Reimagining Reformulation: What Could Go Wrong?

Imagine this scene: A company has been selling a branded bread for years. Its loyal customer base has raised questions about a potential clean label version. The company has decided to do a reformulation looking at this as a fairly straightforward ingredient swap. The company will switch to natural preservatives within the formulation. They can run out the packaging before ordering new packaging. Altogether, it’s a minimal cost reformulation in response to consumer demand.

However, a few weeks later, the company starts receiving complaints that the bread no longer has the same shelf life. Scrambling, they quickly start a second reformulation, looking to see if a combination of natural preservatives can provide the desired shelf life. New packaging must be ordered, the formulation becomes more costly, and the quick-and-easy reformulation has suddenly become an expensive endeavor that hurts their brand reputation.

While the story above is fictional, it’s based on an amalgamation of true stories that happen in the world of food product development. The takeaway for product developers is that making assumptions in the reformulation process or cutting corners can be extremely costly for companies and can increase the cost of a reformulation compared to a measured and methodical approach. While it can be difficult to put a cost on reformulation projects, in 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated that costs for reformulation could be as low as $9,305 for a non-critical minor reformulation and up to $676,583 for a critical change impacting functional or safety effects (FDA 2012). It’s easy to picture reformulations as unexciting projects that take less time than a new formulation, but often this is not the case. Cutting corners can result in unexpected costs and garner consumer mistrust.

Often, there is a driving reason for a reformulation, whether it’s to cut costs, appeal to a consumer desire, or navigate a shifting supply chain to avoid shortages. Some reformulations are straightforward single ingredient swaps, but others are complex projects or encounter bumps in the road. There are many reasons to start a reformulation and more considerations to watch out for throughout the project. While there is no single guaranteed way to have a successful reformulation, there are some measures that can be taken to minimize risks.

Know What Needs To Be Done

There is age-old advice that every food scientist has heard: Know your product, know your reformulation timeline, know your needed end cost, know the desired result of the reformulation, and know who needs to be involved to get there, and your project will go smoother. This is an oversimplification, but it summarizes common mistakes made by food scientists who have worked on reformulations.

Doing pen-to-paper prework is key to preventing as much duplicate work as possible. It is tempting to switch from a hand-stretched “artisan” flat bread to an automated process at a different co-manufacturer that will cut costs, only to realize down the line that marketing or sales representatives were not properly notified and that the food safety team was not alerted to a new line or plant being used for a product until after the run when it gets put on hold. In the previous example, the duplicate work was caused by avoidable mistakes.

The first step is to know the specific goal(s) of the reformulation. It is not enough to start a reformulation with a stated end goal of “producing a product that is less expensive for the consumer.” An ice cream plant could reduce expenses by whipping more air into the product, decreasing the cream fat, reducing the size of the package, and so much more. Each of these changes will be viewed differently by your customers. Do they buy this ice cream for the rich texture? Will they find it off-putting if they can see the product’s size decreased?

Aim to understand the need-to-have attributes your customers are looking for in your product. Remember that these can include factors like cost and shelf life, which are especially pertinent now, with 79% of consumers listing price as a top consideration when purchasing food (Kuhn 2025). After this, map out the attributes that add value to the product. In reformulation, products may have to trade off one desired attribute for another and understanding how much each attribute adds in value to the consumer will help the product developer to figure out how to approach these trade-offs as they happen.

Know Who Needs To Be Involved

The second step when planning a reformulation is to identify all the key functional teams that will need to be involved from the start of the project through to launch. List each of the steps that the reformulation will go through, and identify which teams are responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed for each of these steps. Remember that not all reformulation projects will need to go through each of the steps, so consult with the responsible teams as to the necessity of each step. Cutting corners can backfire in the long run but steps that have been previously completed and that will not be impacted based on the reformulation might not need to be redone.

