Time Line Your Product From Idea to Commercial Market

by | Apr 2, 2019 | Ice Cream Consulting

The easy part..

Is coming up with an idea for a unique product or business concept, from there comes the real work and the hardest part of the exercise.

The reality of it all..

You can get tingles just thinking about the greatness and popularity of its potential. In situations like this, people contact me proclaiming, “I’ve been making a product from home and now it’s wanted at local grocery store and need your help in recommending a co-pack manufacturer to make my product”. Pause……….followed by my initial response of “my condolences”.

Why a response of micro-aggression opposed to a congratulatory and supportive, embracing of the opportunity? Because, even though the caller has been making a successful selling and amazing ice cream product at home with raving reviews, they have little clue in what’s all involved to actually get their product into the store.

Darryl is ready to assist you

Don’t get me wrong, I’m pleased to have received the call and able to assist, because Darryl’s Ice Cream Solutions, LLC was created with this exact scenario in mind.

In the 30 plus years I’ve been involved in ice cream and plant based products, I’ve come to recognize first hand, the knowledge and communication disconnect between start-up’s and co-packer.

Start-up challenges

Why the brush off from the co-packer, because in most instances they know, the white label party contacting them does not understand all of the tasks required prior to reaching out or time line to get started.

Other Challenges

Two areas a new business faces is the cost to launch and as importantly the time line. So this article is focused on a typical time line and overview of required tasks to face and complete.

Time Line Example

Important Task and the Required Months To Plan:

Ingredient Requirements – Months 1 & 2

Draft Formula(s) – Months 1 & 2

Test Formula(s) – Months 2 & 3

Finalize Formula(s) – Month 3

Develop Flavors – Months 2 & 3

Identify Ingredient Suppliers – Months 2 & 3

Select Pilot Run Provider – Months 1 & 2

Conduct Pilot Run – Months 3 & 4

Approve Formula & Flavors – Month 4

Finalize Package Size(s) – Months 1 & 2

Identify Package Requirements – Months 2 & 3

Create Label, Nutritional Panel, UPC – Months 3 & 4

Identify Packaging Supplier – Months 3 & 4

Approve Packaging Artwork – Month 4

Negotiate & Select Co-Packer – Months 4 & 5

Place Co-Pack PO – Month 5

Order Packaging & Ingredients – Month 5

Secure Warehouse, Delivery & Transport – Month 6

Production – Months 7 & 8

Available Product to Sell – Month 8

Besides the capital required to begin venturing into product development that leads to manufacturing, the amount of time to complete each task can significantly impact your initial launch date.

Contact Darryl as soon as possible if you’re serious about launching a product, it’s the difference between simply dreaming or starting.   

Darryl David
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