Our expertise

Our Technical Team at Hawkins Watts is highly trained and passionate, and their expertise enables us to offer services that we believe are unique amongst distributors in Australia. We provide comprehensive technical support across the food, beverage and health & nutrition categories, working within both the FSANZ and the TGA space. In particular, we offer our customers:

• Product development and formulation assistance. (Please see below, we can offer basic regulatory assistance only)
• Ingredients training.
• Final formulation, processing, and Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) creation.
• In-process and final product specification recommendations.
• Scale-up support for pilot plant and factory processing.
• In-house lab testing for prototypes.
• Product specification templates.
• Sensory evaluation of prototypes.

If you choose to work with us and require product development assistance in addition to our ingredient expertise, we follow a clear and streamlined process:

1. Completion of the product development brief, in collaboration with you.
2. Initial formulation created.
3. Introduction to our full range of suppliers and ingredients.
4. Samples are created. We can simulate most food processes such as pasteurisation, homogenisation, UHT, baked goods, carbonation and more in our labs.
5. Feedback-based formulation refinement.
6. Nutritional panels are created and regulatory research initiated. (We can offer basic guidance on regulatory issues, but it is important to engage a regulatory expert of your own.)
7. Pilot trial support.
8. Factory trial assistance.
9. Final handover of documentation and formulation information. (IP terms are defined in our incubator contracts and customised for each project)

This process typically occurs over several months, but can be fast-tracked in some circumstances when required.

All of our product prototypes are developed in our Council-registered laboratories in Melbourne, so you can be confident that safety and quality will be of the highest standard. We can conduct preliminary shelf-life and stability studies in-house, but it is important to work with external consultants for a full validation.

We know that in addition to quality, cost is also a key concern for most of the brands and manufacturers we work with. To ensure efficient and cost-effective formulations, we analyse the cost-in-use per kilogram ($CIU/kg) of all ingredients early in the development process, and can work towards a target $CIU/kg provided by our customers.

For a more in-depth look at the variety of work we do, please read on, or get in touch with our team directly!

We take pride in our state-of-the-art facilities, cutting-edge technology, and team of highly skilled experts. Our Auckland and Melbourne labs boast an impressive range of analytical equipment that has been selectively acquired over the years. Our investment in top-of-the-line equipment enables our team members to scientifically innovate, conduct structured research, and develop elegant solutions to complex technical problems.

In our Melbourne labs, our equipment includes:

• UV-vis Spectrophotometer
• 3-1 Combi oven
• 2 Stage Homogenisers
• Water Activity Measurement equipment
• Ultra Turrax Disperser
• Canning Machine
• And more

We are committed to providing tailored solutions to our customers' colour and flavour needs. Our analytical equipment enables us to develop custom colours and bespoke flavours to match specific requirements. We also have a team of application technologists who specialise in stabilising flavours for extended shelf life.

Texture optimisation is a core area of expertise for us, and we take pride in our knowledge of hydrocolloids and emulsifiers. Our analytical equipment allows us to provide simple, creative, and elegant solutions to texture-related challenges.

We take our role seriously in upskilling technologists (beyond our own staff) in challenging areas such as hydrocolloids and colours. We are committed to sharing our knowledge and expertise with others in the industry through technical training sessions where we dive deep into the nitty gritty of each ingredient.

Concept Lab is the name for our proactive innovation development projects which focus on relevant and/or challenging product formulation issues. Our team works cross functionally to identify formulation challenges across categories, selecting development projects which will deliver value and inspiration for our customers. Each Concept Lab project includes product prototypes, market insights presentation and formulation details which are presented & provided to clients in a proactive manner. To learn more, contact us.

• Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code
• We strongly recommend that you consult the Food Standards Code to ensure compliance of your food product. If you are having difficulty finding your way through the legislation you may wish to talk to a Consultant or contact the Food Standards Authority.
• FSANZ Nutritional Panel Calculator (NPC) 

Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand – Including Recommended Dietary Intakes (RDI’s)
Nutrition Information – Use Standard 1.2.8 Energy Calculations and Energy Factors.

• FDA GRAS (Generally Recognised As Safe) List – the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Centre for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, including a food additive database.
• Unit Operations in Food Processing – free online textbook covering the principles of food engineering and food processing.
• Fundamentals of Food Reaction Technology – free online textbook covering the quantitative understanding of the food reactions occurring during the transformation of raw materials into finished food products.
• Creating New Foods: The Product Developer’s Guide – free online textbook – a guide to the basic structure and activities of the Product Development Process, and an introduction to food product development as practised in the company environment.
• AIFST (Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Incorporated) – AIFST is the only national, independent voice for Australia’s food industry professionals. AIFST supports its members contribution to the Australian and global food industry through the provision of information, training, events and networking opportunities to ultimately advance Australia’s position as a sustainable, world-leading food industry.
• IFT (Institute of Food Technologists) – Institute of Food Technologists (USA), news, technical articles and expert scientific reports.
• NZIFST (New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology Inc.) – NZIFST is the professional link uniting people in the food industry who apply science and technology to the processing and distribution of foods. It is committed to promotion and advancement of Food Science and Technology through regular branch meetings, newsletters, technical seminars and workshops, and an annual conference.