The big food companies have been striving to replicate the flavor and texture of mother’s love for decades. I suspect it took years to produce chewy chocolate chip cookies, as opposed to machine-land crispy. James continually demonstrates the difference between cream whipped by hand and cream whipped by machine. Machines do not possess same flair and effect as an experienced chef with a whisk.
Since February, BoldRush has been working with the Manitoba Food Development Centre* to scale up the size of the protein beverage recipe. Growing the batch size to increase production is where food science and technology meet human perseverance. It’s a process that takes a quart of experimentation and 5 cups of patience.
Right now we produce batches of 52 units in the BoldRush Power Plant. James has it down to an art and we can have 200 bottles produced pretty quickly. Food scientists in Manitoba are working with our product formulations to produce up to 1700 unit batches. It’s proving to be a bit more complicated than anticipated, and the food scientists are working away, preserving through trial and error.
Not only is food processing equipment pricey, it is also quite specific in terms of the task each piece performs. Our commitment to use whole fruit and vegetables, rather than industrial products such as prepared concentrates and purees, is challenging equipment and product standardization values. For example, we knew that sweet potatoes vary by region, by rainfall, by country and season. I’d anticipated input related variations, but I didn’t think the machining process would create such variations as well. James understands this way better than I, but then he’s the food guy. James wants to get the process and equipment needs down, then he can re-balance and adjust the flavors. These things take time.
I’m continually amazed at industrialization and mass production. I toured the guts of Canada Packers in Toronto and visited the Ontario Food Terminal when I was a university student at Guelph. I did a paper once on the storage of bananas in transport. At the time, I never expected any of it to become part of my life. Now James and I are embarking into larger production (I won’t call it mass production quite yet), just to get our healthy alternative beverage (a sports drink, an energy drink, a juice drink and a protein drink–all in one bottle) out to more people.
As small food processors, we’re working hard to avoid some of the tough compromises required for mass production. Consumer pressure to keep costs down, standardize product, and fancy packaging take a lot of companies out. It’s challenging. As we scale up, we’re working hard to retain the great taste and efficacy BoldRush products are becoming known for, and at price more people can enjoy. James never said this would be easy.
* Our work with the Food Development Centre is provided with the assistance of the Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-food Program and the Yukon Agricultural Association.
I appreciate your thought on the mass production side of things. I just finished reading “Fast Food Nation” and was disgusted but not suprised at the state of the industry. As the son of an accomplished chef, I grew up in the food industry. Food is an important part of my life, and it is a way of experiencing life. I hope that the mass markets start educating and ensuring that we leave the chemicals, preservatives out of our food, buy locally, support farmers, enjoy “slow food”, cook with the family, sit down and eat together. Not sure what to think about Wal-Mart getting into the organics business. I am sure it will change the structure of the organic business as well. With our local farming industry, moose and other wild game and fish in our back yards…we have no excuse.
Bit of a tangent, but keep up the good work with Bold Rush and stick to your natural roots and vision. With some niche marketing and targeted distribution I hope you can reach your market share goals.