Consumer Staples

<p>A food service consultant is a professional advisor who advocates for their client in achieving their goals through strategized designing of food service facilities and operations management systems like recipe formulation as per manufacturing process or as per clients' chosen food products.&nbsp;</p><p>These food consultants use their knowledge and expertise with eatery ventures that are otherwise unavailable in-house. The primary focus of a food industry consultant is the welfare of the organization where he is completing his contract.&nbsp;</p><h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Need and Work of Food Consultant</span></h2><p>Food consultants help you to develop any new/innovative product you want.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Case study 1</strong>: Edible Cutlery Developed by BFCS</p><p>Product enhancement, i.e., shelf life, quality improvement, color change, texture improvement, etc., can be made with the help of a food consultant.&nbsp;</p><p>Like the case study in Metoda (Rajkot), one namkeen industry was at a loss, and the reason was the owner had more than 20 years of experience in Namkeen manufacturing, and that experience led him to the loss!&nbsp;</p><p>How: The product manufacturing experience was 20 years, so it is a fact that there is no need to take any consultancy service, but the experience was in manufacturing, not packaging. So, this resulted in Namkeen getting soggy and scientifically without environmental control, which means relative humidity was higher than normal standardsi.e.45%.&nbsp;</p><p>Thus, oxidation of oil occurred, and packaging materials were not up to the mark, which must be a barrier to prevent oxygen and moisture. So due to rancidity, products failed.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Case study 2</strong>: In Rajasthan, the popcorn industry has established the world's no.1 machine for popcorn making, i.e., the Robopop Machine, But the product developed a bad smell, and all investment of approximately Rs.45 Lac was in loss. He had 30 years of Namkeen manufacturing experience.&nbsp;</p><p>The reason was simple, at the time of Popcorn making, the required percentage of relative humidity for popcorn was not maintained, oil was not correctly handled, and the calculation of the surface area of the popcorn was not as per standard adherence of moisture and oil, and the seasoning had not maintained standards of that. In case of other items, instead of popcorn, are manufactured in the same condition and seasoning, then it might be successful.&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Case study 3</strong>: In Surat, a well-known brand of Mobile khakhra had breakage and bad smell problems, and all cylinders for that were changed because of this complaint. As packaging was so that Khakhra was kept loose in packets, and due to the loose Khakhra, the movement was high during transportation, and as it was not airtight, the empty area of packets was filled with air, which contained 20% oxygen, which contributed in the oxidation of oil in Khakhra, along with the two above mentioned problems.</p><p><strong>Case study 4</strong>: One manufacturer had a good quality thepla (Thepla is Indian soft bread like chapati having lots of spice and semi-fried) manufacturing unit, and the taste was also good, but after packaging, it had fungus problems as the recipe had no preservative.&nbsp;</p><p>The oil used was of the best quality, but as per food technology, it was poor quality, packaging materials were not proper, and food leakage problems were there. The packaging technology was not at all implemented to kill bacteria/fungus spores, so automatically, the development of micro-organisms might be high, and that unit was sold out.</p><p><strong>Case study 5</strong>: In Taraghadi (Rajkot), the texture of the soya paneer was changed, and BFCS altered the color.</p><p>Food consultants can help you reduce your food products' costs through their efficient knowledge of ingredients.</p><p><strong>Case study 6</strong>: One of the Papad manufacturers in Kuvadva Rajkot has decreased the cost of the Papad-making process in which rice flakes were used.</p><p>Also, we have developed besan for the Namkeen industry, which has very low cost because that besan is not as per FSSAI for consumer pack, but that is being used for Namkeen.</p><p>Only due to different levels of experience the food consultant can conceptualize and set up total production and packaging to make the product satisfactory to his client.</p><p>Case study of Rajasthan, where BFCS has developed an entirely new process to make Papad Churri, one kind of Namkeen which is nowhere made without frying, BFCS has done the procedure.</p><p>To set up a fully automatic plant, a food consultant can guide you on what type of machinery is required for that food manufacturing industry.</p><p>Case study 1 of Mumbai: For the first time in India, a fully automatic machine was developed which can make Papad, Khakhra as well as Bhakhari, and Thepla on the same device. Such machines are not developed in India.&nbsp;</p><p>Case study 2 of edible cutlery: The edible spoon of ice cream and soup developed by BFCS, for such products, no machines are available in India.&nbsp;</p><p>Due to the food consultant's deep knowledge and ground-based knowledge of practical, he can analyze the cost and yield' and provides you with these data in a customized way, like analysis in soft copy as per the food consultant's special customized standards.&nbsp;</p><p>Like a Case study of every client handled by BFCS, BFCS provides the pre-programmed BOM (Bill of Materials) through which no one ever requires a calculator to calculate yield and cost.