Upscaling Food Production
Are you Retail-Ready…?
You've created a fantastic food product. Everybody tells you how much they love it, and how it should be in their local supermarket. You decide it's time to take the plunge and give it a real go. But how ready are you?
Truth is, it's a big step from local market to supermarket, and there's a lot to consider. To convince a supermarket to put your food on their shelves takes commitment, tenacity and, of course, a great product. But there's a lot you can do in advance before you meet any supermarket buyers to make sure you're 'retail-ready’ … we are here to help you make that next step.
MAP – your key to scaling up
Getting a new product offered on the supermarket shelves can be challenging. The requirement for production scalability to meet increased demand, a unique point of difference to make your product stand out and keeping your product fresh and looking great throughout the supply chain all combine to be part of your unique recipe for success.
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) can play a part in your growth by helping you to meet supermarket expectations and demands for a long shelf life.
How your product could benefit from gas flushing
Packaging in a protective atmosphere is able to extend the shelf life of your food products by up to 500%. Discover how much longer a shelf life you could achieve by gas flushing.
Prepared ready meals
Shelf life up to 10 days compared to up to 5 days in air
Raw red meat
Shelf life up to 8 days compared to up to 4 days in air
Raw fish and seafood
Shelf life up to 6 days compared to up to 4 days in air
Raw poultry
Shelf life up to 21 days compared to up to 7 days in air
Breads and pastries
Shelf life up to 12 weeks compared to up to 14 days in air
Prepared fruit and salads
Shelf life up to 10 days compared to up to 5 days in air
Nuts, seeds and snacks
Shelf life up to 2 years compared to up to 8 months in air
Cheese
Shelf life up to 12 weeks compared to up to 4 weeks in air
Five Tips to Become Retail-Ready
- Think about scaling up production
The volumes you need to make will likely be far bigger than you're used to and so you'll either need to set up a commercial kitchen or outsource your production to a third party. The latter is the easier option, as they should already have all the necessary hygiene and safety certification in place.
- Know what assurances you need
With either option you'll need to check all the relevant hygiene, food safety and quality assurance systems are in place. They include the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system, inspections/certificates under Environmental Health and the Food Safety Act, and Salsa or BRC quality assurance programmes.
- Make sure the logistics work
Supermarkets distribution centres may be miles from where your products will be made – to get them there in the best condition possible could mean hiring, or buying, specialist transport such as a refrigerated van.
- Make sure your packaging's right
Not only does your packaging protect your product to make sure it consistently reaches consumers in as good a condition as possible, it also needs to attract buyers and give them the right information. Supermarkets will expect you to validate the raw materials and ingredients through proper testing and analysis and provide the necessary nutrition information on packaging (there are various specialists who can help with both these); they'll also want you to provide a barcode that identifies the product from manufacture to point-of-sale, and carry out shelf life testing to set a use-by or best-before date.
- Increase your product's shelf life
One of your biggest challenges will be to make sure your product keeps its freshness as long as possible to cope with the extended distribution time. MAP is by far the best method – an established process that prolongs shelf life naturally, without preservatives, and thus helps prevent food waste. Depending on the product, it replaces atmospheric air with carbon dioxide, nitrogen or oxygen, either on their own or in combination, to extend shelf life by up to 500%.
Let us help you
Air Products has been a trusted supplier to the food and drink industry for over 65 years, providing quality gases across a range of supply methods to deliver a safe, fully traceable and sustainable gas solution.
Click here to read → our short brochure on how MAP can fit into your production process or call for a free technical food consultation.
