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The Importance of Formulation & Flavoring

image of product being weighed on a scale during formulation process of manufacturing

Take the next step in developing your products or expanding your product line with a contract manufacturing partner. If you’re struggling to identify the perfect flavor or need a cosmetic formulator to create that all-natural beauty product you’ve been dreaming of, then it’s time to review the formulation and flavoring processes.  

See how a leading contract manufacturer can help you prepare your new line of products for the market.

The Formulation Process

It all starts with a dream for your product and brand. This dream needs to translate into a product formula, correct packaging, and proper manufacturing process before it can be enjoyed by your customers. A liquid or powder manufacturing team can help you take the necessary steps to finish this process.

There are two basic ways you can go through the formulation process. First, you can work with a team to take your existing product and transform it into a repeatable formula for large-scale production.

You don’t need to have a finalized product to partner with a contract manufacturer. Bring your dreams of a new product to the team at Maple Mountain Co-Packers to kick off the research phase of your latest cosmetic or food item.

From Blend to Full Production

If you already have a blend that you’re ready to mass produce, then the MMCP formulation contract manufacturing team can help you get there. You can start this process at almost any stage of the formulation product. Partner with the MMCP team at any of these stages to prepare for full production:

  • Raw ingredients
  • Detailed formula
  • Finished goods sample

A cosmetic formulator can take raw ingredients or a prototype and create a detailed formula for repeatable production. You don’t need to have a carefully crafted plan to move forward. Bring in what you have and see how an experienced team can move forward with it.

From Dream to Formula

You’ve just had the perfect idea for a new beauty product or energy bar, but you aren’t sure how to make it a reality. A standard food product or powder manufacturing team may not have the necessary resources to help you achieve your finished product. In this situation, you need a product development team.

With MMCP, you can enjoy turnkey solutions to move from dream to product manufacturing. Schedule a consultation to see how your contract manufacturing partner can help you develop a new product with these steps:

  • Research ingredients and packaging for your proposed item
  • Create and test a formula
  • Identify claims that match the formula
  • Pair the product with high-quality packaging
  • Start the manufacturing process

Whether you’re looking for the latest flavor combination or dreaming of a product that uses a trending ingredient, a product development team can help you realize your goals. The research and experimentation steps of this process can be particularly time-consuming, so turn these tasks over to a trusted partner.

Flavoring Options

In addition to creating a formula for liquid or powder manufacturing, a reliable manufacturing team can help you create new flavors for existing products. See how these services can help you expand your line, craft personalized products, and grow your business.

Flavoring for Your Target Market

Your competitor just launched a new line of products. Your customers have been calling for custom flavors. Your sales are stalling. There are many situations that may call for a refreshed product line or the launch of a totally new product.

The first step in launching a new product is identifying your target market. Is your target audience willing to invest in all-natural ingredients, or do they prefer a broad range of tantalizing flavors, scents, and colors? You can perform this research on your own or work with the team at Maple Mountain Co-Packers to find the answers you need.

Once you identify the desires of your target market, it’s time to experiment with flavors and formulations. Only after careful product testing and market analysis can you be confident that you’ve developed a competitive product.

Expanding Your Product Line

If you already have a successful line of products, then it may be time to expand your offerings with custom flavors. Your contract manufacturing team can help you start with your existing product formula and experiment with new flavor alternatives.

Turn to MMCP if you already have flavor requests from your customers. The product development team can identify the best ingredients to add to your proven formula to create this new option.

If you don’t have any recommendations from your customers, then your contract manufacturing partner can research options and provide samples of original flavor combinations. Test out these samples with your target market before finalizing the formula of your new product.

Benefits of Working With a Contract Manufacturing Company

Whether you’ve been working with a formulation contract manufacturing team or creating your own formulas, consider working with a leading team for your next product. Professional formulation gives you the resources you need to identify claims you wish to make and create products that meet those claims.

A contract manufacturing company can also help you scale your business. Transition from small-batch production to large-scale manufacturing to enjoy reduced costs and improved timelines.

Save time and reduce the stress of creating competitive products. Turnkey manufacturing solutions handle everything from formulation to packaging and delivery to ease the stress and workload of owning and operating a business.

Learn More About Maple Mountain Co-Packers’ Services

Produce custom flavors and stunning product additions with expert food and cosmetic formulator services from Maple Mountain Co-Packers. Explore MMCP’s packaging services to see how you can enjoy full-service support to build, produce and deliver winning products.

Turnkey vs. Tolling—Which Makes Sense for Me?

Turnkey Manufacturing vs. Toll Manufacturing

image showing the process of turnkey manufacturing and the steps
image showing the different aspects of tolling manufacturing - testing, producing, packaging

Turnkey Manufacturing vs. Toll Manufacturing

If you’re a business owner, you may have heard or read a lot about toll manufacturing versus turnkey (or “contract”) manufacturing. You may have even heard the terms used interchangeably, which only adds to your confusion.

What’s the difference between turnkey manufacturing and toll manufacturing? Does toll manufacturing offer any unique benefit? Which type of manufacturing process is best for handling laminating and coating services? 

In this post, we’ll address these and other questions, so you can choose what’s best for your business needs.

What is Toll Manufacturing?

Toll manufacturing is the simpler of the two manufacturing relationships. In toll manufacturing, the production service renders the tools, equipment, and human resources needed to manufacture the product. You, the business owner, provide any raw materials necessary for the finished product.

Advantages of Toll Manufacturing

Toll manufacturing affords your company a greater degree of ownership over the finished product. Not only can a business owner control the quality of raw materials being used, but they also retain ownership over the intellectual property, including any patents, trademarks, or other “branding” related to the company or finished product.

