by Stacey Hawley / Co-Founder Forté Flavors
Times are very different from March 5, 2020, when Forté exhibited at the SCIFT Suppliers’ Night in Anaheim, CA. COVID and SIP have made it challenging to do “business as usual”. Good news though, R&D is crafty, and working from home offers a great opportunity to rapid prototype. Rapid prototyping means transforming your ideas into things very quickly. The materials and supplies do not need to be extravagant and many suppliers like Forté, will ship ingredients directly to your home. Creating a rapid prototype from home allows me to tap into my wild ideas completely. Toss those “can this be commercialized?” thoughts aside for the moment. The objective here is to get out of your head and just make something!
The shopping list is short if you are creating a food product. You may have what you need right in your very own kitchen. Although the process is free-flowing, I always recommend taking good notes and measuring each ingredient with a simple scale (available on Amazon). This way when you are back in the lab, you have a good starting point. If your idea drifts to packaging, explore your craft drawer or search your local grocery store for food items in unique packages. Save the packaging and then put your product in it to see how your product translates to another level. We are here to help you find your forté.
Reach out if you need help getting started. Keep safe!