Deformulation services are a procedure of testing the formula of a known product to figure out how its constituents relate to each other. This generally includes detailed analyses of the product’s chemical, physical, and manufacturing properties. From this insight, companies can identify ingredients and examine alternatives or improvements to the formula that create product innovation.
Deformulation services have been a necessity in different industries. For instance, chemicals, cosmetics, personal care, cosmetics, food processing, medical instruments, building, electronics, and packaging industries all offer services in deformulation which enables to get intimate knowledge about the formulation of the products.
The data helps businesses innovate new products or optimize existing ones and be more competitive. Besides, with deformulation, enterprises can discover new markets or enhance existing products for the needs of consumers.
Deformulation services are used by companies not only to improve the products but also for new product development. By comparing products of rivals or the hot product in the market, companies can get some inspiration to come up with more competitive and attractive products. Deformulation services are therefore an important part of product innovation, giving businesses long-term competitive advantage and market expansion potential.
Reverse Engineering for Competitive Analysis
Reverse engineering is a tool that can provide businesses with formula information through competitor’s product, thus recognizing what works and what doesn’t. For instance, by breaking down and testing a competitor’s product, a firm can find out what are the ingredients in the formulation and how they work to see where you can innovate or differentiate. This isn’t only about chemical components but also product designs and operation.
In one case, a company reverse engineered a formula for a popular drink on the market and found the ingredients contained an essential spice and a preservative. On this data, the company created an equivalent-tasting product elsewhere cheaper and got a market lead.
Troubleshooting and Quality Improvement
Reverse engineering laboratories can diagnose what caused the product to fail, or cause side effects. Reverse engineering, for instance, can help the pharmaceutical industry to identify instability issues with actives and optimize formulations to optimize the product. Analyzing the composition of the product is a way for the company to determine if reactive impurities or degradation products are present and to prevent it.
You can even reverse engineer to optimize a product that already exists. For instance, if a company inspects products already on the market, it can determine formula faults and optimize products by altering ratios of ingredients or adding new ingredients.
Ingredient Substitution and Cost Reduction
Another use case for reverse engineering is substitute ingredient discovery, which can replace rare or specialized raw materials without impairing product functionality. Reverse engineering can for instance, be used in the pharmaceutical sector to search for cheaper substitute raw materials to reduce manufacturing costs. We can take this model both in pharmaceuticals and in food, beverages and other consumer goods industries.
If substituted by raw materials, companies can substantially reduce prices and raise the quality of their products. One cosmetics manufacturer, for instance, applied reverse engineering to identify a generic ingredient that worked very well and made it cheaper to produce and more competitive.
Development of New Products and Variants
Reverse engineering services can lead to new ideas for new products or lines. If companies know the ingredients inside out, they can create new versions of their products for certain market verticals or consumer needs. For instance, based on competitors’ formulas, one company could develop a health drink that was different enough in flavor and satiated consumer demands for a healthier drink.
Reverse engineering is even useful to the businesses for creating new products. Through reverse engineering of a car, the car manufacturer, for instance, looked at the models of cars already available on the market and, using this data, came up with a similar but more sustainable car model.
Reverse engineering is a fundamental innovation process in products. From competitor research to quality and cost optimization, to new product development, it helps businesses in every step. Reverse engineering helps companies not only to know what competitors are producing, but also optimizes their own formulations and keep ahead of the competition.
Deformulation Study Process