Novel foods and ingredients
From concept to market, with guarantees
Innovating in novel foods requires fast and informed decisions
What is stopping you from innovating in a novel food or ingredient?
- Doubts about market acceptance and value proposition.
- Regulatory barriers that condition ingredients, claims and timeline.
- Need to demonstrate sustainability with objective metrics.
- Stability, texture or processability problems when scaling up.
- Lack of evidence to support functional benefits.
In novel foods, the greatest cost is often moving forward without certainty. Innovation slows down when it is not validated in time, when the formulation does not withstand the move to plant or when the regulatory strategy is addressed late.
At AINIA, we structure development by stages and prioritise the information that truly reduces risk and accelerates launch.
360º AINIA solution
Consumer validation and market acceptance
Formulation, functionality and technological validation
Regulation and compliance strategy
Scientific evidence for functional benefits and claims
Scalability: pilot plants and first productions
Sustainability of the product and process
01_Consumer validation and market acceptance
Consumer validation and market acceptance
At AINIA, we ground the value proposition and test it with consumers to detect barriers and opportunities before investing in industrialisation. Sensory evaluation turns perceptions into decisions: you compare prototypes, optimise attributes and anticipate how the product evolves over time. When packaging and communication are purchase drivers, we analyse message understanding and user experience to align promise and reality.
- Packaging and communication studies for product-message coherence.
- Support in the creation and improvement of internal sensory panels
- Neuroscience
02_Formulation, functionality and technological validation
Formulation, functionality and technological validation
At AINIA, we validate how ingredients and matrices behave to ensure stability, structure and consistency. This is key in new plant-based developments, reformulations and novel ingredients. Chemical and nutritional characterisation provides an objective basis for R&D and quality teams. With all this, we define the best processing technologies aligned with the product objective and its scale-up. And, when the product seeks healthy functionality, in vitro preclinical models make it possible to move forward with evidence and scientific criteria. With all this, we define processing technologies aligned with the product objective and its scale-up.
- Product viability: stability and performance under real conditions
- Validation of the technological functionality of new proteins, fats or active ingredients
- Technological functionality of ingredients: impact on texture and processing
- Physico-chemical and nutritional characterisation of ingredients and foods for control and decisions
- Omics studies: metagenomics, metabolomics, proteomics, lipidomics
- Selection of processing technologies with a scalability vision
- Review technical viability and formulation
- In vitro preclinical studies: simulated gastrointestinal and colonic digestion, intestinal absorption
03_Regulation and compliance strategy
Regulation and compliance strategy
conditions ingredients, processes, claims and target markets. At AINIA, we integrate the technical-legal vision from the early stages of product development with real commercialisation guidance. We support you through expert advice in food and environmental legislation, documentation and by supporting you in decisions that impact compliance, reducing bottlenecks and timelines in critical phases.
- Technical-legal support in the preparation of dossiers: novel food, additives and biocides
- Advice on food law and environmental legislation
- Integration of the regulatory approach from early stages
- Assessment of product and process sustainability: LCA, carbon footprint, water footprint
- Support in the justification of health claims and green claims
- Less rework and greater control of timelines.
04_Scientific evidence for functional benefits and claims
Scientific evidence for functional benefits and claims
At AINIA, we design the generation of scientific evidence to transform hypotheses into useful proof, with robust methodologies and applicable results. Omics studies provide advanced understanding. In vitro models make it possible to validate behaviour and guide formulation. The focus is to build a coherent and defensible technical basis, aligned with your product strategy and responsible communication.
- Evidence strategy aligned with objective and market
- Omics studies: metagenomics, metabolomics, proteomics and lipidomics
- In vitro preclinical assessment: digestion and intestinal absorption
- Biomarkers and biological functionality with actionable results
05_ Scalability: pilot plants and first productions
Scalability: pilot plants and first productions
At AINIA, we plan and carry out pilot tests to adjust formulation and process, reduce uncertainty and accelerate decisions. If you need a real product, we have capabilities for first productions under health registration in specific technologies. And when your strategy requires high-purity natural extracts or more sustainable processes, ALTEX with supercritical CO₂ provides industrial production and a proposal aligned with the market.
- Coordinated pilot tests: extrusion, fermentation, microencapsulation and extraction.
- Production of first batches under health registration (extrusion, fermentation, microencapsulation).
- First batches for market testing and launch preparation.
- Industrial extraction services with supercritical CO₂ (ALTEX): clean, selective, sustainable and scalable process.
- Scale-up with learning and control.
- Less rework and greater control of timelines.
06_Sustainability of the product and process
Sustainability of the product and process
Use of advanced technologies to optimise the production, distribution and consumption of food. Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data are revolutionising the agri-food sector, providing advanced tools to improve efficiency, sustainability and personalisation in the food supply chain.
At AINIA, we measure and assess impact with LCA, carbon footprint and water footprint to quantify, compare alternatives and guide decisions. Moving from intention to evidence, with useful results for innovation, operations and corporate communication.
- LCA to quantify impacts throughout the life cycle
- Carbon footprint for strategy and reporting
- Water footprint for efficiency and optimisation
- Objective comparisons to prioritise improvements
Success stories
What we have already achieved with innovative companies like yours:
- Technological robustness to ensure stability and industrial consistency.
- Validation of functional ingredients with scientific and legal support.
- Acceptance validation and sensory optimisation before scaling up.
- Consumer tests with a sustainable approach.
- We help launch a novel food product on the European market with regulatory support.
- Functional evidence to differentiate and communicate rigorously.
- Regulatory strategy to move forward with timeline control.
At AINIA, we connect capabilities so that the project moves forward coherently. We reduce risk from the outset, align technical decisions with regulatory requirements and facilitate the transition to pilot plant and first productions. The result: a viable, defensible and market-ready product.
Frequently asked questions
Can we validate sensory studies with our own consumers?
Yes. We design the study so that the result is actionable and comparable. We also support you in the creation or improvement of an internal sensory panel.
What is the cost of a technological validation?
It depends on the stage (concept, prototype, pilot or scale-up) and on the critical decisions to be secured. We propose a modular approach, prioritising impact.
What timelines does a novel food dossier involve?
It varies depending on the ingredient and the existing evidence. We define a documentation and evidence strategy to avoid rework and gain timeline control.
Can we make first batches without our own factory?
Yes. We have pilot plants and health registrations for first industrial productions.
Are you developing a new food or ingredient?
Make your new food a reality with guarantees
We support you comprehensively, from idea to industrial scale-up.
If you are at the idea, prototype or scale-up stage, at AINIA we help you turn innovation into launch. With a single technological partner, you move forward with data, control and industrial vision.
Solutions for the development of new foods
Market research
We design new foods with the target market, to create concepts 100% aligned with consumer preferences.
Food law
We provide legal advice throughout the entire process of food development and market launch, and during commercialisation.
- Labelling
- Regulatory monitoring services
- Health claims
- Novel food
New ingredients
New ingredients with differentiated healthy and sensory properties, enhanced to increase efficacy.
Production and preservation
We formulate new foods that are safer, healthier and more sustainable, and adapted to consumer preferences.
- Food prototyping and reformulation
- Plant-based analogues: extrusion and fermentation technologies
- Optimisation of preservation treatments
Functional validation
We validate the technological and healthy properties of ingredients and products, with advanced and tailored models.
Sensory validation
We test the acceptance and hedonic characteristics of products with consumer panels.
Packaging
We design and develop advanced and sustainable packaging and packaging materials for an improved shelf life.
Would you like to know more?
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