Developing a food or beverage product is not only about creating a recipe that tastes good. At some point, you need to answer a more practical question:

How will this product actually be produced, preserved, packaged and distributed?

That is where food processing comes in.

Pasteurisation, UHT, retort, freezing, drying, fermentation, high-pressure processing are among the common techniques that can change the characteristics of your final product . They affect shelf life, food safety, sensory properties, nutritional quality, packaging, storage, distribution and, ultimately, production costs.

For founders and project managers, the challenge is therefore not simply knowing which processing methods exist. It is understanding which process makes sense for a particular product and how that decision affects the rest of the project.

Stats: Mintel found that only 26% of food and drink product launches globally between January and May 2024 were genuinely new products, down from 50% in 2007.

What is food processing?

Food processing is the controlled transformation of raw ingredients into a safe, stable and consistent food or beverage product. Some processes primarily preserve a product.

Others transform its texture, flavour or structure. Many do several things at once.

Examples include:

• heating milk to reduce microorganisms
• pasteurising a beverage to extend its shelf life
• freezing vegetables to slow microbial and enzymatic activity
• drying fruit to reduce available water
• fermenting milk, vegetables or beverages using controlled microorganisms
• grinding ingredients to change particle size and functionality
• homogenising a beverage to improve its physical stability
• filtering a liquid to remove particles
• using high-pressure processing to reduce microorganisms while limiting heat exposure

Most commercial products use more than one processing step.

A beverage, for example, may involve ingredient preparation, mixing, homogenisation, heat treatment, filling, packaging and cooling. Each step can affect the next.

This is why processing should be considered during product development rather than treated as something that happens after the formulation is finished.

How processing affects quality and cost

The processing method can determine much more than whether a product is safe.

It can influence:

• Shelf life: The period during which the product remains stable.
• Storage: The required storage conditions, including refrigeration, freezing or ambient storage.
• Taste and texture: The process’s impact on flavour, colour, texture and mouthfeel.
• Nutritional quality: The effect on sensitive vitamins, proteins and other nutritional components.
• Packaging: The required container type and filling process.
• Distribution: The applicable transport conditions, including ambient distribution or cold-chain requirements.
• Manufacturing: The equipment and production capabilities required. Cost: The impact on ingredients, energy consumption, production time, yield and logistics.
• Minimum order quantity: The availability of suitable manufacturers capable of producing the required volume.

A founder may initially think they are choosing between two processing technologies. In reality, they may be choosing between two completely different production and distribution models.

Example from Agilery projects: A founder wants to launch a fruit and vegetable juice in glass bottles, preserving the sensory experience of freshly pressed juice and its nutritional benefits. High-pressure processing (HPP) is an attractive option because it can help retain the juice’s natural fresh taste, colour and nutritional value better than conventional heat pasteurisation. But that choice changes another part of the brief: the glass bottle. When the juice is processed in its final packaging, HPP requires a container that can flex under pressure, such as a suitable PET bottle. Glass is unsuitable for this process. To prioritise the intended product quality and sensory experience, the founder would therefore need to compromise on the packaging. The processing method and the bottle cannot be chosen independently.

The main food processing methods

Every product must be assessed in its complexity in order to establish the best fitting process. The right choice depends on the product, the desired shelf life, the distribution model, the available manufacturing technology and the characteristics you need to preserve.

1. Thermal processing

Heat is one of the most widely used tools in food processing.

It can reduce microorganisms, deactivate enzymes and make products safer and more stable. But the amount of heat applied matters: temperature, time and the characteristics of the product all influence the final product.

Pasteurisation

Pasteurisation uses controlled heat treatment to reduce pathogenic and spoilage microorganisms.

It is commonly used for products such as:

• milk
• juices
• other specific beverages
• liquid egg products
• some sauces and liquid foods

Pasteurisation does not necessarily make a product shelf-stable. Depending on the product and process, refrigeration may still be required.

Fresh milk and many chilled plant-based alternatives illustrate this distinction. Pasteurisation reduces harmful microorganisms but does not eliminate all bacterial spores, so these products still need refrigeration and have a relatively short shelf life. More intensive treatments, such as sterilisation or UHT, can allow milk to remain shelf-stable for several months before opening when combined with suitable filling and packaging. The trade-off is that stronger heat treatment can cause greater changes in flavour and reduce some heat-sensitive nutrients. The choice affects both what the consumer tastes and how the product reaches them.

