BevSource's pilot production services offer beverage entrepreneurs and established companies the option to produce a small quantity of their new beverage on commercial-grade batching, brewing and packaging equipment.
Why Take Advantage of Small-Scale Beverage Bottling and Canning?
Jumping into full-scale production of your beverage is a big step. If something goes wrong, you may have to stop production or, worse, discard hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of product that doesn’t meet your specs. That’s why running a small-scale pilot batch offers many advantages.
A pilot run of your new beverage recipe reduces the chance of something going wrong during full-scale commercial production. Investing in a small-scale run of 50 to 60 cases is cost-effective, as it can prevent your company from wasting hundreds of thousands of dollars on a full run of 10,000 cases that don’t meet your specs.
Small-scale beverage production gives you valuable data about your recipe and manufacturing process. You can anticipate challenges that may occur during manufacturing scale-up and receive options for recipe or process improvement. A pilot run minimizes the liability of having large volumes of product manufactured that don't meet your requirements.
Use a pilot run to dial in your recipe and refine your process so that you can determine any changes you'll need to make before ordering full-scale production. While refining the parameters, process and recipe for your beverage, you'll get detailed blend notes and crucial data that help your co-packer seamlessly transition to full production.
The lower cost of pilot beverage production makes it feasible to produce small-quantity product runs for professional presentations to investors, retailers, distributors, consumer sampling initiatives, focus groups and trade shows.
When you can approach a co-packer with how you plan to scale up your production, along with data and information from a pilot run, they will know if they are a good fit. We'll provide your co-packer with blend notes and other crucial data, ensuring a smooth transition to full-scale production. Understanding how you approached your pilot run helps the co-packer plan out capacity and makes them more likely to take on your project.
A small-scale pilot batch is perfect for product validation. You can use these market-ready samples for consumer sampling, focus groups or trade shows to allow your target consumer to provide valuable feedback for product refinement before jumping into full-scale production.
The Lab Powered by BevSource
BevSource's pilot production facility, The Lab, has the testing and production expertise to conduct your pilot run with professionalism. The Lab is the perfect solution for refining and perfecting your next big beverage idea.
Here's what BERO has to say about The Lab: “Our experience working with The Lab, BevSource's Pilot Production and QA facility, was exceptional. In an industry where facilities offering similar services are limited, The Lab stands out as a small, independent, yet thorough operation. We were able to brew, blend, package, and pasteurize our product to achieve a fully realized, shelf-stable final product. The team was not only great to work with but also had a keen grasp of what was required, filling in the blanks for us with their methodical approach.”
How to Get Started With a Pilot Production
Pilot runs are best practice for your beverage's success — it's the bridge between your benchtop formula and producing your drinks at full scale. Our experienced team can set up and manage your pilot production to make sure everything goes smoothly.
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From Pilot to Production
Once your beverage is ready for production, BevSource will help you get your product to market on time, within your budget and following compliance regulations. While you focus on running your business, we can take on production and manufacturing management to ensure your production runs smoothly. Our team audits each production run on-site for quality assurance at large production volumes.
Why Choose BevSource for Small-Scale Pilot Production?
BevSource works with beverage entrepreneurs and established companies to reduce risks and move beverage ideas forward faster with pilot production services strategically designed to set new beverages up for success.
When you choose BevSource for your pilot run, you'll benefit from our:
- On-site quality assurance testing: Quality assurance testing is integrated into process. We can even provide the third-party shelf-life validation that retailers require.
- Data and documentation for co-packer validation: We provide the data, documentation and proof to position your beverage as a product co-packers want to take on.
As BERO, one of our satisfied customers, states, "Pilot runs at The Lab gave us more than just product samples —they gave us confidence. From recipe tweaks to packaging validation, we had everything we needed to launch successfully."
Speak to a Beverage Specialist About Small-Batch Beverage Manufacturing
Set yourself up for success. Let's talk about your pilot run for your brand's newest beverage — contact us for more information or a quote today.
