What makes food and beverage manufacturing complex?
The complexities of food and beverage manufacturing are unparalleled. From different products and their ingredients, each with their own requirements and challenges, to regulatory compliances that vary across the globe and safety concerns at every stage – the multitude of variables involved is staggering.
So, what are the common challenges facing food and beverage production and how do they differ across categories, from dairy and plant-based to food and even alcohol? Throughout this series, we will explore the insights shared by industry experts about the top challenges that are unique to each category.
For starters, we reached out to food and beverage professionals located across regions with a simple question: According to you, what is the biggest challenge when producing food and beverage products? The industry insiders revealed various complexities that they face on a day-to-day basis, including prerequisites such as safe handling and other factors that reflect the current times.
Ensuring food safety
Quality control is indispensable in food and beverage production. It is not only the biggest requirement but also an ongoing challenge that needs careful attention at every stage of production. No matter what product, the focus on preventing contamination is foremost. And it is a complex task with contaminants ranging from chemicals to heavy metals, allergens, etc.
Achieving sustainability
Sustainability has so many angles that it is tough to get everything right. Among the top challenges are minimizing food waste during production, effective disposal and treatment of effluent waste in plants, avoiding use of plastics not only in the end packaging but throughout the supply chain.
Maintaining nutritive value
Healthy products are always in demand but the perception around health has changed. Plant-based has acquired the reputation of healthy, however, sourcing and processing remain a challenge. Use of unregulated artificial sweeteners in an attempt to avoid sugar can lead to complexities too. Innovation in recipe development while prioritizing nutrition is key here.
Curbing costs
Currently, increasing fuel, energy, and raw materials costs, especially that of agricultural commodities, has become a big challenge. It is becoming increasingly difficult to deliver quality products at competitive prices.
Staying ahead of change with innovation
Change is constant, especially in the food and beverage sector. New regulations, changing consumer preferences, evolving parameters of wellness – there is a lot to unpack. And innovation is the answer. But new products that tick all the boxes require extensive investment in research and development, making this a challenge especially for smaller companies.
Keeping abreast of technology
Technological advancements are helping make food and beverage production efficient in many ways but on the flip side, manufacturers need to consider how technology is being used by consumers and factor that into their product and packaging. For example, products that will be delivered through e-commerce need to have higher shelf life and packaging fulfilling specific logistic requirements.
Apart from these, some of the other challenges revealed include avoiding food fraud, dealing with supply chain inconsistencies, combatting skilled labor shortages, and so on. In the next part of the series, we will delve into the manufacturing of plant-based products. Don’t miss the expert insights on what make plant-based such a complex category to get right. Watch this space or subscribe to our exclusive bi-weekly newsletter and get the story in your inbox.
- August 17, 2023