UHT and sterilisation

Ultra-high-temperature (UHT) processing uses a much higher temperature for a very short period of time. Combined with appropriate packaging, it can produce commercially sterile products that can be stored at ambient temperature.

Sterilisation and retort processing can also provide long shelf life by applying sufficient heat to achieve the required microbiological stability.

The advantage is a long shelf life and, in some cases, no refrigerated distribution.

The trade-off is that intensive heat treatment can affect flavour, colour, texture and certain nutrients.

Expert insight from Agilery’s NPD team: For an oat-based matcha drink, retort sterilisation can achieve commercial sterility and provide a long shelf life at ambient temperature. Yet the same intensive heat treatment may alter the fresh matcha flavour, colour and mouthfeel that consumers expect.

Achieving the shelf-life target is only part of the task. The formulation and process must also work together to deliver the intended sensory profile after sterilisation.

Hot filling

Some products can be filled while hot, allowing the product and/or packaging to achieve the required level of microbiological control.

Whether hot filling is suitable depends on the product formulation, packaging and required shelf life.

Fruit drinks, tomato sauces and dressings are common applications for hot filling: their acidity supports microbial control, while the product is pasteurised before or during filling. The hot product also helps decontaminate the container and closure.

However, both the formulation and the packaging must withstand the filling temperature. Hot filling does not automatically sterilise a product or make it shelf-stable. Safety and shelf life depend on the combination of pH, temperature, holding time, packaging and hygienic controls.

2. High-pressure processing

High-pressure processing (HPP) or pasteurisation uses very high pressure to reduce microorganisms without relying on prolonged high temperatures.

It can be attractive for products where maintaining a fresh taste, colour or texture is important.

HPP is used for certain:

• juices
• smoothies
• ready-to-eat foods
• sauces
• other refrigerated products

However, HPP is often described as a non-thermal pasteurisation process because it reduces vegetative pathogens and spoilage microorganisms without significant heating; however cannot simply be considered a “better pasteurisation” option. It has specific equipment, packaging and manufacturing requirements, and it does not automatically make a product commercially viable.

Example from our client projects: For an SME developing a juice or fruit and vegetable shot, HPP can add value when fresh flavour, colour and heat-sensitive nutrients, such as the vitamins naturally present in the ingredients are central to the product’s appeal.

Those benefits come with practical constraints: higher processing costs, fewer specialist co-manufacturers and packaging requirements that limit the available formats. HPP products also generally require refrigeration, and their shelf life may be shorter than that of some conventionally pasteurised alternatives. The fresh product experience must justify the production and distribution model needed to deliver it.

3. Freezing

Freezing slows microbial growth and many chemical and enzymatic reactions. It does not eliminate microorganisms.

The speed of freezing matters. Rapid freezing generally creates smaller ice crystals, which can help preserve the structure of many foods.

But freezing also creates a different business model.

A frozen product requires:

• suitable freezing equipment
• frozen storage
• temperature-controlled transport
• appropriate retail or distribution infrastructure

For a new product, these requirements need to be considered alongside the benefits of freezing.

4. Drying and dehydration

Drying removes water from a food, reducing water activity and making the environment less favourable for microbial growth.

Different technologies achieve this in different ways.

Air drying

Air drying removes moisture using controlled air flow and temperature. It is widely used for products such as fruits, vegetables and herbs.

Spray drying

Spray drying turns a liquid into a powder by atomising it into a stream of hot air.

It is widely used for products such as:

• dairy ingredients
• plant-based ingredients
• flavourings
• nutritional ingredients
• beverage powders

Freeze drying

Freeze drying removes water from a frozen product under low pressure. It can help retain structure, flavour and certain sensitive characteristics, but it is generally more resource- and cost-intensive than conventional drying.

The processing choice affects more than shelf life. It can change the product's texture, solubility, flavour and cost.

5. Fermentation

Fermentation is different from many preservation methods because microorganisms are intentionally used as part of the process to stabilize and extend the product shelf life.

Selected cultures convert components of the food — often sugars — into compounds such as acids, gases or alcohol.

This can change:

• acidity
• flavour
• aroma
• texture
• stability
• nutritional characteristics

Fermentation therefore isn't simply a method for “making food last longer”. It can be a fundamental part of the product's identity.

Examples include yoghurt, cheese, fermented vegetables and fermented beverages.

