Snack · Nuts
Salted peanuts
Stop rancidity and keep the crunch over time.
Shelf life 6 → 12 months Status: Reformulated
Reformulation · Lebanon · UAE
Fix a food product that isn't working
When a food product goes hard, goes stale, collapses or tastes different at scale, find the cause before you change the recipe: measure first, name what fails first, then fix that. Firas Bader, The Food Engineer, diagnoses and reformulates food and drink products for brands and manufacturers in Lebanon and the UAE.
Common problems, and where the cause usually is
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It goes hard on the shelf
Water moves inside the bar during storage, so it firms up slowly, week by week.
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It goes soft or stale
Water from the air softens the crunch. The fix starts with what fails first.
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It tastes off or rancid
Oxygen turns the oil rancid long before the product looks old.
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It rises, then collapses
A cake that rose to 8 cm sank to 6 cm as it cooled; measured first, the batter held far too little air.
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It works in the kitchen, not in the factory
Ingredients, water, heat, time and shelf life all change between the test kitchen and the line.
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It costs too much to make
Better taste, texture or cost for a product you already sell.
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How a fix works
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1. Measure first
Measure the product as it is before changing anything.
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2. Name the failure
Name what fails first: texture, taste, colour or safety.
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3. Fix and test
Change the systems behind that failure and test samples against an agreed target.
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4. Write it for the factory
Write it down so your factory team can run it.
Proof
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Snack · Protein popcorn
Protein‑coated popcorn
Make a protein coating stick without losing the crunch.
Light, dry crunch Status: Formula delivered
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Dry mix · Bakery
Cake mix optimisation
The cake collapsed after baking.
Collapse fixed Status: Reformulated
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Sports nutrition · Bar
Chewy layered protein bar
Keep the bar soft and chewy for its whole shelf life.
20 g protein in 70 g Status: Formula delivered
What I can do
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Reformulation & Fixes
Better taste, texture or cost for a product you already sell.
Proof: Cake mix optimisation Collapse fixed
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Shelf Life & Stability
Keep your product fresh, crunchy and stable for longer.
Proof: Al Kazzi Shelf life 6 → 12 months
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Scale-Up & Factory Transfer
Move your product from the kitchen to the factory.
Proof: ProPop Factory SOP
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Reverse Engineering
Match the taste, texture and look of a product on the market.
Proof: Frisbee's Pizza Flagship product
The Food Engineer
Meet Firas
I'm Firas Bader, a food engineer and R&D formulator. I develop products for startups and established manufacturers across beverages, dairy, snacks, confectionery, pet food and functional foods.
More about me
Watch: My name isn’t on the pack. My work is inside.
Watch on Instagram (opens in a new tab)The video has English subtitles burned into the picture; there is no separate captions track.
Questions
My protein bar gets hard after a month. Can you fix it?
Often, yes. Protein bars firm up as water moves inside them; the protein system and the moisture balance are set together to keep the chew.
How it worksCan you fix it without changing the taste?
That is the brief we agree first. We change what causes the problem and compare samples with your current product.
Do I need to send you my formula?
No. A short overview of the product and the problem is enough to start; your formula is never published.
Do you work with brands in Lebanon and the UAE?
Yes. Working in Lebanon and the UAE. Egypt and KSA soon.
Will you sign an NDA?
Yes. You can ask for an NDA before you share any details about your product.
Do you have your own factory?
No. I write the factory process and support trials with your manufacturer.
Have a product challenge?
A new idea, a formula that isn't working, or a shelf-life problem. Let's talk about it.