Cosmetics & HPCFood & Agro-industriesProduct portfolioProject managementTechnical data sheets
The stages of new product development in food and cosmetics
Updated October 2026.
Developing a food or cosmetic product follows the same logic in most companies: a sequence of stages, separated by gates where someone decides whether the project continues. This “stage-gate” approach avoids investing in a product that will not reach the market, or will not comply.
The seven stages, with their deliverables and gate questions
| Stage | Deliverables | Question at the gate |
|---|---|---|
| Idea and screening | Ideas collected and screened against must-have criteria. | Does it fit the strategy, and is it allowed in the target markets? |
| Brief and marketing analysis | Brief: target, positioning, markets, claims, target cost, launch date. | Is the opportunity worth a feasibility study? |
| Feasibility and formulation | First formulas, cost estimate, nutrition or INCI list, regulatory check. | Can we make it, at the right cost, and sell it in each market? |
| Trials and prototypes | Laboratory then industrial trials, tasting or stability tests, shelf life. | Does the product hold its promise in production conditions? |
| Validation | Specifications, labeling, technical data sheets, packaging and artwork approved. | Is every document right and approved by the people responsible? |
| Launch and production start | Product data sent to ERP, PIM and customers; first production. | Is everything ready for the first order? |
| Post-launch review | Sales, complaints, cost and quality against the brief. | Did we deliver what the brief promised, and what do we change next time? |
What is specific to food and cosmetics
- Compliance from the first formula: an ingredient not allowed in one market, or a claim the nutrition values do not support, should be seen at the feasibility stage, not at validation.
- Supplier data: specifications and certificates of new raw materials take time to obtain; request them as soon as the ingredient is chosen.
- Shelf life and stability: these tests take weeks; start them as soon as a prototype is close to the final formula.
- Packaging and artwork: the label depends on the final recipe; a late change of formula restarts the artwork loop.
Adapt the stages to the type of project
A renovation, a private label product for a retailer or the referencing of a new raw material do not need the seven stages. Keep a short process for them, with the same gates where they apply. A process too heavy for small projects is bypassed, and nobody knows where projects stand anymore.
In beCPG
Project templates define your stages and gates, with tasks in series or in parallel. Because the project runs on the PLM, the formula, specifications, labeling and documents are created and validated inside the project tasks, and the product record is ready when the project ends. Discover project management in beCPG PLM.
