Yes! We’re here to help you understand the food and beverage journey – what’s involved, what it will take to be successful, and what your likely next steps are. We’ve developed our NPD Guide and Jumpstart online learning series which are especially useful when you’re getting started. If you need more targeted support, we can also point you to experts who can help with specific parts of the journey.
It can feel like a lot at the beginning, so you’re not alone. Our best advice is to do as much work as you can “on paper” before you spend money on product development. The more clarity you have around who the customer is, what problem you’re solving, what makes your idea different, and how you’ll actually make and sell the product, the more wisely you’ll invest once you start prototyping. A great place to start is our NPD Guide, then work your way through the Jumpstart online learning series.
Yes. Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t the recipe – it’s whether the product idea is truly viable in the market, commercially sound, and you have identified the capabilities required internally & externally to succeed. Our Catalyst Programme is designed to help you step back and identify and then validate the assumptions behind your idea or new product line before you spend heavily on development. The goal is to help you make de-risk decisions making, reduce expensive trial-and-error, and develop a clear, practical path forward with stake holders, funders and potential investors.
NZFIN works with a wide range of food and beverage companies – from first-time founders and start-ups through to established businesses and corporates developing new products, improving processes, or building pilot capability. If we can add value to what you are trying to achieve, we are happy to work with you. We’ve helped launch some amazing Kiwi brands who started from scratch, and continue to work with some the biggest companies in New Zealand and beyond. Check out our partners here for examples.
Yes. NZFIN is a perfect entry point for international Food & Beverage companies looking to innovate and leverage a world-class network of facilities and expertise in our innovation ecosystem. Though there are some restrictions around use, so please contact us to discuss your needs.
We operate under strict confidentiality in our projects and customers own their IP when working with us. This has enabled a long history of trust with our clients. While NZFIN is an open-access organisation, meaning that all sorts of companies work with us and we are not exclusive to any, this does not mean that sensitive information is shared between clients or made public in any way.
Each NZFIN Hub has different capabilities, equipment, and caters to different stages in your development journey. The easiest way to work out where to go is to tell us – and if NZFIN isn’t the right fit for what you’re trying to do, we’ll tell you that too and help you find the next best option. You can also explore an overview of Hub capabilities here.
NZFIN offers a wide range of services aimed at helping food and beverage companies – we are your solution partner to realise your idea and de-risk the path to market. We have a team of food technologists that focus on new product development combined with analytical expertise at the benchtop scale. We also provide critical process development support at the pilot scale level (100kg or more). If you need specialist expertise outside our scope, we’ll point you to trusted experts and partners who can help.
Absolutely! We hold most relevant compliance programmes that allow you to create saleable product for local and international markets. If you are looking to export, we recommend talking to us early to determine whether or not we hold the right country listings and classifications under our RMP (Risk Management Programme).
NZFIN can contract manufacture depending on the product, process and your long-term ambitions in particular instances. Please contact us to discuss.
NZFIN isn’t a conventional contract manufacturer, so we don’t have MOQs. Our Hubs are equipped with food-safe production spaces and specialist equipment, and clients generally hire the space, equipment and support they need for the time they need it, at a daily minimum. Because every project is different, we usually develop a tailored costing based on what you’re trying to achieve, what equipment is involved, and what level of support you need from our team.
In most cases, you can absolutely do a one-off trial. However, depending upon your needs, a single session may consist of more than one day. NZFIN is very flexible for consecutive day and longer-term or regular bookings (weeks or months) to achieve better costs and efficiencies.
We know pricing is one of the first things people want to understand, and we’re happy to give you an indicative steer. Most booking costs are built from multiple parts: the production space, the specific equipment you’ll need, and the level of support needed from NZFIN team. Depending on the complexity of what you’re doing, pricing can vary, so we’ll usually ask some questions before we can give you a rough estimate, subject to further project scoping. Given the scale we operate at, we say we can never (and should never) be able to compete with a larger contract manufacturer on unit price. However, our cost comes with more flexibility and lower risk for you as you work your way towards economies of scale.
For FoodOtago, the costs are different as you are primarily paying for our staff’s time rather than facility and equipment access.
Generally, this is dependent on the complexity of the project (amount of unknowns), the level of analytical work needed, the number of product variants (e.g., flavours), and number of rounds of iterations to refine the product to yours and your customers liking. We can provide an estimate following a brief conversation to help determine a formal proposal should be prepared where we break down phases, activities, and costs. A project typically involves all the parts necessary to move into piloting and manufacturing – product formulations with samples, compliance reviews, ingredient and packaging supplier information, product costing, and manufacturing options.