It is important to conduct a risk assessment of potential changes to the product based on the product’s specification. The functional teams owning sections of the specification should review these for any potential changes because of the reformulation. Any attributes that are changed need to be verified and revised in the specification. A risk assessment can help identify additional areas that could be impacted by the reformulation or attributes of the project that might change, affecting consumer perception in a negative way. Identifying these changes in advance can help teams avoid unacceptable benchtop prototypes.

It is also important to note that if the product is being processed in a co-manufacturing facility, the plant will need to identify those involved in each step. The co-manufacturer is a partner in the creation of the product, and it is important to have the team openly communicating capacity and capabilities from the start of the project. That said, it is important to identify what information can be shared externally to partner companies and what cannot, as well as to make sure that the information shared is adequate for the co-manufacturer to be successful. It is worth considering whether a communication schedule is beneficial for the project.

While each project is unique and will have its own set of steps, it is important to consider all the steps individually and determine the likelihood of impact. If you aren’t sure where to begin in listing the steps to your reformulation, the FDA lists the following as potential steps: idea generation; product research; process development; legal consultation; purchasing and marketing changes; quality control review; safety studies; shelf-life studies; packaging development; market testing; plant trial and startup; and verification. Each step listed for the project should include the necessary teams. Make sure that all teams involved in each specific step have visibility to the decisions and a chance to vocalize thoughts and concerns.

Getting Past the Bench

Once the specification is agreed to and a reformulation benchtop prototype is approved, it is important to update the specification to make sure each changed product attribute, including nonphysical attributes like shelf life, are updated in the spec sheet. The new attributes the product must hit should not be a surprise to the plant. It is important that they have signed off on capacity and capability prior to benchtop. If any attribute ranges have changed during benchtop development, the plant should be consulted as soon as possible. This will help ensure the product is able to be produced on the line with the expected costs, such as labor rates.

If a plant trial is an option that is chosen, the manufacturing plant should share the results with the teams involved, including samples for review where possible. If any changes are seen while the product is running on the line, it is important to note these and determine if these changes are acceptable or not. If the changes are acceptable, they should be documented in the specification as well as any attributes affected. Not making the necessary changes can lead to outdated specifications that no longer represent the product, which can lead to the product not being approved on receipt.

Go or No-Go

It may feel time-consuming, but outlining the details and attributes of a reformulation in advance will be a road map that can help keep the reformulation on track. It can be easy to get lost in a project when a single attribute is driving the reformulation. Reformulating a protein cookie that contains milk proteins but is being reformulated to remove the allergen can impact other attributes in unexpected ways. If the product developer is only focused on the mechanics of removing milk proteins from the formulation, factoring in other necessary product attribute considerations may go neglected, for example. In this case, neglecting to factor in the price point attribute until the passing prototype is developed—or worse, a passing plant trial—will create costly double work.

If at any point in the reformulation, a hurdle is reached that cannot be overcome without jeopardizing or eliminating one of the necessary product attributes, then a discussion should take place as to the future of the product. Will the product fail to continue to meet consumer expectations? Will customers leave your brand due to the impacts of the reformulation? Could the reformulation hurt your brand reputation? Will the reformulation itself cost so much that the product will no longer be profitable for the company? If any of these answers become yes or even plausible, it’s time to discuss whether the reformulation should continue. It can be a hard decision to make on projects once work starts, but do not be afraid to fail the project fast. It is more efficient and much less costly to declare failure than fighting through to an eventual project failure or ending up with a reformulation so costly the product will no longer be profitable.

Product Wrap-Up

Reformulations can be costly and complicated projects, so it’s a good idea to complete planning prework to ensure a smooth product transition. Of course, part of this planning is knowing the customer base and knowing what they prioritize and what attributes create customer “stickiness” for your products. While the strategies outlined here will help developers avoid some common mistakes that cause double work, it is important to know that most reformulations will have pitfalls to navigate on the path to launch. Planning for the unexpected and controlling the variables as much as possible will set you up for the greatest chance of a successful reformulation.ft