Your protein beverage formula has to taste, feel, and provide the same nutrient content in commercial quantities as it did when it was developed. It’s no easy task. As the interest in functional beverages has increased, more brands are coming to the market, but this will not be enough to ensure success. Homebrewers are familiar with the fact that an encouraging recipe is just the beginning. The choice of ingredients, uniformity of processes, fermentation control, stability of the package, and reliability of the product in successive batches are the final factors in deciding even if a beverage is placed in the regular rotation.
On a commercial level, the same principles apply: where production and quality control are both under control, products that pierce the veil of interest can emerge while others can fall by the wayside. The decision to select a contract manufacturer may have a significant impact on the quality of the product, the length of time for production, and the long-term growth of the business.
Why Does Scaling a Protein Beverage Require a Contract Manufacturer?
Protein beverages are having a major moment. From 2020 to 2024, the number of high-protein drinks on the market grew by 122%. As the functional nutrition trend has increased, along with a surge in protein intake guidelines and social media’s “protein maxxing” fad, protein is now more popular than ever. When you have a protein beverage recipe that you have developed at home, it’s a good time to consider commercializing it. Making a larger batch won’t be enough to get there, though. The recipe that works in the kitchen or pilot plant may not be the same at a large scale. Larger batches affect the mixing of ingredients, the transfer of heat, and the interaction of ingredients during processing.
Grinding to a consistent texture using so-called homogenizers and ultra-high-temperature (UHT) treatment systems to extend shelf life is important. However, they can influence a beverage’s texture, flavor, and appearance. Protein itself can make the whole process more complicated. Today, there are many different kinds of protein from which protein drinks are made. They are also incorporating dairy proteins such as whey protein and casein, and plant-based proteins like soy, pea, lentil, and chickpea protein to make them more appealing to a wider audience. Everyone has different production characteristics.
Whey proteins will denature at high temperatures, and plant proteins will denature at high temperatures and respond differently to changes in pH, influencing properties such as solubility, stability, and texture. In addition, new requirements from commercial production, such as sourcing the ingredients, quality assurance, regulatory acceptance, packaging compatibility, and shelf-life testing, are additional requirements. An experienced contract manufacturer can help you overcome these challenges at an early stage, thus minimizing the possibility of expensive reformulation or delays to production prior to your beverage hitting the market.
How Do You Find the Best Protein Beverage Contract Manufacturer?
It is a question of formulation, production objectives, packaging format, and business planning for the future, and the best manufacturer varies depending on these. During the commercialization process, it is important to pay attention to the following factors to assess the manufacturer’s ability to support your product.
Industry Experience and Technical Expertise
Protein drinks differ from other drinks that can be consumed as a drink. All dairy proteins and plant proteins have different characteristics when processed. Flavor, texture, and shelf life are other factors that may be influenced by functional ingredients such as vitamins, minerals, sweeteners, and stabilizers. A manufacturer with experience in beverages with carbonation or juices will not necessarily be aware of these difficulties.
Find a partner who has experience in processing protein beverages and understands the impact of the process on the finished product BevSource, With more than 20 years of experience in the protein beverage industry along with connections throughout a network of protein beverage manufacturers, a protein beverage contract manufacturer can assist brands in tweaking formulations and helping them get ready to commercialize their products. With this team’s support, your organization can lay a better foundation for long-term success, taking into account the consequences of each decision on operations downstream.
Manufacturing Capabilities and Quality Assurance
Running the production equipment is only a small portion of manufacturing. From ingredients to packaging, from production to quality control, it’s all about ensuring that your product is available on time and maintains the same quality every time. Inquire about the procedures your possible manufacturer takes for supply chain disruptions, product quality control, and communication during production.
It’s also a good idea to check that they are following Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs), set standards for facility hygiene, equipment maintenance, production controls, and other processes that support consistent manufacturing. Strong operational systems today can help prevent expensive production issues tomorrow.
