Food Development

Food development starts with identifying the target market. Complete product development services for the food and nutrition industries. Expertise in idea generation, rapid prototyping, final formulation, process engineering, product analysis and scale up. Packaged foods are for purchase. This can be as simple as a butcher preparing meat, or as complex as a modern international food industry. Advanced technologies have come to change food manufacture. Computer-based control systems, sophisticated processing and packaging methods, and logistics and distribution advances, can enhance product quality, improve food safety, and reduce costs.

Early food processing techniques were by available food preservation, packaging and transportation. This mainly involved salting, curing, curdling, drying, pickling, fermentation and smoking. Food manufacturing arose during the industrial revolution in the 19th century. This development took advantage of new mass markets and emerging new technology, such as milling, preservation, packaging and labeling and transportation. It brought the advantages of pre-prepared time saving food to the bulk of ordinary people who did not employ domestic servants.

At the start of the 21st century, a two-tier structure has arisen, with a few international food processing giants controlling a wide range of well-known food brands. There also exists a wide array of small local or national food processing companies. Advanced technologies have also come to change food manufacture. Computer-based control systems, sophisticated processing and packaging methods, and logistics and distribution advances, can enhance product quality, improve food safety, and reduce costs.

Food brokers negotiate sales between producers and manufacturers of food and food products and wholesalers and retailers. It is often less expensive for producers and manufacturers to sell their products through food brokers rather than directly to wholesalers and retailers because they only have to pay one broker, not an entire sales staff to market their products. Since brokers represent a large number of producers, the wholesalers and retailers also save time, energy, and money by dealing with one broker rather than with many representatives of other manufacturers.

Brokers usually conduct sales business in a specific geographic area. However, products grown, processed, and manufactured around the world are sold. Brokers who work in heavily populated areas usually cover a small geographic area; in rural areas, brokers can cover a large territory. Many food brokers employ clerical and sales workers. Food brokers travel to meet with retail storeowners, managers, and sometimes wholesalers. Some food brokers own brokerage houses and may be closely involved in sales, or work primarily as administrators and supervisors.