FORMULATIONS: OUR 3-D APPROACH
QTrade is passionate about converting natural ingredients into sensory experiences that customers crave. It has a culture of innovation, and its deep sourcing connections allow quick response to the market.
Building a successful recipe goes beyond simply finding a creative fusion of appearance, aroma, and flavor. QTrade's multi-award-winning product development team uses a carefully considered three-dimensional approach to formulations. The team builds the critical commercial backbone that every recipe needs: an appropriate supply chain, a rigorous quality profile, and a pricing structure that will support a safe, regulated, profitable, and scalable product.
QTrade offers innovative and functional products and services that meet all of a brand's day-part and channel needs.
What is the 3-D approach?
1) Focus on the sensory experience of the formulation
The size of the leaves, the pops of color, the different textures, the aroma, the theater of the brewing process, the infusion color, and, of course, the taste. At QTrade, our passion for specialty tea is evident in the attention we pay to every sensory aspect of a recipe, from carefully planning the final ratio of flower petals to chasing that ideal infusion hue.
2) Rigorous planning of the supply chain
Every recipe has to be able to scale commercially, and the supply chain must be consistent and robust enough to support commercial volumes. A seasonal 2,000 lb consumer demand with many minor ingredients can be as challenging as several million pounds of annual consumer demand. QTrade performs this complex balancing act for you, dealing effectively with major and minor ingredients in the recipe.
3) Effectively moving from benchtop to final product
QTrade is a powerful ally through the infamous "deadzone", where many a great idea has not made it through the difficult journey from desktop formulation to commercially viable product.
a) The commercialization process: QTrade is your partner in taking a recipe from lab through factory to delivery dock. Does the recipe scale through the blending and packaging process? How do the manufacturing processes need to be calibrated to ensure delivery of the consumer experience intended by the lab? Additionally, what is the choice of packaging materials needed to consistently optimize this delivery?
b) Meeting regulatory demands: In coordination with a brand’s regulatory and quality teams, QTrade works to ensure products meet the expected regulatory label standards, whether Organic, Kosher, Halal, Fair Trade, Rain Forest, or Ethical Tea Partnership certified. QTrade can also ensure exported products are validated to the standards of their destination country.
QTrade's 3-D formulation process is effective because of powerful integration in the recipe of everything from robust supplier relationships to a deep understanding of blending and packaging processes and materials. It is a design-to-value approach, intended to be an iterative process that involves the client closely through every step. QTrade's focus is always on delivering the brand's promise to the customer, ensuring that the specialty tea experience is not diminished in any way from factory to cup.