Example from Agilery NPD department: Kombucha is a good example of a fermented food. In a small batch, fermentation can be adjusted by tasting and checking pH manually, but at commercial scale even small differences in starter culture, sugar concentration, temperature, oxygen exposure and tank geometry can change the fermentation rate and flavour profile. Our process therefore requires a standardised starter, controlled temperature and pH monitoring, a defined fermentation endpoint and rapid cooling; otherwise, batches may become too acidic, over-carbonated or microbiologically unstable.

6. Mechanical and physical processing

Not all food processing involves preservation.

Mechanical processes can determine how an ingredient behaves in the finished product.

Examples include:

• milling and grinding
• mixing
• homogenisation
• filtration
• separation
• extraction
• concentration
• emulsification

Particle size, viscosity, shear and mixing conditions can affect texture, stability, appearance and processing behaviour.

For example, grinding an ingredient more finely can change how it hydrates and behaves in a formulation. Homogenisation can help stabilise certain emulsions and beverages.

Processing is connected to formulation

One of the most important things to understand when developing a new product is that formulation and processing cannot always be separated.

A recipe may work perfectly in a laboratory but behave differently when produced at commercial scale.

Why? Because industrial equipment changes the conditions under which the product is mixed, heated, cooled, pumped, filled or otherwise processed.

An ingredient that is stable in a small batch may:

• separate during storage
• react differently under heat
• lose functionality
• change viscosity
• create foaming problems
• behave differently during filling
• affect the required shelf life

This means the processing method may need to influence the formulation — and the formulation may determine which processing methods are feasible.

Here's an example from your NPD, where a formulation had to be changed because of the manufacturing or processing conditions. 

Beverage developers must carefully select heat-stable ingredients to preserve the desired product qualities (smell, taste, color, functionality) throughout pasteurisation. For example, in the case of vitamin-enriched beverages, they must anticipate potential vitamin losses during processing and storage. They therefore adjust the initial vitamin levels (overages) based on each vitamin’s stability, ensuring that the beverage retains the claimed vitamin contents until the end of its shelf life.

“For a vitamin-enriched beverage, the target is the claimed vitamin content at the end of shelf life—not just immediately after mixing.”

- Benedicte Veinand, COO at Agilery

Processing and shelf life: it's a system

It is tempting to think of shelf life as something that can simply be “added” through processing.

In reality, shelf life is usually the result of several factors working together:

Formulation + processing + packaging + storage + distribution

Factors such as pH, water activity, oxygen exposure, light, temperature and ingredient interactions can all play a role.

For example, increasing the intensity of a heat treatment may improve microbiological stability but also affect flavour or texture. Changing the formulation may reduce the processing intensity required. Different packaging can provide different levels of protection from oxygen or light.

The goal is therefore not necessarily to choose the strongest available process.

It is to find a process that achieves the required safety and shelf-life target while maintaining the product characteristics and commercial model you need.

How Agilery NPD experts approach shelf-life development in NPD project?

To achieve shelf-stability, food developers must carefully select ingredients and optimise their formulations. They must for example reduce water activity in the product as much as possible, while maintaining the desired texture, taste and nutritional profile. Controlling the amount of available water in a food product to limit microbial growth is one of the biggest challenges to successfully go from a home-made fresh recipe to a shelf-stable packaged food.

Processing determines which manufacturer you can use

This is one of the most important practical considerations for an SME.

Once you know what your product needs, you need to find a manufacturer with the right capabilities.

A manufacturer may have excellent capabilities for one product category but be completely unsuitable for another.

For example, a producer may have:

• pasteurisation but not UHT
• liquid filling but not powder filling
• chilled production but not ambient production
• small-batch capabilities but not large-scale production
• HPP access but no suitable packaging line
• experience with sauces but not emulsified beverages

This is why the question is not simply:

“Which manufacturer can make my product?”

It is:

“Which manufacturer has the process, equipment, food-safety systems, capacity and commercial setup needed for my product?”

From an Agilery client project: when processing technology narrowed the available producer pool.

Unlike standard water-based drinks, latte beverages typically have a higher pH and may contain milk or plant-based proteins, making them more susceptible to microbial growth. Pasteurisation commonly used in the beverage industry is therefore not sufficient to ensure their safety and shelf stability. This type of beverages require stronger heat treatments such as retort sterilisation, UHT or tyndallisation. A small to medium scale co-manufacturer experienced in the production of water-based beverages filled in aluminium cans and/or glass bottles will most probably not have the right equipment to efficiently preserve such lattes.

“Being able to fill the container does not mean being able to preserve the product.”

