Butterflies, fish, flips: seasonal and custom shapes create brand recognition and unlock new product opportunities. The key is to integrate shape considerations early in development, alongside formulation, application, and processing requirements.

31 July marks Food Diversity Day. But diversity in food is not created solely through new ingredients, flavours or functional benefits. A product’s shape also influences how consumers perceive, understand and remember it.

This is becoming increasingly important in the world of extruded foods. Conversations at trade fairs and incoming product enquiries reveal growing demand for seasonal and occasion-based shapes – whether as stand-alone snacks, breakfast cereal inclusions, or components in bars and chocolate products.

What may initially seem like a minor design detail can therefore become a powerful point of differentiation.

A heart, a star, a letter or an animal: a shape communicates a message before the product has even been tasted. It appeals to specific target groups, creates recognition and can help trigger purchase decisions at the shelf.

A heart-shaped extrudate, for example, immediately evokes Valentine’s Day, indulgence or a thoughtful gesture. Letters and numbers encourage play and are particularly well suited to children’s products. Figurative shapes such as dinosaurs, butterflies, cinnamon rolls, or croissants tap into current consumer trends and provide eye-catching motifs that also work well on social media.

For food manufacturers, this means shape should not be decided at the end of the development process. It is an integral part of the product concept – just like the recipe, flavour, packaging and positioning.

Christmas is probably the best-known example of seasonal product shapes. Christmas trees, stars, reindeer, and snowmen offer countless opportunities for limited-edition snacks and seasonal range extensions.

At first glance, six months of lead time may seem sufficient. In product development, however, that time passes quickly. From the initial concept to a finished product on the shelf, there is a complex development journey involving numerous stages.

The process begins with a detailed definition of product requirements, including nutritional targets, functionality, formulation, texture, flavor, color, and shape. This is followed by concept development, feasibility assessment, raw material sourcing, sample production on standard manufacturing equipment, and final approval. Behind the scenes, efficient procurement and quality management processes work hand in hand, supported by testing in an accredited in-house laboratory.

Seasonal concepts are not limited to the holiday season. Throughout the year, there are numerous opportunities to create products that generate consumer interest, such as:

The strongest concepts emerge when shape, color, flavor, and packaging tell the same story. A festive star shape, for example, can be paired with cinnamon, baked apple, or speculoos flavor profiles. A colorful animal shape can become the centerpiece of a high-impact children's product.

This creates a consistent product promise, capable of driving new purchase occasions and consumer engagement.

Extrusion technology offers exceptional flexibility in product design while enabling consistent industrial-scale production.

However, the die design alone does not determine the final appearance of an extrudate. Raw materials, moisture content, expansion behavior, and processing parameters all influence the result.

A protein-rich formulation behaves very differently from a traditional cereal-based recipe. Delicate shapes place greater demands on structural stability than simple, compact geometries. The intended application also matters: a stand-alone snack requires different characteristics than a crunchy inclusion for breakfast cereals or a core ingredient for coated confectionery products.

As a result, several factors must be carefully aligned during development:

Shape is therefore not an isolated parameter. It is the visible outcome of the interaction between formulation, tooling, and process design.

Erbacher Food Intelligence develops extrudates around each individual product idea and application. Every solution is tailored to the customer’s specific requirements.

The process begins with questions such as: Who is the product intended for? Will it be used as a snack, an inclusion or an ingredient? What shape and size are required? Which functional or regulatory requirements must be met?

Based on these answers, the shape, recipe and flavour profile are developed together.

Possible concepts include gluten-free, organic-certified, high-protein, high-fiber, halal-compliant, or kosher-compliant products, among many others. Flavor options range from neutral cereal-based profiles to seasonal varieties such as vanilla, strawberry, cinnamon, baked apple, or speculoos.

Industrial feasibility is considered from day one. A shape must do more than impress in a prototype. It must be manufacturable at scale, reliably processed downstream, and capable of delivering consistent quality in commercial production.

From initial sampling and optimization through to full-scale contract manufacturing, the result is a solution designed for real-world production.

The shape of a food product is about much more than appearance. It brings product concepts to life, creates seasonal engagement opportunities, and can generate additional purchase drivers within a product portfolio.

To unlock this potential, shape needs to be incorporated early in the development process. Formulation, processing, application, and communication should work together from day one.

Food Diversity Day is therefore the perfect reminder to think beyond new ingredients and flavors. Sometimes, the next successful product idea starts with something as simple as a heart, a star – or a butterfly.

Get in touch with our team to discuss your requirements and explore the possibilities.