Inspiration can come from anywhere. Some find it in the remote jungles on the quest for discovering the next aromatic and stimulating cup of coffee. Other times, it hits them while taking a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood.

Once that revelation strikes, it’s critical to have the infrastructure to turn inspiration into innovation.

Even then, in the best-case scenario, it’s considered that an introduction of a new food or beverage product to market can take anywhere between 12-18 months or longer – this includes the time to go from ideation to design and development to engineering and production, then to the shelf. In that time, consumer preferences or trends might change or a competitor might beat you to the punch.