Creative Food Solutions

What Creative Food Solutions does

Creative Food Solutions (CFS) is a B2B food product development and innovation consultancy that has operated since 1958, currently under its parent legal entity The Food Group. The firm advises QSR, convenience-store, better-for-you, and packaged-goods clients on menu and product innovation, executing projects from concept through formulation and operator testing. Named clients include Sonic Drive-In, QuikTrip, Teton Waters Ranch, and several Fortune 500 manufacturers (Mondelez, Unilever, Campbell's, Mars, Perdue, Lavazza), with public flagship launches such as the Sonic Signature Slinger, Taste Buds Top Dogs, and QuikTrip's premade donut system.

The company runs a people-led delivery model anchored by a senior culinary team (Principal Research Chef, VP and Directors of Culinary Innovation, Culinary Applications Manager) operating from a Chicago office at 1114 W Fulton Market and a secondary culinary facility in Newburgh, NY. Underlying capabilities include two test kitchens, R&D equipment, and sensory analysis, supplemented by the proprietary tfgTouchpoints research platform, which aggregates insights from a 4,000+ operator panel. These infrastructure and data assets are used to support reformulation, menu engineering, and consumer-facing innovation engagements for enterprise clients.

Creative Food Solutions makes money on a project-based professional services model, with revenue tied to the scope and duration of product development and innovation engagements. The 1-10 employee footprint and enterprise client roster suggest a high-value, low-headcount boutique consultancy rather than a scaled staffing firm. Pricing is implicitly premium given the Fortune 500 client mix and award validation (e.g., Menu Masters 2018, James Beard-affiliated work), and the firm compounds its position through partnerships with bodies such as the James Beard Foundation and the Mushroom Council.

Name

Creative Food Solutions

Legal name

The Food Group

Website

https://creativefoodsolutions.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Creative Food Solutions is a boutique B2B food product development and innovation consultancy, founded in 1958, serving QSR, convenience-store, and Fortune 500 CPG clients from Chicago and Newburgh, NY. It delivers formulation, sensory analysis, and menu innovation via a small senior culinary team and the tfgTouchpoints operator research platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Product Development Services

NAICS

Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing (31135), Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing (3118), Cookie and Cracker Manufacturing (311821)

SIC

Food And Kindred Products (2000), Miscellaneous Food Preparations & Kindred Products (2090)

akta.pro primary industry

Better-for-You / Functional Snacks (Low Sugar, Keto, Probiotic, Fortified) (CRADABAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Baking & Dessert Mixes (Brownie, Cookie Mixes, Frosting) (CRADABAN), Cookies, Biscuits & Crackers (CRADABAD), Frozen Entrées & Complete Meals (CRADADAA)

Keywords

• Food product development
• Culinary innovation consulting
• Recipe formulation services
• Sensory analysis testing
• CPG product commercialization

Headquarters

HQ city

Newburgh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Product Development Services: B2B professional services providing food product formulation, recipe development, and commercialization support to foodservice chains, CPGs, and foodservice companies. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements and product development contracts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Creative Food Solutions is a food innovation consultancy that develops custom food products, formulations, and recipes for foodservice chains, leading CPG manufacturers, and major foodservice companies. Its offering spans end-to-end product development, including R&D and formulation in dedicated test kitchens, commercial and consumer recipe development, nutritional strategy and labeling, in-house sensory testing and profiling, and culinary sales support to bring client products to market. Notable outcomes include the Sonic Signature Slinger rolled out across 3,500 restaurants and a premade donut system deployed across 1,200 QuikTrip stores.

