Creating And Launching A New Food Product

[sugarhead]

I'm currently working in the catering industry in Bangkok and I am working on creating what could be called "the world's first REAL health bar". It will be a tasty chocolate related bar (health products usually lack taste), attractive and very beneficial for health without any un-healthy aspects (will be proven by official lab tests).

The product would target a large market segment globally, because both the cocoa industry and the health food industry are booming.

Some questions :

1) I'm looking for a lab that could perform a nutritional test which would officially

prove that the snack is 100% natural and has only beneficial influence on health.

The test should also show which positive effects the bar would have on one's

health if one would consume 1 bar per day (strong marketing tool).

Could anyone let me know which lab is best in Bangkok (prices are also

welcome) ?

2) Once there are no more doubts about the quality of this product, I guess I will

need to take some legal steps to protect my "invention".

Does it need to be patented or are there other ways of protection ? How does

one proceed to patent a food product ? How much does it cost ?

3) From there, what would be the best course to follow ? I am not in a position yet

where I can start up a production unit, so I think I need to turn to the big players

in the field of food production (Nestle, Unilever, etc..). How can I have them

take care of the production, make their part of the money, while I keep the

patent and make my part of the profit ?

Thanks for any input !!

[Casanundra]

2) Once there are no more doubts about the quality of this product, I guess I will

need to take some legal steps to protect my "invention".

Does it need to be patented or are there other ways of protection ? How does

one proceed to patent a food product ? How much does it cost ?

3) From there, what would be the best course to follow ? I am not in a position yet

where I can start up a production unit, so I think I need to turn to the big players

in the field of food production (Nestle, Unilever, etc..). How can I have them

take care of the production, make their part of the money, while I keep the

patent and make my part of the profit ?

Thanks for any input !!

Cannot help you with point 1 but Points 2 and 3 I can but boy they are huge subjects in their own right, however if I was in your shoes I would be filing for a Patent right now, today! Why? Because your patent doesn't become a patent until it is filed at the patent office and now that you have shared it to half the Thai world, who is to say that someone 'in the know' doesn't try to pip you at the post instead thus stealing your thunder. Just think Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell when you consider this moot point.

Also, where do you want to file the patent? The USA or the UK or Europe or elsewhere more civilised? You must decide where as it is important and each one has its pros and cons, but please don't tell me you want to file a patent here in LOS.

As for the other stuff concerning Unilever and Nestle etc... well get yourself a lawyer and do your homework on each of these companies because the chances are they will stiff you over and leave you with the crumbs to pick over in terms of loyalties, regardless of you having a patent or not. Ask yourself, what is your target market, who owns the market now, what percentage market share are you aiming for, what is your marketing strategy, who is going to fund your marketing and production, what percentage of royalties are you after per bar after costs, what is the target price and on and on we go...

I could also say a lot more on these two subjects but writing it here on TV wouldn't be sufficient to do this subject justice but for starters, get whatever it is you are excited about patented today, right now! Go on what are you waiting for...

[solo siam]

I doubt that a chocolate related snack bar would be 100% nutritious, you have to sweeten it and any sweetener is 'empty' in terms of nutrition, unless you use something like tomatoes.

[Clipped]

get 'patent pending' while gonig through the footwork for the actual patent.

thai patent office wbsite

http://www.ipthailand.org/dip/index.php

english

http://www.s-i-asia.com/headhow-Patent-in-ENG.htm

google is great

[Crash999]

Some questions :

1) I'm looking for a lab that could perform a nutritional test which would officially

prove that the snack is 100% natural and has only beneficial influence on health.

The test should also show which positive effects the bar would have on one's

health if one would consume 1 bar per day (strong marketing tool).

Could anyone let me know which lab is best in Bangkok (prices are also

welcome) ?

2) Once there are no more doubts about the quality of this product, I guess I will

need to take some legal steps to protect my "invention".

Does it need to be patented or are there other ways of protection ? How does

one proceed to patent a food product ? How much does it cost ?

3) From there, what would be the best course to follow ? I am not in a position yet

where I can start up a production unit, so I think I need to turn to the big players

in the field of food production (Nestle, Unilever, etc..). How can I have them

take care of the production, make their part of the money, while I keep the

patent and make my part of the profit ?

Regarding the lab, they generally test for toxicology issues and can provide nutritional information. I would think that test would be hard to perform as measuring the effect of eating the snack would be difficult against all the other factors that go into a healthy diet. Nutritional information is a requirement to be sold in most major markets, though.

Patenting food is a tricky one. Generally it's difficult to get a patent on a food unless one is adding a new process to the mix, for example fortified orange juice is patented but the Big Mac and Coca Cola are not (though they are trademarked). Also patenting something means you have to disclose the recipe/formulation and as it's not difficult to change something slightly to knock it off there's an incentive to keep things in the dark.

As for someone to make your product, another option is to look at mid-tier producers, of which Thailand has an abundance. They would generally have smaller minimums and be more flexible, though of course you would need to manage your own distribution.

I would recommend you start small before looking to approach big manufactuers and customers. Start by making product on your own and selling in markets/shops to get feedback from customers and fine tuning and getting a name behind your product before you look to expand into mass market. Small regional grocers like Trader Joe's are a good first opportunity into mass market but keep in mind you'll need a finished product, packaging, appropriate testing, and be ready to produce on a large scale before approaching them.

Best of luck!

[blizzard]

forget about the big players, they dont want any part of small time inventers claiming they stole something they already were involved in.

do it yourself and keep all your losses.........lol...............or profits to yourself.