Food Scientist Needed to Develop Fruit-Based Endurance Fuel Product (Sports Nutrition)

ummary I am developing a new endurance nutrition product and am looking for an experienced food scientist, product formulator, or CPG product development professional to help evaluate, formulate, and commercialize the concept. This is not a hobby project or a kitchen prototype. My goal is to determine whether this product can become a commercially viable consumer packaged good that can be manufactured at scale — and to do so without compromising the single thing that makes it worth building. The Product Concept A fruit-based endurance fuel designed for runners, cyclists, triathletes, and other endurance athletes. The product should combine: Recognizable, real-food ingredients Endurance-focused carbohydrate delivery Portable gel- or puree-style single-serve packaging Good taste and texture during exercise Shelf stability Commercial manufacturing feasibility Competitive unit economics The goal is NOT to create a fruit jam, baby food, or novelty snack. The goal is a legitimate endurance fueling product that competes within the sports nutrition category while maintaining a simple, recognizable ingredient profile. The Non-Negotiable The entire reason this product exists is a short, recognizable, real-food ingredient label — fruit a shopper can read and trust, not a long engineered list. This is the core of the brand and the primary point of difference from incumbent gels. Please treat ingredient simplicity as a hard design constraint, not a preference. Any ingredient an average shopper would not recognize as real food should be a last resort, introduced only when genuinely necessary and with a clear explanation of why. I would rather solve a formulation problem within the real-food constraint than solve it by adding things that undermine the product's reason to exist. The Central Technical Question I want to be upfront about what I believe is the hardest part of this project, because I want candidates who engage with it directly. A recognizable real-fruit base, meaningful endurance-grade carbohydrate density, and shelf stability are partially in tension. Fruit is largely water and fiber, which is precisely why many competitors rely on maltodextrin, syrups, gums, and preservatives to hit their carb and shelf-life targets. A primary objective of this engagement is to determine whether a recognizable real-fruit product can deliver competitive endurance carbohydrate density and adequate shelf life without resorting to a long additive list — and, if tradeoffs are unavoidable, to define exactly what they are. Candidates who understand and can speak to this tension are exactly who I'm looking for. Project Scope Phase 1 — Feasibility Assessment (paid; contingent gate for later phases) Evaluate whether the concept is commercially viable within the real-food constraint above Directly assess the carbohydrate-density vs. real-fruit vs. shelf-life tradeoff Recommend realistic carbohydrate, texture, and shelf-life targets for endurance use Assess whether electrolytes are necessary, or whether the product should stay deliberately carb-focused (I am inclined toward simple; advise me) Identify major formulation challenges and ingredient sourcing considerations Identify potential manufacturing constraints I intend to treat Phase 1 as a standalone paid engagement. Phases 2 and 3 are contingent on Phase 1 findings. Phase 2 — Commercial Formulation Develop a commercially viable formula consistent with the real-food constraint Recommend ingredients and nutritional profile Optimize for taste, texture, shelf life, and manufacturing practicality Ensure ingredients are commercially available and scalable Estimate expected shelf life and storage requirements Sensory validation: conduct structured taste and texture evaluation against leading category products (both real-fruit and engineered gels) with a panel of endurance athletes, and provide the results. Confirming that the product is preferred — not merely acceptable — is a required deliverable, not a nice-to-have. Phase 3 — Manufacturing Guidance Provide guidance on packaging options for single-serve, mess-free, on-the-move use Discuss co-manufacturing requirements Estimate likely MOQ requirements Provide rough cost-of-goods estimates (for reference, a competitive target landed cost would be roughly $1.50–2.00 per single serve; advise on whether that is realistic) Identify commercialization risks Ideal Experience Food science and product formulation Sports nutrition / endurance nutrition / functional foods Shelf-stable foods Consumer packaged goods (CPG) Energy gels and/or hydration products Taking products from concept to commercial manufacturing When Applying, Please Include Relevant products you have helped formulate — especially any that reached commercial production Your experience with sports or endurance nutrition products Your process for commercial product development Your view on the carbohydrate-density vs. real-fruit vs. shelf-life tension described above — a brief, honest take tells me more than a polished pitch Estimated timeline and budget, ideally broken out by phase Any experience working with co-manufacturers The ideal candidate has taken real products to commercial production and can bridge the gap between an idea and a manufacturable consumer product — while respecting that, for this product, the simple real-food label is the point, not an obstacle to engineer around.