Benedicte Veinand, COO at Agilery

Food processing also affects the economics

Technical feasibility is only one part of the decision.

A process can work perfectly from a food-technology perspective and still be the wrong choice commercially.

When comparing processing options, consider:

• required production volume
• minimum order quantity
• equipment and setup costs
• processing time
• energy consumption
• yield
• ingredient losses
• packaging
• storage transportation
• cold-chain requirements
• expected selling price

For an SME launching a new product, these factors can be particularly important.

A process that requires a highly specialised production line may make sense at large volumes but be difficult to justify for an initial market test.

This is one reason why pilot production and small-batch validation can be valuable before committing to large-scale production.

From an Agilery client project: when aseptic filling did not fit the launch volume. A team of founders approached us with a functional beverage rich in juices and botanicals. They wanted to launch in glass bottles, with a relatively small first production run, and initially favoured aseptic filling to avoid pasteurisation.

The approach was technically attractive, but the available manufacturing options did not fit their expected volume. Aseptic filling lines are typically operated by larger co-manufacturers and designed for significantly higher volumes, making smaller runs less accessible and less cost-effective.

In this project, the decisive constraint was production volume: the preferred processing route was not commercially viable at the planned launch scale.

“The limiting factor was not whether the beverage could be produced, but whether it could be produced economically at launch volume.”

Benedicte Veinand, COO at Agilery

Why scaling-up from laboratory to production matters

A product does not automatically become production-ready because the recipe works. NielsenIQ found that 27% of new CPG launches were not viable with consumers in pre-market testing. Another 27% were viable with consumers but eventually failed due to insufficient marketing support.

The path typically looks more like:

Concept → formulation → laboratory trials → pilot production → scale-up → commercial production

Each step can reveal new problems.

At a larger scale:

• heating and cooling behave differently
• mixing takes longer
• shear forces change
• ingredients may disperse differently
• filling equipment can affect the product
• processing times may need adjustment
• yield can change
• packaging may behave differently

Pilot production is therefore not simply a smaller version of commercial production.

It is an opportunity to test whether the product and the process work together under realistic manufacturing conditions.

From an Agilery client project: when a kitchen recipe meets industrial equipment. One founder we worked with had developed a delicious date-and-nut energy ball recipe in the kitchen. When the recipe was transferred to the co-manufacturer’s equipment, however, the higher shear forces caused oil to separate from the nut butters, compromising the product’s texture and consistency.

The ingredients had not changed; the processing conditions had. The formulation needed to be adapted to the industrial equipment—a concrete example of why a successful kitchen recipe is a starting point, rather than a production-ready specification.

“The ingredients had not changed; the processing conditions had.”

Benedicte Veinand, COO at Agilery

How do we choose the right processing method?

There is no universal best processing method.

The right choice starts with the product and the commercial requirements.

Before selecting a process, we’d ask:

1. What does the product need to achieve?

What are the target taste, texture, appearance and nutritional characteristics?

2. What shelf life is required?

Does the product need days, weeks or months of stability?

3. Where will it be stored?

Ambient, chilled or frozen storage can completely change the viable processing options.

4. How will it be distributed?

Will the product need to survive long transport, temperature fluctuations or international distribution?

5. What does the formulation allow?

pH, water activity, ingredients, proteins, fats and other components can all influence processing options.

6. What packaging is available?

Some processing methods require specific packaging materials or filling technologies.

7. What production volume do you need?

A process that works economically at 100,000 units may not be appropriate for a first production run of 5,000.

8. Which manufacturers can actually produce it?

The required technology needs to exist within a suitable production partner's capabilities.

9. What will the process cost?

Look beyond the processing fee. Consider yield, packaging, storage, transport, minimum order quantities and other downstream costs.

10. What needs to be validated?

Before commercial production, determine which assumptions still need to be tested through pilot production, shelf-life studies or other validation.

New processing technologies: when are they worth considering?

Food processing technology continues to evolve.

High-pressure processing, pulsed electric fields, improved drying technologies and other approaches can offer alternatives to conventional processing.

But newer does not automatically mean better. For an SME, the relevant questions are:

• Does the technology solve a real product problem?
• Is it suitable for the formulation?
• Can we access a manufacturer with the required equipment?
• What production volumes are required?
• What does it cost?
• Does it provide a meaningful benefit to the final product?
• Does the technology fit the intended distribution model?

A new technology is useful when it improves the overall product proposition, not simply because it is technically interesting.