- Ingredients and Food
Product development and improvement
Equipment and facilities
Obtaining scientific evidence of the health benefits of an ingredient, active compound or food product
Consumer society is constantly evolving and consumer needs continue to change.
In recent years, demand for foods with high sensory quality, safety, improved nutritional profiles, clean label characteristics, health benefits and sustainability has become a major trend. At the same time, increasing competitiveness in the agri-food sector is forcing companies to seek alternatives to differentiate themselves from competitors through the development of innovative and attractive consumer products.
This service is designed to meet the needs of clients seeking:
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Development of new foods targeted at specific population groups (children, teenagers, adults, etc.) and pathological groups (diabetics, coeliacs, etc.), whose composition takes specific dietary recommendations into account while integrating consumers into the development process
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Improvement or modification of the sensory characteristics of traditional products (texture, colour, flavour, aroma, etc.)
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Design of products adapted to market realities and new consumer needs (ready meals, convenience foods, vegan products, etc.)
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Reverse engineering or benchmarking of a private-label mass-market product against the market-leading product
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Development of clean label products
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Development of products with improved nutritional profiles (low salt, fat or sugar content, high fibre content, etc.) without compromising safety, texture or flavour of the final product
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Improvement of existing products through the incorporation of functional ingredients, both from a technological and consumer perspective
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Improvement of the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of products through optimisation of thermal processing from a quality and food safety perspective
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Adaptation of traditional products to industrial production through protocol development (fermented products, etc.)
At AINIA, we add value
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Multidisciplinary approach to the product development process
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Product development from ideation/conceptualisation through to final validation, with a consumer-focused approach (Consumer-led Food Product Development)
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Testing in pilot plants and using small-scale technologies (extrusion, thermal treatment, packaging, etc.)
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Monitoring and validation of prototypes in in-house bioassay and physicochemical laboratories, and standardised sensory testing rooms (with a database of more than 30,000 consumers for consumer opinion research and a selected and trained sensory panel with more than 1,700 hours of experience in Quantitative Descriptive Analysis)
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Cost savings through screening of prototypes with improved nutritional, sensory and technological characteristics
Trials using a dynamic colonic fermentation digester (microbiota modulation)
The service is carried out through the following stages:
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Initial situation study: physicochemical, nutritional and organoleptic characterisation of the reference product, identification of alternatives for product improvement, and definition of different composition and processing alternatives
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Preparation of the proposed formulations and evaluation of the technological suitability of the substitutes used and/or technologies applied during processing through physicochemical, nutritional and organoleptic characterisation
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Shelf-life study
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Consumer acceptance and preference testing
Would you like to know more?
Leave us your details and we will contact you to answer your questions or continue the conversation.
Maite Navarro
Food Industries Line