Product Development and Commercialization Support
But when you’ve completed your formulation, the work is not over. Before commercial production, you’ll want to ensure your product will work as you think it should and can be produced at a larger scale. Refining the formula and planning sourcing and production of ingredients can help in determining potential problems early. This can help you to make changes in advance of costly failures. Homebrewers know the benefits of fine-tuning a process at a small scale, before a favorite recipe is brewed to any significant capacity, even if it involves dialing in yeast and mash efficiency, or optimising packaging operations.
At BevSource, the same approach is practiced- the process-first way- by working with brands on beverage formulation, sourcing the right ingredients, and planning commercialization. It leverages its industry knowledge and broad partner network to uncover practical solutions to increase production efficiency, create a more resilient ingredient supply chain, and produce an operations strategy that will allow it to ensure production consistency as its production increases.
Long-Term Production Planning
After your initial production run, the right manufacturing partner should be able to support you with your protein beverage as demand grows and expectations around protein content evolve. As your product matures, you will probably require increasing production volume, new packaging sizes and shapes, more supply chain support and coordination, and continued product operations. In the long term, picking a partner that can expand with you could save valuable time and resources.
BevSource provides production management, compliance advice, purchasing efficiencies, and supply chain optimisation support to brands even after the initial production. The firm capitalizes on the purchasing power of its clients and takes care of numerous operational details, so that brands can concentrate on expanding growth and developing a production strategy that is aligned with future demand.
What Questions Should You Ask Before Signing a Manufacturing Agreement?
While assessing the manufacturer’s experience and skills, ask questions during the assessment process. The right questions can elude a manufacturer’s mindset regarding product development, production, and long-term working relationships. Here are some questions to begin:
- Have you produced ready-to-drink protein beverages with similar formulations?
- How do you evaluate a product’s stability and shelf life before commercial production?
- Which quality and food safety certifications do your manufacturing partners maintain?
- How do you manage ingredient sourcing if suppliers or raw materials change?
- Can your production capabilities support future growth if demand increases?
Notice the depth of the team’s answers for each question. A manufacturing partner who is experienced should be able to clearly communicate its process, consider potential issues, and communicate realistic expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
The following answers recap some of the most important points to keep in mind as you evaluate potential manufacturing partners.
What Changes When a Protein Beverage Moves from a Pilot Batch to Mass Production?
Commercial production can alter the interaction, mixing, and heat of ingredients in the processing. Flavor, texture, appearance, and shelf life may be impacted by larger batches, homogenization, and UHT processing. As a result, a recipe that is successful in the development phase can require modifications for mass production.
Why is Protein Beverage Experience More Important Than General Beverage Manufacturing Experience?
Protein drinks can be more complicated than other drinks that are ready to drink. The process of any protein source and functional ingredients is different, and a manufacturer who has experience in producing protein beverages is more likely to be able to predict the formulation and processing problems.
What Should You Compare When Evaluating Contract Manufacturers?
Look outside of price and production capacity. Compare technical expertise with protein beverages, quality assurance systems, ingredient sourcing, packaging coordination, production management, communication, and the ability to support you as demand grows.
How Can The Right Manufacturing Partner Help before Launch?
A good manufacturing partner will be able to help identify production problems, make improvements to the formulation, help with sourcing ingredients, and ensure the product is suitable for scale-up production. The early identification of these areas can help to minimise expensive delays and the need for reformulation later on.
No Whey Around It
For any successful protein beverage recipe, a beverage partner for manufacturing that has the expertise in commercial production, quality requirements, and day-to-day operation is required. Brewers know that, when it comes to scaling up operations from small-scale batch brewing to consistent large production, there’s much more to it than volume.
As the production grows, it becomes more critical to validate the process, ensure that ingredients stay consistent, ensure sanitation standards, and to ensure repeatable quality. Instead of capacity, review the technical skills, operational support, and long-term compatibility of the contract manufacturer to ensure that they will be able to support your protein beverage like an international lager in the future and retain product consistency.
