From Concept to Commissioning — How to Build New Food and Beverage Factories Right from Day One

Why Every Detail Matters in Food and Beverage Factory Planning

Setting up a food or beverage manufacturing unit goes far beyond just buying land and installing machines. It's a long-term investment—one that must meet evolving food safety regulations (like FSMS, HACCP, and ISO 22000:2018), productivity goals, and operational scalability.

Here’s why it’s critical:

Over 70% of new factories face rework or layout modifications in their first 3 years.
Downtime due to contamination or poor layout can cost companies up to $10,000/day (Source: Food Engineering Magazine, 2023).
Statutory non-compliance can result in shutdowns, lawsuits, or re-approvals.

When every square meter and every utility line impacts product quality and throughput, the planning phase defines your success.

Common Pitfalls: Where Most Projects Go Wrong

Despite best intentions, many projects stumble due to:

Vendor-led planning: Equipment suppliers often push layouts that fit their machines, not product or process flow.

Neglected hygienic zoning: Inadequate separation of clean vs. unclean areas leads to microbial risks.

Missing utility planning: Improperly designed pipelines or low-capacity utility rooms create recurring bottlenecks.

Lack of structured documentation: No Design Basis Report (DBR), missing scope documents, or undefined stakeholder roles, causing delay and risk of project cost increase.

Skipping pre-validation: Without layout simulations or technical risk assessments(like FMEA), issues emerge too late.

‘A good layout saves you once, but a bad layout costs you every day.’

What Top F& B Manufacturers Do Right

Industry leaders take a structured, data-backed, and process-first approach. Here how:

Conducting Feasibility Studies before any investment—financial modelling, utility needs, and production scale mapping.
Performing Process Flow and Material Flow Analysis (MFA) to eliminate cross- contamination and optimize logistics.
Adopting to Zoning Standards as per EHEDG and 3-A SSI to design controlled zones for personnel and material movement.
Implementing scalable utility design for chilled water loops, CIP/SIP loops, ETP sizing, compressed air redundancy, etc.
Using modular building blocks in layout to allow future expansion without disrupting current operations.
Project milestone tracking, BOM finalization, and procurement planning.

Source: EHEDG Guidelines, ISO/TS 22002-1:2009, Codex Alimentarius

Why PMG Is the Right Partner for New Food Factories

We understand that food factory setup is an engineering project—not just a civil construction task. Our approach combines process integrity, hygienic design, and lifecycle thinking.

Whether you re a first-time founder or an experienced manufacturer, our approach remains the same: process-first, purpose-built, and precision-driven.

Here’s what makes us different:

We Start with What Matters Most — The Process

The first step in every PMG project is defining the Process Block Diagram and the Factory Flow Sheet. This is non-negotiable, and for a good reason. Even if clients believe they’ve &"seen similar factories" or have been "running plants for years" skipping this foundational step is a shortcut that leads to expensive rework and operational inefficiencies later.

We ensure that every architectural and engineering decision — from the layout to the utilities — is deeply rooted in your exact process.

Zoning That Works — By Design, Not by Enforcement

We don’t just suggest hygiene zoning or cleanroom segregation — we design the factory layout in a way that makes procedural compliance inevitable. The layout itself ensures the right workflows, personnel movement, and material segregation —without needing additional enforcement or manpower.

Good design means your process complies automatically.

Utility Planning, From Day Zero

We don’t wait for vendors to be finalized or POs to be released. Leveraging our decade-long experience across multiple factory projects, we estimate average and peak utility requirements at the conceptual stage itself. Whether it’s steam, chilled water, compressed air, or power, we identify realistic loads and plan infrastructure accordingly — saving you time, cost, and confusion later in execution.

Transparent Documentation & Stakeholder Alignment

We document everything — and share everything — so there’s no ambiguity. From the start, all stakeholders are aligned. We do not fear knowledge sharing — your team is always in the loop, and our process is built on clarity, not dependency.

Simulation Without Spending any amount

Before a single rupee is spent on land, machinery, or civil work, we deliver, architectural Layout, Plant Elevations, and A 3D simulation of the entire facility infrastructure. This early-stage visualization gives all stakeholders a clear understanding of space utilization, process layout, infrastructure scope, and potential bottlenecks. It’s one of the most powerful tools we use to eliminate surprises during construction or

PMG is not just a design consultant. We are your strategic engineering partner, committed to building factories that are functional, compliant, future-ready, and cost-effective.

We design your success.

Planning to Begin your Food Processing Factory? Here’s Your Real-World Startup Checklist

Use this actionable roadmap:

Start with Clarity: Define your scope, budget, goals, and stakeholders, followed by a robust Design Basis Report covering capacity, zoning, utilities, and compliance.

Design for Growth: Create a modular layout that enables smooth operations now and seamless expansion later.

Involve Engineers Early: Engage expert partners before equipment procurement to avoid rework, align all milestones, and ensure execution readiness.

Need help with above? PMG can support you with Engineering Design (Project Feasibility study and Conceptual Design, Basic Design, Detail Engineering— Process, Industrial Services, Electrical and Power, Instrumentation and Automation, Quality Aspects), Procurement and Contracting, Project management and Construction Supervision.

Debunking some Myths for you!

"I will just replicate another factory layout that worked elsewhere.

Every process has different utility loads, hygiene zones, and product flows. Copy- paste layouts often fail.

"I will handle documentation once construction starts."

Over 60% of project delays come from documentation gaps during construction.

“Vendors will help me plan my layout.”

Vendor-driven layouts serve their machines, not your process flow.

“I will figure out compliance later.”

Food safety and regulatory compliance must be built into the design from Day 1.

Did You Know?

Poorly planned F&B factories face 80% higher costs in retrofitting and 60% more downtime within the first 3 years.
Plants with structured hygienic zoning reduce contamination risks by 70% (EHEDG Study, 2021).
Retrofitting utility rooms can cost 2.5x more than getting it right at concept stage.

Setting up a new food or beverage factory is your once-in-a-decade opportunity to build for the future. With food safety laws tightening and customer expectations rising, there’s no room for shortcuts.

With PMG, you are not just building a factory. You're building a competitive advantage.

Reference:

 ISO 22000:2018 – Food Safety Management Systems

 EHEDG – European Hygienic Engineering & Design Group Guidelines

 Codex Alimentarius – Food Hygiene and GMP by FAO & WHO

 UNIDO – Guidelines for Industrial Project Development

 McKinsey – Operational Excellence in Food & Beverage Manufacturing

 WHO – GMP Facility Design (TRS961)

 Food Engineering Magazine – Modern Food Factory Design Insights

 Food Safety Magazine – Commissioning Best Practices

 The Basics of Process Plant Layout and Piping Design – Smith & Beale (Book)

 PMG Engineering Experience –Best practices from real projects

PMG Engineering | Build World-Class Food Factories | Article | From Concept to Commissioning — How to Build New Food and Beverage Factories Right from Day One