We can provide general guidance and support clients with how their product fits with the Food Act, food standards, and regulatory requirement. If you’re looking for specific answers on compliance, labelling, or claims that we cannot help with, we can connect you with the right experts to review your exact product and label.
Food safety is central to how we operate. If you manufacture product at an NZFIN Hub intended for public consumption (sale, trade, or giveaway), you’ll need a HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) plan and you’ll need to follow good practice around allergens and traceability. Practically, that means we’ll need supplier documentation on your ingredients and require you to follow a plan on how you’ll manage critical food safety risks. We’ll guide you through what’s required based on your product type and your intended pathway to market – and if you’re early stage, we can help you understand what you can do now versus what can wait until you’re closer to commercial production. If you need a HACCP plan, you can develop this with the support of a food technologist, or NZFIN can complete this for you as a paid service.
That’s very common, especially if you’re new to manufacturing. This is all a part of the package and value we provide. If you are conducting R&D trials or manufacturing onsite through FoodBowl or FoodSouth, our team is responsible for training on and/or operation of any equipment. Our goal is to help you get a great result while also building your confidence and capability over time. This way, you know your process in detail when you are ready to scale to the next level.
Each Hub has its own equipment set but a lot of it is moveable around the country. We can share equipment lists and basic specs so you can understand what’s available and what it’s best suited for. The quickest way is to start with the Hub pages to understand the basic capabilities at each site and if you have something specific in mind – for example a particular type of filler, mixer, kettle, retort, or packaging equipment – just ask and we’ll confirm what’s available and whether it’s appropriate for your product. We can also work with you to bring your equipment into our facilities and also, we rent our equipment for you to operate at your own space.
First of all – don’t panic. Trial runs are part of the innovation journey, and surprises are a part of the process, even for experienced teams. We do our best to plan for and mitigate risks with you in the design of a project. What happens next depends on what “wrong” looks like: sometimes it’s a simple adjustment, sometimes it’s a process learning that informs your next trial, and occasionally, the right call is to stop the run and regroup. Either way, we’ll help you understand what happened, what it means for product quality and safety, and what you should do next. In all cases, clients are ultimately responsible for their products, but we are committed to work towards solutions with you as we know that uncertainty and costs are scary. We are here to help and we operate on the basis of a desire to see you succeed.
This is difficult to generalise, but as a rule of thumb, taking an idea and turning it into a small-scale prototype you can taste and refine often costs between $10,000 and $20,000 regardless of if you work with NZFIN or not. After that, you’ll need to think about the additional costs to bring the product to market, including ingredients and packaging, brand and design, food safety and compliance work, manufacturing, storage, distribution, and marketing. All of this could cost upwards of $100,000 depending on your market and goals.
NZFIN doesn’t have access to any grants or funding, but we can absolutely help you understand what funding pathways might make sense at your stage and what outcomes you want to achieve. In many cases, we can point you towards relevant options – for example, regional business support, capability or R&D funding pathways, our Catalyst Programme for investor readiness and funding application support. Make sure you're taking advantage of tax incentives with IRD to get money back on your R&D spend. NZFIN is an approved research provider meaning you can get a tax break on most work done with us.
In the case of our open-access facilities, it is important to note that NZFIN receives Government funding to partially offset the high-cost of running pilot facilities, meaning that industry is not paying the full cost.
NZFIN is here to enable innovation through facilities, equipment, capability, and practical guidance – but there are a few things we don’t do. We’re not a regulatory authority and we can’t provide legal sign-off on labels or claims (we can connect you to experts who can). We also can’t guarantee market success – product success depends on customer demand, positioning, pricing, distribution, and execution. And while our Hubs can support pilot production and development, NZFIN is not a large-scale contract manufacturer. If you need high-volume manufacturing, we can help you think through pathways and help you bridge the gap until you are ready to go to the next scale.
NZFIN was established 15 years ago as an initiative by Government to drive innovation and economic growth through adding value to food. While NZFIN has evolved over time, it is still a public-private partnership where Government invests to provide industry access to world-class facilities and expertise, and industry pays to use those facilities and services.
No problem – reach out with a short description of what you’re trying to make (or the challenge you’re working through), what stage you’re at, and what you want to achieve. We’ll help you figure out the next best step and where to start.
