Helping hand for New Year's resolutions

Christmas and New Year is the time when many people decide on a change of career - and with all the fancy Christmas food around, lots of people think about setting up their own food business. Whether it is an idea to commercialise Auntie Mary's mince pie recipe, a recognition that Uncle Jim's special dietary requirements are not being catered for, or just a feeling that another company's offerings can be improved, many people see a food business as their escape from the daily grind of the office.

What's more, the January holidays also prompt ideas, as people try new foods for the first time overseas, and realise that there might be a market back home.

But, starting a food business is not as easy as it first appears. There's all the legislation to contend with, as well as the marketing, ingredient sourcing, recipe creation, understanding allergens and other safety issues, arranging production and ensuring product stability and shelf-life for example.

"We always see an upsurge in interest for our services at this time of year," says Sarah Marshall of the Product and Ingredient Innovation Department of RSSL (Reading Scientific Services Ltd). "Accountants, dentists, lawyers, builders, teachers, everyone it seems has an idea for a food product that they think could be successful. Quite often it's a product to fit a niche dietary requirement like allergen-free, or something that accords with an environmental or economic philosophy. But regardless of the idea, there are basic issues that have to be addressed, and that's where we can help start-ups to avoid expensive mistakes, and to learn from the vast experience of development technologists who have seen it all before."

According to RSSL, people leaving a career in marketing often make the best food industry entrepreneurs but the company has helped people from every profession to develop a successful business. "Our clients also include the big multi-national food companies," says Sarah, "but many of our start-up clients don't want to achieve that kind of status. They're happy to carve out their own niche and to create a viable business from ideas discussed with family over the Christmas dinner."

Confidentiality agreements prevent RSSL from discussing any specific projects, but there's evidence of their work across every shelf of the supermarkets and speciality food stores. And as Sarah tucks into her own Christmas dinner, there'll be one or two items on the table or around the tree that have passed through RSSL's Product and Ingredient Innovation Department. "It's always nice to see something we've worked on when it first appears in the shops," she says. "And nicer still when something that we worked on a few Christmases ago is still going strong several years on."