Food Formulators Facing Challenges

LA GRANGE, Ill.—Leaders in the functional food industry agree on the enormity of hurdles involved in launching a new functional food or beverage, noting a wide range of reasons from creating competitive advantage to finding a product that resonates with consumers, according to a Webcast poll conducted by Food Product Design magazine for Cognis Nutrition & Health and WILD Flavors. When asked to pick the most challenging aspects of a product launch, responses were similar. The top three included creating a product that is differentiated versus the competition (20 percent), achieving a stable product (18 percent) and keeping the cost per serving acceptable to consumers (16 percent). The Webcast is the first of several joint efforts Cognis (www.cognis.com) and WILD have underway to demonstrate how they can offer turn-key solutions to new product launches.