Top 15 Mistakes Brands Make in Product Development (and How to Avoid Them)
Introduction
You’ve done the hard part—built a killer brand, captured attention, and put real vision behind a product that matters. But somehow, product development still feels like a maze, and every turn risks another delay, another cost spike, another internal fire drill.
We get it. You’re not alone. Behind the scenes of even the most successful food and beverage brands are stories of pivots, recalls, line failures, and regulatory misses that never made it to the press release.
At Catapult, we’ve lived these moments from both sides—inside the brand and alongside it. With 90+ seasoned pros and over 1,000 years of collective experience, we don’t just know the pitfalls—we know how to avoid them. This isn’t theory. It’s lived experience.
Let’s walk through the 15 most common mistakes we see in food product development—and how to side-step each one with confidence.
Mistake #1: Not Starting with the End in Mind
A bold vision and killer formula are great. But if no one stops to ask, “Can this scale?” then everything else becomes reactionary. Misalignment on claims, production feasibility, shelf stability, or retail strategy sends brands into costly reformulation spirals.
Warning signs to watch for:
Your team is unsure what claims will be made on the packaging.
There’s no defined plan for retail rollout or channel strategy.
R&D and marketing are working from different goals.
We start every project with the end in mind: What’s your go-to-market plan? What does success at scale actually look like? From there, we reverse-engineer formulation, packaging, and process.
What sets Catapult apart:
Experience in every category. From frozen to functional, we've been there.
Hands-on leadership. No slide decks—real work, real results.
Execution DNA. We're operators first, food consultants second.
Mistake #2: Underestimating Regulatory & Compliance Needs
The FDA doesn’t care how compelling your mission is—or how fast you’re trying to move. Labels get flagged. Claims get rejected. Products get pulled.
Questions your team should be asking:
Do we know all the claims we want to make—and can we legally make them?
Are we launching into markets that require different labeling formats?
Have we accounted for allergen statements and international rules?
We bake regulatory foresight into every phase. From label review to international compliance hurdles, our specialists ensure you're not flying blind.
Mistake #3: Weak Briefs & Vague Objectives
“Make it delicious, clean label, keto-friendly, scalable, and under $1.20 per unit.”
Cool. But what’s the actual brief? Without clarity, teams spin. Your R&D team chases 5 targets. Your marketing team’s promising things the product can’t deliver. And your operations team is left holding the bag.
What a strong brief includes:
Clear consumer promise and product story
Nutritional targets and constraints
Target COGs (cost of goods)
Launch timeline and milestone expectations
We build briefs that align cross-functional teams and drive accountability. Goals. Constraints. KPIs. Budget. Timeline. All crystal clear.
Mistake #4: Skipping R&D Depth
Kitchen wins don’t equal commercial wins. We’ve seen bench formulas fly in a test kitchen—then break the moment they hit a pilot line.
“Good enough” doesn’t cut it when shelf-life, food safety, and co-man reproducibility are on the line.
The deeper R&D approach includes:
Multiple rounds of benchtop formulation and reformulation
Shelf-life testing and sensory panels
Ingredient and functional review for scale and label needs
Our teams run deep technical validation to ensure a smooth path from prototype to mass production.
Mistake #5: Not Stress Testing Production Early
Here’s the brutal truth: lab ≠ line.
Brands that skip early line validation end up blindsided. Gums hydrate differently. Particulates don’t flow. The filler can’t handle your viscosity.
Checklist to avoid scale-up shock:
Bench to pilot line validation
Packaging run-throughs at actual line speed
Input from co-man team during formulation phase
Catapult stress-tests production early by bringing co-man insight into R&D from day one. We’ve helped brands avoid $500K production flops by pressure-testing assumptions before they become line issues.
Mistake #6: Ignoring Cost Modeling & Margin Pressure
You can have the perfect product—but if it doesn’t make money, it won’t last.
Profitability isn’t something you fix later. It’s something you build in early. But too many teams skip this, focusing only on flavor and function, and wind up with a product that can’t survive retail velocity pricing or scale.
How we help model costs realistically:
Breakdown of fixed and variable costs
Sensitivity analysis on scale projections
Packaging and freight implications by region
We model costs from ideation—ingredient variability, line efficiency, shipping realities—so you know what your margin looks like before you commit to launch.
Mistake #7: Delaying Ops & Supply Chain Involvement
Your ops team shouldn’t meet your product 3 weeks before launch.
R&D might build the blueprint, but ops makes it real. And when they’re looped in too late, everything suffers—packaging fails, ingredient sourcing stalls, co-man timelines shift.
How to involve ops early:
Identify supply chain constraints in the formulation phase
Define packaging specs with input from fulfillment and shipping partners
Build sourcing maps before the final BOM (bill of materials)
We bridge this gap by acting as your fractional project management team—making sure every stakeholder is at the table from day one.