&nbsp;</p><p>The food consultant is the person who can provide you input on licenses and trade secrets as well as legal matters on packaging materials; which will be modified as per the food consultant's recipe's ingredients, like caution of flavors as per FSSAI requirements; this type of support is only possible by food consultant. He has the client's recipe, which is the base of the above all data. Also, the Food Consultant must know the latest updates.&nbsp;</p><p>The food consultant must be able to provide you with full support on any quoted recipe-related problems through phone/mail and even visit as per terms and conditions; As Food consultant knows every step as well, as he has deep knowledge that on-time advice can save man powder and fuel of company, there should not be any delay on that matter.&nbsp;</p><p>Food consultants must be aware of food industry knowledge updates, and accordingly, they can guide you for any new products/ policies /ventures, or projects. Accordingly, like one case study, you can think of diverting your business in that direction.</p><p>In the European Union, plastic is banned, and new opportunities to make edible cutlery have been raised; so, to develop such new products, food technology is required, which only food consultants can do.&nbsp;</p><p>And we have developed such innovative products, but before that, BFCS, as a consultancy service, must know the European Union policy to ban such products. Only then can we create a formulation of that food product as per all the terms and conditions.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Key Benefits of Hiring a Food Consultant</span></h2><ul><li style="list-style-type: none;"><ul><li>Value addition to your time and money</li><li>Consultants can give insights into the futuristic scope of the market</li><li>Consultants evaluate the feasibility of all your ideas and strategies</li><li>They guide you with the proper technological updates</li><li>With consultants, finding the right machinery and raw-material vendors is possible to make networking more accessible.</li><li>Consultants reduce your learning curve and give insights into marketing strategies as the strategy varies with all the products.</li><li>Consultants can handhold the team from concept to commercialization.</li></ul></li></ul><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><em>This article was contributed by our expert <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceo2018/">B.kumar</a></em></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><h3><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Frequently Asked Questions Answered by B.kumar</span></h3><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1. What are the contributions of food consultants in new innovations for food preservation?</span></h2><p>The basic food additives are added to preserve it&rsquo;s structure and to prevent microbial growth so this kind of preservation system added in food, which is product wise added. Some preservative work in Tomato ketchup, but same preservative does not work in Spoon. Like we have developed specially formulated preservative combination which is being used in Madurai to preserve Prasad (Punjamritham), and it is successfully going on since many years.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">2. How can food companies reduce costs?</span></h2><p>We provide the changes in food company&rsquo;s existing formulation to add some low cost filler ,or replace the alternative ingredients like coriander oil can be replaced with some half cost materials or different kind of flavours. Such hundreds of replacement without change their original taste we are doing.</p><p>Second thing is manufacturing operation module changed, so fuel cost can be reduced. During making food products the main cost is fuel (either diesel,gas or Wood).</p><p>The third thing food consultant can introduce the process by fully automatic machines ,thus the manpower cost can be half or less than half, Thus final Food Product have low cost.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">3. Why new product development is important in food industry and how is it achieved?</span></h2><p>Many snack companys are introducing new food products every 3 months, because people fade up and if new product will be there then they can choose it and try. So automatically company&rsquo;s turnover will increase. And new product is the one and only thing through which they can fight with their competitor food manufacturer.</p><p>Many new food manufacturers want to make such a food/snack which must be innovative and not available in market, like edible spoon we have developed in not common spoon, that must must sustain it&rsquo;s physical structure as it is means hard. But after 11 minutes of eating hot soup at average 60Deg.C . It should be soft and can be easily chewed, so biscuit like texture should be there , only after 11min.</p><p>Same like Pressed Pea , or specially formulated premix powder. You just have to add in 1kg Urad flour so Papad can be made you don&rsquo;t have to add many ingredients. So people are coming to us to make innovative food.</p><h2><span style="font-size: 12pt;">4. What are the future roles and responsibilities of food consultants in the food service industry globally ?</span></h2><p>Food consultant is the person who provide information and skills that might otherwise be unavailable in-house. The main reason is food consultant had seen and set up many units like B.kumar Food Consultancy had set up 150 food manufacturing units, and developed more than 1000 food products. So once the next i.e.151 Numbers of Food manufacturer will take our Consultancy than the &nbsp;cumulative experience of 150 units will be added.</p><p>So the role of Food Consultant in future will be more to develop new food product, to enhance taste, gives better mouthfeel to snacks ,to reduce cost, to manage manpower skills and hundreds of such activity only food consultant can advise to food manufacturer. In future the professionalism will be more and more chosen by every one. And food consultant will be part of that motive.</p><p>&nbsp;</p>