Custom beverage formulation is the process of developing a unique beverage recipe tailored to your brand’s vision, functional goals, and target market. It involves carefully selecting ingredients, determining flavor profiles, ensuring product stability, and meeting regulatory standards—all while aligning with your business goals.
Whether you’re launching a functional hydration beverage, cocktail, an adaptogen-infused tea, soft-drink, or a low-sugar energy beverage, custom formulation helps bring your idea to life in an innovative, scalable, and shelf-ready way.
Custom formulation allows you to create a beverage that’s truly one-of-a-kind—with flavor, function, and story all tailored to your ideal consumer.
Here’s why it matters:
- Differentiation: Stand out in a crowded space with unique flavor combinations and benefits.
- Brand alignment: Build a beverage that matches your mission—whether that’s clean-label, vegan, or immunity-boosting.
- Functionality: Infuse your drink with real benefits (like energy, focus, gut health, or sleep support).
- Scalability: Create a formulation that’s not just delicious, but also cost-effective and manufacturable at scale.
Here’s a simplified breakdown of how beverage formulation typically works:
1. Discovery & Strategy
This is where we dive deep into your brand, audience, and goals. Key questions include:
- What type of beverage are you creating?
- Who is your target consumer?
- What functional benefits are you aiming for?
- What certifications or claims matter to you (e.g., Organic, Non-GMO, Keto)?
- Do you have a desired serving size (e.g., 7.5oz, 12oz, 16oz)?
- Do you have a desired packaging type? (e.g., can, bottle, glass)?
- Do you have a desired retail price?
2. Ingredient Research & Functional Design
Based on your goals, an experienced formulator will:
- Select ingredients for flavor, function, and nutritional value
- Consider sweeteners, natural extracts, or botanicals
- Ensure ingredient compatibility for stability and shelf life
3. Flavor Development & Sensory Testing
Multiple versions (called “iterations”) of your beverage are developed and taste-tested for:
- Flavor balance (sweetness, acidity, bitterness)
- Mouthfeel and aftertaste -Functionality
- Aroma and color
4. Nutritional & Regulatory Compliance
Your final formula must meet FDA labeling laws, nutrition standards, and any third-party certifications. This includes:
- Creating a nutrition facts panel-Creating an ingredient statement
- Listing all ingredients in descending order by weight
- Verifying health claims and disclaimers
5. Stability & Shelf-Life Testing
Formulas are tested to ensure they stay safe and consistent over time under different conditions (e.g., heat, light, pH). Without this step, even a great-tasting beverage can spoil before reaching a shelf. It’s important to have a pH that is compatible to your pasteurization kill step to ensure a shelf-stable product.
6. Production & Commercial Scale-Up
Once approved, the formulation is transferred to a manufacturer (co-packer), where small lab batches are scaled for real-world production. Your beverage is now ready for cans, bottles, or pouches.
Custom formulation is ideal for:
- Entrepreneurs and startups looking to launch their first product
- Established brands expanding their portfolio
-Established brands looking to optimize or improve their existing portfolio
- Cafés, hotels, or influencers creating private-label beverages
- Retailers wanting house-brand offerings
Depending on complexity, formulation usually takes between 3 to 5 months, factoring in R&D, revisions, and testing.
At The pH Scale, we help startups and visionaries turn their beverage ideas into retail-ready realities. From ingredient selection to formulation and branding to manufacturing, we guide you every step of the way.
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