Disadvantages of Toll Manufacturing

The only downside to toll manufacturing is the level of coordination it requires. The various pieces of toll manufacturing have to come together (i.e., raw materials, manufacturing company, and so on) to produce a finished whole. This part of the process can occasionally slow production down, and sometimes the price of raw materials can fluctuate, adding to manufacturing costs.

If you need additional coating or laminating services, toll manufacturing becomes even slower and costly. Plus, many business owners may be unfamiliar with packaging standards or the types of coatings they may need for toll manufacturing.

What Is Turnkey Manufacturing

Turnkey manufacturing or contract manufacturing operates similarly to toll manufacturing. The crucial difference is that the turnkey manufacturing company provides the raw materials necessary for the finished product.

Advantages of Contract Manufacturing

The advantage of a contract manufacturing relationship is that the manufacturer typically bears related turnkey manufacturing risks such as the cost, the level of stocks, and selecting which raw materials to use.  Contract manufacturing is very much a “hands-off” approach for the business owner.  This strategy results in a much faster manufacturing process than toll manufacturing.  You simply hand over the job to a contractor and wait for the finished product.

Contract manufacturing may be particularly beneficial for businesses whose product packaging requires a specialized coating. A larger company may be able to provide the raw materials for coating and laminating services—something you might not be able to do through a toll manufacturing contract.

Disadvantages of Contract Manufacturing

With contract manufacturing, the turnkey manufacturing company retains a great deal of sovereignty over the kind of raw materials being used, which can be particularly important for those who need to consider their product’s packaging and coating quality.  In some cases, contractual arrangements mitigate the risks of contract manufacturing, such as pricing provisions or manufacturing warranties.

The Key Difference Between Toll and Turnkey Services

The difference between toll manufacturing and contract (or turnkey) manufacturing lies mainly in who provides the raw materials. If you enter into a toll manufacturing relationship, you will have to provide the raw materials for your product. If you enter into a contract manufacturing relationship, the manufacturing company provides the raw materials needed for your packaging and coating needs.

Because a coating is essential for many finished and semi-finished products, business owners should carefully weigh their options before entering into a contract.

What Businesses Benefit from Toll Manufacturing?

Toll manufacturing tends to favor businesses seeking to produce smaller quantities of products on an as-needed basis. If you own a small business, your manufacturing needs might be more sporadic than regular, and you may wish to retain the rights to your intellectual property. And if you have the time to devote to the task, you also have the advantage of selecting just the suitable materials you need for your product.

On the other hand, a toll manufacturing contract may present you with some specialized decisions. What sort of packaging materials do you need to get? What type of coating is best for your finished product? A turnkey manufacturing service grants you greater flexibility, but you may have more pressing concerns than packaging or coating needs.

You may find that these kinds of decisions are best handled by a professional company that’s more accustomed to high-volume contracts and may have connections to provide the best, most affordable packaging and coating services currently available.

What Businesses Benefit from Contract Manufacturing?

Contract manufacturing is a much simpler process. If you’re a business owner, you may value a company that handles the packaging of your products and assists with both your packaging and coating needs, depending on your requirements.

Contract manufacturing relationships can also offer some basic design support services, so you don’t have to worry about the overall design of your product’s packaging.

Additionally, if your business requires specialized packaging and coating services, outsourcing these needs to a reputable company can be a wise business decision. Typically, obtaining suitable materials for product coating involves time and attention to detail.  A contract manufacturing partner may have the resources necessary to get just the right materials for the best product packaging and coating. Because these resources can be bought in bulk, they may be available more cheaply through a contract manufacturer than through a toll manufacturing contractor.

Contract Manufacturing and Packaging

Contract manufacturing and packaging services can be invaluable to ensure that your product receives the best quality packaging, including the best coating needed for product distribution. For most business owners, choosing a coating may seem to be too small a detail to have to contend with regularly. By partnering with a larger company, you can ensure your packaging needs are met, with a coating whose quality matches your product.

Maple Mountain Co-Packers

Maple Mountain Co-Packers offers contract packaging services designed to provide lower costs and faster deliveries. We understand that time is of the essence; that’s why we ensure that we form partnerships with our clients to meet their deadlines, all while providing packaging and coating services for a variety of manufacturing needs.

If you’re looking for a packaging partner that can help your business flourish and grow, contact us today.

Why converting your product from a liquid to powder may win you margin and market share.

Ever heard of powdered soap? Apparently, it was a thing back in the day and now it’s becoming popular again. The reason being that shipping water is both expensive and it causes an unnecessary increase in our carbon footprint. Seeing that virtually everyone in America has access to a water supply, it doesn’t make sense to ship a liquid if your audience can stomach the extra effort. We are experts in various packaging, here are our thoughts.

icon of box being weighed before being shipped

With brands like Bite leading the way for sustainable packaging and minimal environmental impact, retailers are now getting pressured to offer products that follow suit. This could be a strong competitive advantage for you if you’re looking for an edge over your competition. It also helps you save on shipping because your package weight should go to a fraction of what it was before. That being said, If you’re selling a liquid drink product, you may want to try formulating it into a concentrated powder. If you sell laundry detergent, consider launching a concentrated tablet. 

The common question our clients have when considering making a change to powder is, how will my customers respond to the change? That’s definitely a question you’ll want to get to the bottom of and shouldn’t be taken lightly. However, when working through this thought process be sure to consider the rise in the products that have moved to being offered in stick packs, sachets, and tubes. Sometimes the most convenient thing for the customer is something compact now, with a little work later.

black and white stick pack options - transparent

Need a place to package stick packs? Look no further, those happen to be our specialty. 

Need help turning your liquid into a powder? We can help you there too!

Check out of complete list of packaging services and see how Maple Mountain Co-Packers can help your business today.

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