Startups have to consider many factors, including whether they focus too much on the technology and not enough on the user, or whether they try to produce everything themselves when third parties can do it.
What are the nine most common mistakes new food and beverage companies make? FoodNavigator spoke to experts at the Future Food-Tech conference in London. Watch the video above to get all the answers.
Johan Jacobs, CEO of FlyBlast, said: “The time between when you have an idea and when production starts and the product is on the shelves.” It usually takes longer than expected and sometimes it can be painful.
Too much focus on “cool” technology
Sirli Rosevald, CEO of Funki Foods, believes that “too many people focus on the technology,” instead of focusing on the applications and value of the product.
Owen Ensor, CEO of Meatly, said: “I think we can learn a lot from our industry.” The focus should be on controlling costs and product quality at a small scale before scaling up.
We also have miscommunications, especially in the food tech sector. There is too much emphasis on how cool technology is and how clever it is. People want to know if it is safe, healthy and tasty. We need to focus on those things and not on how great and innovative we are.
Johan Hartman, CEO of Unseen Bio, warns that focusing too much on the latest trends can be detrimental to his startup.
I think we're doing a lot of things right. "I think a new company can easily get impressed by trends and think they're the solution to everything," he says.
The customer or user is essential
They need to focus on other things, like how the food tastes, how it's priced and how it scales, rather than on a trend.
All experts agree that it is important to keep the customer or end user in mind, and this must be done very early. It may even happen earlier than the entrepreneur imagines.
Ron Livny, COO and co-founder of Resugar, said: “A lot of people think they understand the needs of their industry. But they don’t meet the customer until a late stage.”
They need to be more proactive in meeting with customers and make sure their ideas are industry-specific. Otherwise, it may not work.
English 
French