Product overview

Creative Food Solutions operates as a culinary innovation firm offering a suite of professional food development services. The core offerings include Product Formulation & Manufacturing, Commercial & Consumer Recipe Development, Nutritional Strategy & Communication, Sensory Testing & Profiling, and Culinary Sales Support. These services work together to guide clients from concept through commercialization. Additionally, the company has developed specific client products including the Sonic Signature Slinger (mushroom-beef burger blend), Taste Buds Top Dogs (vegetable-blended beef hot dogs), and the QuikTrip premade donut solution. The company also provides access to proprietary market research through their tfgTOUCHPOINTS platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sonic Signature Slinger: Seasoned burger blend with 25% fresh, organic mushroom content developed for Sonic Drive-In restaurants
• Taste Buds Top Dogs
• QuikTrip Donuts

Products and services

• Product Formulation & Manufacturing
• Commercial & Consumer Recipe Development
• Nutritional Strategy & Communication
• Sensory Testing & Profiling
• Culinary Sales Support

Quantifiable outcome

• Sonic Slinger outperformed standard hamburger in consumer preference testing
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Mushroom CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Mushroom Council partnered with Creative Food Solutions as part of the Menus of Change Initiative to find alternative culinary formats that could offset mushroom oversupply and help mushroom farmers grow sales at scale. The collaboration resulted in the Sonic Signature Slinger innovation.
• James Beard FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through the Blended Burger Project generated significant buzz for the Sonic Slinger product. The James Beard Foundation partnership added prestige and consumer recognition to the product launch.
• Teton Waters RanchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeton Waters Ranch engaged Creative Food Solutions to create a healthier hot dog that blended the brand's top-quality, grass-fed beef with real vegetables. The resulting Taste Buds Top Dogs became a commercialized product.
• The Food GroupcoreOthersThe Food Group is the parent company operating Creative Food Solutions and related food industry services. The Food Group provides strategic oversight and operates the tfgTouchpoints proprietary market research platform.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• NielsenIQ: Global consumer intelligence and measurement company serving CPGs and retailers. Functionally adjacent to CFS through market research capabilities that complement or compete with tfgTouchpoints-style operator insights.
• Circana (formerly IRI): Market research and consumer insights provider to CPGs and retailers. Adjacent to CFS through its insights and data offerings (comparable to tfgTouchpoints), and a partner/competitor for the data layer that supplements innovation work.
• InsightsNow: Food and beverage consumer insights and behavioral research firm. Comparable to the research/data side of CFS's business (tfgTouchpoints), and a complementary partner in CPG innovation pipelines.

Direct peers

• Sterling-Rice Group: Food and beverage brand strategy and innovation firm working with CPGs and foodservice clients on positioning, product development, and launch. Comparable to CFS in food-only focus, enterprise client base, and integration of consumer insight with product creation.
• Daymon Worldwide: Private label and brand development services firm that helps retailers and CPGs develop, source, and launch products. Comparable in B2B innovation focus and foodservice/CPG customer base, though it adds private label scale that CFS does not.
• Mattson: Long-established food and beverage innovation consultancy that helps CPGs and foodservice operators develop new products and brands. Most directly comparable to Creative Food Solutions in business model (B2B project-based innovation), target customer (major CPG/QSR), and category capability (food product development and commercialization).
• CCD Innovation: Chicago-based food and beverage innovation consultancy offering concept development, prototyping, and commercialization. Directly comparable to Creative Food Solutions in service mix, geographic base, and focus on CPG and foodservice innovation.
• Imbibe: Beverage innovation company providing flavor development, ingredient solutions, and product commercialization to beverage brands. Closely comparable to CFS in the project-based innovation model, though focused on beverages rather than the broader food mix.

Broad incumbents

• McCormick & Company: Global flavor leader with a significant food innovation and product development capability serving CPGs and foodservice. Relevant as a scaled incumbent that competes for the same innovation mandates that CFS wins among its CPG clients.
• Havi Group: Global foodservice supply chain and packaging solutions provider serving major QSR and c-store operators. Overlaps with CFS on foodservice client roster (e.g., QuikTrip-style customers) but operates at a much larger scale and broader scope.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/creative-food-solutions

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Creative Food Solutions