Katie Kelly, founder of Rootene and alumni of Queen Margaret University, sought the expertise of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation (SCFDI) to develop her product concept range. Katie proposed the creation of two products in the functional drinks category, which were based on vegetables, as a lightly sparkling version to move away from the traditional fruit, with no added sugar or sweetener. The concept was for two varieties to be developed using natural ingredients and carbonated water. There was an element of skin health incorporation, and so clean natural ingredients with added vitamins to support skin health was required. Katie has over seven years experience in the PR industry, specialising in the food and beverage sector. Throughout her career, she has worked with some of the world's most recognised brands, including Diageo and Marks & Spencer, helping to promote their products in the highly competitive UK market. Katie also spent over three years working with Scotland Food & Drink, an industry body dedicated to supporting the growth of Scotland’s food and drink sector. Here, she collaborated closely with producers, retailers, and policymakers, gaining valuable insights into supply chains, sustainability, and consumer trends.
The SCFDI team are experienced in developing innovative products, sourcing local ingredients in the correct quantities for manufacturing, achieving nutritional targets, food labelling and understanding of both nutrition and health claims in the national standards framework.
The project was funded by the Standard Innovation Voucher from the Scottish Funding Council via Interface.
Throughout the project, the company provided feedback on product samples. The project resulted in the development of two core products, and the SCFDI provided all essential technical and quality parameters in the form of an information pack to trial the two recipes and launch them to the market.
It was a positive experience working with the team at SCFDI to develop two initial product recipes for Rootene’s market launch. The team was extremely knowledgeable and provided valuable guidance throughout the product development process. As a result, we now have recipes that are not only shelf-stable but also cost-effective, ready to present to manufacturing partners. Visiting the facilities at QMU to taste and review the product samples was a brilliant part of the experience. Caroline was particularly effective at implementing our feedback, and I’m really pleased with the final outcome of the project.
- The Brief
- The Research
- The Outcome
- The Impact
The company required the assistance of the SCFDI to create formulations with the desired flavour and texture profiles and provide a scalable methodology for two products: Beetroot & Pomegranate, and Carrot & Ginger.
The two products developed during this project had to meet the following criteria;
- Contain real, recognisable clean label ingredients, natural flavours and no added sugar or sweetener
- Claim for additional benefits arising from the addition of B Vitamins and Zinc for skin health support
A critical path for the three-month project, setting out key deliverables and deadlines, was mutually created by Katie and SCFDI.
Initially, the project team trialled various permutations of teas and herbs to create infusions as a base for the drink, but found that the infusion complicated the clean flavour required, so moved back to the use of vegetable concentrates, with no added sugar (only naturally occurring sugars). A bespoke vitamin blend (using selected B Vitamins & Zinc) was added which would allow the declaration of 100% of the daily allowance of those vitamins and zinc and therefore could use the permitted claims from the FSA Nutrition & Health Claims Register.
During the project, the company attended a product development day at Queen Margaret University to facilitate tasting samples, providing real-time feedback, recipe development. Together, the project team and company benchmarked similar competitive products to understand the status of the purely vegetable based drink and ensure a unique selling point for the new drinks.
The finalised formulations were sent for nutritional analysis at a UKAS-accredited lab to determine the nutrition declaration for on-pack labelling.
The SCFDI provided information packs for both flavours of drink. This pack included information regarding formulations, kitchen methodology, upscaling methodology, nutrition declaration and claims, ingredient declaration and ingredient suppliers.
Using the information provided, the company can run production trials and potentially conduct small scale tastings.
With the successful development of two initial product recipes, the company now intends to take the next steps toward commercialisation. This includes initially engaging with manufacturing partners to begin small-scale production and further developing branding and packaging in preparation for market launch.