Mistake #8: Relying Too Heavily on Internal Teams
Let’s be honest—your internal team is maxed.
You hired brilliant people. But they’re juggling launches, managing vendors, putting out fires, and still somehow expected to innovate.
Symptoms of team bandwidth burnout:
Endless delays in R&D sprints
Key meetings missed or rescheduled repeatedly
Strategy lost in tactical fires
Catapult steps in as scalable bandwidth. We integrate quietly and effectively to give your team room to breathe—and your projects space to thrive.
Mistake #9: Failing to Plan for Scale
A regional launch is one thing. Going national is a different beast entirely. Suddenly you’re facing distribution headaches, formulation variations, ingredient shortages, and packaging limitations you never anticipated.
How to plan for scale from day one:
Evaluate ingredient suppliers for national capacity
Simulate cold chain and shelf stability requirements
Forecast production cadence with redundancy baked in
We plan for scale from the start. Ingredient strategy. Forecast flexibility. Supplier relationships. Because growth should be exciting—not terrifying.
Mistake #10: Not Owning the Execution
Here’s where most projects break down: great ideas, solid plans—but no follow-through.
Strategy is only half the battle. At Catapult, we own execution like it’s our name on the package. We’ve rolled up our sleeves to rescue line launches, pivot formulations, and get regulatory approvals over the line.
Execution wins we’re proud of:
R&D reworks that saved six-figure runs
Launches we’ve managed from brief to shelf
Regulatory approvals secured under tight deadlines
We don’t hand you a deck and walk away. We stay in it with you—until it's done.
Mistake #11: Overlooking Packaging Functionality
Your packaging isn’t just a design element—it’s a tool for protection, communication, and conversion.
Too often, brands focus on aesthetics and forget about things like barrier properties, consumer usability, and co-manufacturing compatibility.
What to consider:
Does the packaging extend shelf-life or compromise it?
Is it compatible with automated fill-and-seal machinery?
Will consumers struggle to open or reseal it?
Great packaging is where brand, performance, and efficiency meet—and we help you find that intersection.
Mistake #12: Failing to Build a Retail-Ready Pitch
You can have the best product in the world, but if your retail pitch is weak or scattered, you won’t get on shelves—or stay there.
What retailers want to know:
How does this product fill a gap in our assortment?
Can you support velocity and distribution?
What’s your promotional calendar and trade spend plan?
We help brands craft a tight, compelling pitch backed by realistic forecasts, margin transparency, and support strategies that give buyers confidence.
Mistake #13: Neglecting Shelf-Life & Stability Testing
Shelf-life isn’t a “we’ll figure it out later” detail—it’s a critical variable in your launch timeline, COGs, and distribution strategy.
Too many teams underestimate the time and technical resources required for proper testing—and pay for it later with spoilage, refunds, or lost buyers.
Shelf-life strategy essentials:
Real-time and accelerated testing
Multiple packaging formats evaluated
Plan for stability across multiple storage conditions
We guide clients through comprehensive shelf-life testing, helping them make smart decisions that reduce risk without overbuilding cost.
Mistake #14: Not Creating a Rapid Feedback Loop
Fast-growing brands need to move fast—but not blindly.
Without a system to capture real-time data, customer feedback, and sales trends, decisions become reactive instead of proactive.
Ways to stay agile:
Implement post-launch review processes
Tap your digital community for early feedback
Use GDSN and retailer data feeds to identify early performance flags
Catapult helps brands build operational agility into their product dev process—so you’re always learning, iterating, and staying ahead.
Mistake #15: Not Planning for Post-Launch Support
A product launch isn’t a finish line—it’s a starting point. Yet many teams launch and then scramble to manage post-launch demand, quality issues, or distribution hiccups.
What post-launch support includes:
QC protocols and escalation plans
Inventory buffers and replenishment strategy
Feedback channels from sales and support teams
We help brands build a post-launch system that’s proactive—not reactive—so the next stage of growth is smooth, not chaotic.
Conclusion: The Future of Food Product Development
The stakes in food and beverage development are high. You’re balancing vision, timelines, budgets, and people—while trying to get it right the first time.
Looking ahead, product development is only getting more complex:
Emerging formats like adaptogenic drinks and alt-protein powders
Accelerated timelines from VC-backed growth targets
Regulatory changes around labeling, sustainability, and nutrition
The winners in this space will be the brands who build systems—not just products. That means clear briefs, commercial thinking, supply chain awareness, and partners who can execute.
You don’t have to do it alone. Catapult exists to be your unfair advantage—the ones who’ve been there, solved that, and are ready to go again.
Let’s Connect We bring 90+ food and beverage pros with over 1,000 years of combined experience—ready to jump in and help you move faster, smarter, and with less risk.
Let’s talk about what’s landing on your desk that shouldn’t be—and how we can help clear it.
Contact us here.