Dairy is dominated by large-scale centralized manufacturing that – although cost-efficient in terms of production – also involves rigid and lengthy supply chains with potentially limited flexibility and potentially high environmental impact. Recently, distributed manufacturing, based on small-scale local production close to consumers has been proposed as an alternative to centralized food production. A modelling tool was developed to compare different production scales from home to large scale with throughputs varying from 0.5 kg/h to 6000 kg/h. 

The results for a range of food products demonstrate that small operations can be profitable and environmentally sustainable for small production volumes (e.g. less than 200 kg/h). Another manufacturing scenario includes production of high-value intermediates that are then transformed. 

A case will be presented from the Home and Personal Care industry. In this case, dense, high surfactant content spayed powders are produced at large scale in Europe, and then customized close to the point of sale. Customization includes modification of porosity and addition of non-ionic surfactants. Overall, there is an opportunity from the dairy industry to explore different manufacturing scenarios to provide novel consumer propositions and access new markets.