Beverage development from recipe to filler
You have a beverage idea and want to turn it into a market-ready product. We develop the recipe, make it compliant and production-ready, and connect you with the right suppliers and a filler. Based on more than 300 development projects.
500+
Fillers in our database
We find the right one and get you ready to talk
More than 500 fillers in our database could produce your beverage. For any of them to start, they need a recipe that works on an industrial line: with a specification, nutritional values, a declaration and target values a plant can actually be set to. A first prototype is the beginning, but not yet a product.
That stretch is exactly our work. We turn your idea into a recipe that can be produced, connect you with the right suppliers and the filler whose process and minimum quantity fit, and hand you the documents you need to negotiate there as an equal.
What works differently for beverages than for solid products
Six decisions that separate a good first prototype from a beverage that can actually be produced.
Solubility and stability
What works in a cup separates in the bottle after weeks. Emulsions, cloudiness and sedimentation are decided early in the recipe, not later at the filling line.
Preservation
Pasteurising, aseptic filling or cold with a short shelf life. The process determines taste, packaging, logistics and which fillers are even an option.
Carbonation
With or without CO2 changes the recipe, the plant technology and the packaging. Many fillers can only do one of the two.
Packaging and process
Glass, can, PET, Tetra Pak, bag-in-box. Packaging is not a design decision at the end, it is a technical one at the start.
Regulatory compliance
Health claims, novel food, additives, caffeine warnings, alcohol law. For functional beverages, regulation often decides the recipe.
Minimum quantities
Beverages scale in batches, not in units. The filler minimum is often the point where a business plan has to be recalculated.
Three phases to a production-ready recipe
Fundamentals and technical concept
We sharpen the product idea, the target group and the positioning, clarify the regulatory guardrails and define the technical concept: process, packaging, shelf life, target values.
Recipe development and partner search
We develop the recipe in the lab, test stability and sensory profile, and in parallel look for the fillers that can actually run your process and your volume.
Industrial trials, iteration and handover
The recipe runs on the plant, gets tasted and refined. The result is a specification a filler can work with, plus nutritional values and a proposed declaration.
Example figures from our projects
Benchmarks from the beverage projects we have supported. Not a price list and not a commitment, but the orders of magnitude you can plan with.
Your category is not listed? Ask anyway. The list shows where we have experience, not where our limits are.
Minimum quantities
| Filling | from |
|---|---|
| Small-scale filling | 500 l · approx. 1,500 units |
| Industrially scalable | approx. 20,000 units |
The real floor depends on the packaging. Glass, can, PET and Tetra Pak differ considerably, and with printed packaging it is often not the filling line that sets the limit but the minimum print run. We will tell you the number that applies to your product after the first conversation.
Duration
2 to 4 months from concept to filling, assuming the project runs without major detours. Regulatory clarifications, novel food questions or several rounds of iteration extend the timeline.
Filler lead time
Considerably longer in spring and summer. Filler lead times are seasonal. In the warm months, plants are booked out with beverage business. If you want to launch in summer, start in winter.
All figures are benchmarks from completed projects, not guaranteed values. We commit to quantities, dates and prices only once process, packaging and target volume are defined.
What a filler wants to see from you
If you have everything on this list, all you need is the right filler. If half of it is missing, that is exactly our work.
Missing something? Let us talk- Compliant recipe
All ingredients with quantities, legally checked, no open questions on additives or claims.
- Technical specification
Target values for pH, Brix, viscosity, colour and sensory profile. What the filler sets the plant to.
- Nutritional values and declaration
Calculated or analysed, with a draft for the label.
- Process and packaging defined
Pasteurised or aseptic, with or without CO2, glass, can or PET, with a target volume.
- Realistic minimum quantity
A batch you can finance and sell. One of the most common points where projects get stuck.
Who produces beverages in Europe and what that means for you
We maintain a database of thousands of contract manufacturers and fillers in Europe and beyond. It is our working tool for partner search, not a public directory.
500+
beverage fillers recorded in the database
50
fillers we are in regular contact with
122
with organic certification, 29 with IFS
8
countries with 20 or more fillers
The database is continuously maintained research. "In regular contact" refers to fillers we speak or work with on an ongoing basis. Some also offer recipe work, but then develop within their own plant, suppliers and minimum quantities.
Beverage fillers by country
| Country | Fillers |
|---|---|
| Germany | 61 |
| Italy | 53 |
| Spain | 32 |
| France | 32 |
| Poland | 29 |
| Belgium | 24 |
| Netherlands | 23 |
| Greece | 20 |
For many processes and packaging formats, the right filler sits elsewhere in Europe, often with different minimum quantities and different plants than comparable operations in Germany.
What our partner operations can fill
Packaging is part of what decides which fillers are an option at all, and it is hard to change later.
The list shows what is documented in our database and is not exhaustive. Which packaging and which process suit your product is something we clarify in conversation.
What founders ask us most often
From concept to filling we plan for two to four months, assuming the project runs without major detours. On top of that comes the filler lead time, which is seasonal: in spring and summer, plants are booked out with beverage business and lead times are considerably longer. If you want to launch in summer, start in winter.
For small-scale filling the floor is around 500 litres, roughly 1,500 units. Industrially scalable filling starts at around 20,000 units. The actual number depends on the packaging: glass, can, PET and Tetra Pak differ considerably, and with printed packaging it is often not the filling line that sets the limit but the minimum print run.
The two belong together. We develop the recipe and connect you with the right suppliers plus a filler whose process and minimum quantity fit your product. We are not a filler ourselves and do not produce in our own plants. That is precisely why we can select independently instead of steering you towards our own line.
Among others lemonades, iced teas, energy drinks, near water, functional drinks, alcoholic RTDs and dairy products. The list shows where we have gathered experience and is not a limit. If your category is not on it, tell us anyway.
An Innovation Sprint turns a strategic option into a validated product concept, with consumer research, trend analysis and a decision paper. Product development picks up from there and turns the validated concept into a product that can be produced. For beverages that means recipe, regulatory compliance, specification and the right filler.
What we are not the right partner for
We are not a filler ourselves. We do not produce in our own plants; we develop the recipe and connect you with the filler who can run it. We do not rent out kitchens or production space. We do not take on pure filling work without a development component. We do not offer standalone HACCP consulting or certification support. If that is what you are looking for, we are happy to point you somewhere better suited.
Tell us about your beverage
The more specific you are about where you stand, the more precisely we can answer. You will get a personal reply within two working days.
Leonie Hahn
Product Development & Regulatory
Prefer to write directly? No problem.
leonie@futurefoodco.de