfied, other factors like production and distribution capacity, product positioning and competitive pricing all play into a complex formula for success.

However, if a product does not emotionally and organoleptically appeal to consumers, the probability of repeat sales (long term success!) will be low and ill-fated. Depending on your type of new beverage or food being launched, many product attributes: appealing packaging, label statement, and product claims, shelf-stability, appearance, mouthfeel, texture, aroma and taste will need to be optimized. Though not experts in all these areas, abelei flavors has seen a much higher probability for success on projects in which developers bring us into the NPD process early and often.

Who and How abelei helps with NDP?

Start-ups and mid-sized beverage and food brands often approach abelei for help in developing new products. They do so seeking our 40-years of business experience, relationships with various ingredient suppliers and co-manufacturing processors, our library of over 10,000 fruit and sweet flavor formulas, and staff of certified flavorists, analytical chemists, applications and sensory scientists with the collective abilities to custom-formulate and adjust final product formulations to hit targeted product attributes.

Even large customers with very capable in-house development teams, frequently bring their unflavored base products to abelei’s North Aurora, IL laboratories for a day or two of fine-tuning the flavor and other product attributes. Historically, it has been in these instances, when abelei becomes an active partner in the development process, that enduring product success is most probable.

Examples of such cases include these types of projects:

• initial product development for start-up brands,
• line extensions for established brands,
• updating and improving the flavor and cost structure of existing products,
• matching the flavor profiles of successful market products for use in competitive new products.

Every week abelei’s flavor team is working with customers on these types of projects. Accordingly, we are well equipped with advanced instrumentation and processes, vast searchable flavor libraries, decades of project experiences and industry connections to efficiently satisfy customer NPD needs. And, with the completion of a $10 MM facility expansion this summer, abelei’s capacity for handling projects and orders will eventually increase by 3-fold with just one shift working 5-days per week.

What abelei Does Best: Flavor Types sold into Product Applications

If you are curious about the types of flavors and applications abelei is best at in terms of NPD, consider these facts. In 2018 abelei sold a large number of fruit and sweet flavor types (Strawberry, Orange, Lemon, Vanilla and many others) into these product platforms: Tea (60 different flavor types), Functional Beverages (45 different flavor types), Inclusions (31), Spirits (29), Water (29), Bar Products (28), Gummy Candies (27), Beverage Syrups (24), Smoothies (23), Frozen Yogurt (22), Juice (19) and many more.

In terms of the types of flavors sold in 2018, there were more than 50 different abelei flavor types used in more than 30 different product categories. For instance, our Strawberry flavors were used in 19 different product categories, including functional beverages, teas, water, spirits, cider, yogurt, candies of all kinds, fish oils, sport nutrition products, etc. Here is a breakdown of our top 15 flavor types and the number of product categories in which they were used in 2018: Strawberry (19), Orange (18), Lemon (14), Vanilla (14), Apple (13), Blueberry (13), Caramel (13), Cherry (13), Chocolate (13), Pineapple (13), Raspberry (13), Lime (11), Coconut (10), Watermelon (10), Mixed Berry (9) and Cookie (9).

Invite abelei into your next NPD Project

If you are looking for an established flavor partner for help in these areas…

• initial product development for start-up brands,
• line extensions for established brands,
• updating and improving the flavor and cost structure of existing products,
• matching the flavor profiles of successful market products for use in competitive new products.

please call 847-924-5855 or email Troy Gooding today.

If you would like free flavor samples sent to you promptly, please click here to complete and submit a digital sample request form for flavors with proven success in your product category.

We look forward to flavoring your next new product success!