This course is for anyone working in medium to large commercial food manufacturing, product design and development, farmers markets or small home-based business, specialised kitchens or eateries, hospitality staff, marketing in health foods and retail, or healthy eating and lifestyle influencers.

Students develop skills in how to make healthy foods, encourage reflection in product development, and increase confidence to move forward in business!

There are 9 Lessons in this course:

LESSON 1: NATURE, SCOPE AND DEVELOPMENT OF HEALTH FOODS

• Introduction to Health Food
• Diets for Medical and Health Reasons
• Diet for Lifestyle or Principle-Based Reasons
• Diets for Religious and Cultural Reasons
• Types of Diets – Overview of Each
• Vegetarian
• Pescatarian & Pollo-pescatarian
• Organics
• Vegan
• Raw
• Ketogenic
• Free From (Gluten free, Soy free, Lactose free, Nut free, Sugar free, Dairy free, Egg free, Sulphite free)
• Macrobiotic
• Mediterranean, Eastern and Western
• Low carbohydrate or No-sugar
• Carnivore
• Introduction to Commercial Development of Food Products

LESSON 2: HEALTH FOOD AND HUMAN NUTRITION

• Introduction to Nutrition Science
• The Concept of Diet
• Human Digestion – An overview
• The Digestive Tract
• Accessory Digestive Organs
• Major Food Groups
• Fats
• Protein
• Carbohydrates
• Specialised Diets & Human Nutrition Deficiencies
• Vegetarian
• Pescatarian
• Vegan
• Ketogenic
• Free-from
• Paleo
• F.O.D.M.A.P.

LESSON 3: SIGNIFICANCE OF GLUTEN, SUGAR AND FERMENTED PRODUCTS

• Gluten
• Chemistry of Gluten
• Gluten in the Diet
• Gluten in Food Industry
• Gluten-Free (GF) Product Development
• Sugar
• The Chemistry of Sugar
• Sugar in the Body
• Sugar-free Product Development
• Sweeteners
• Sugar Alcohols
• Fermented Foods
• Yeasts
• Chemistry of Fermentation
• Fermented Foods in the Diet for Human Health
• Fermented Foods Product Development
• Kefir
• Kimchi
• Kombucha
• Miso
• Natto
• Sauerkraut
• Common Substitutions and Adjustments

LESSON 4: DEVELOPMENT OF WHEAT SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

• Wheat
• Wheat Products Free-from Gluten
• Coeliac Disease Symptoms & Treatment
• Treatment of Coeliac Disease
• Making Gluten Free Bread
• Texture
• Selecting a Gluten-Free Flours
• Common Gluten Free-Flour Types
• Almond
• Buckwheat
• Chickpea
• Coconut
• Corn
• Millet
• Oats
• Potato Flour
• Sorghum
• Soy
• Rice flour
• Teff
• Starches
• Arrowroot
• Corn-starch
• Potato Starch
• Binding
• Creating Flour Blends
• Other Elements in Gluten-Free Bread
• Animal Proteins
• Emulsification
• Leavening Agents and Rising in Gluten-free bread
• Baking Gluten-Free bread and muffins
• GF Muffins
• Recipes

LESSON 5: DEVELOPMENT OF PROTEIN SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

• Specialised Protein Products
• Protein and why we need it
• Essential Amino Acids
• Non- Essential Amino Acids
• Conditionally Essential Amino Acids
• Uses in the body
• Recommended protein intake
• Plant-based Substitutions
• Legumes as a Protein Source
• Soybeans
• Chickpeas
• The dairy-free market
• Dairy Free Substitutes
• Egg-free diets
• How to Replace Eggs in Recipes

LESSON 6: DEVELOPMENT OF DAIRY SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS

• Cow’s Milk Protein (CMP)
• Cow’s Milk Sugar (Lactose)
• Making Non-Dairy Milk
• Equipment
• General Plant Milk Recipe
• Make Soy Milk
• Cheese
• Focus on Flavour and Melt
• Soft, Creamier Non-Dairy Cheeses
• Replicating the Cheese-Making Method
• Plant-Based Yoghurt
• Principles for Plant-Based Yoghurt
• Creams and Ice-Cream
• Cream
• Basic Nut Cream

LESSON 7: DEVELOPMENT OF VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN PRODUCTS

• Overview of Vegetarianism
• Types of Vegetarian Diets
• Overview of Veganism
• Nutrition in Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking
• Tofu Products
• Soybean Products
• Cooking for Vegetarians
• Vegetarian Sausages
• Emulsification
• Fat
• Flavour
• Colour
• Composition
• Production of Burgers
• Building Flavour into Foods
• Vegetarian Produce Suggestions
• Beans
• Bean Products – For Manufacture
• Nuts in Health Food Product Development
• Types of Nuts
• Selling Food to the Vegan and Vegetarian Market

LESSON 8: BUSINESS APPLICATIONS IN HEALTH FOOD MANUFACTURING

• Sourcing Ingredients
• Buy Local
• Sell Local
• Sourcing Organics
• Cross-Contamination and Labelling
• Labelling Laws
• Restaurant and Café Menus
• Consumer Attitudes
• Changing Habits
• Business Owner Occupational Health and Safety Responsibilities
• Insurance
• Working with Health Professionals
• Food Coaching
• Nutritional Counsellor or Therapist

LESSON 9: MARKETING SPECIALISED FOOD AND ASSOCIATED SERVICES

• Introduction to Marketing
• Monitoring and Controlling the Marketing Plan
• A note on Branding
• Ultimate Goals of Marketing
• Marketing Sends a Message
• Message Execution
• Words Sell
• Personalise
• Deciding to Buy
• Understand the Buyer
• Types of Marketing Research
• Ways of Gathering Data
• Primary Data Collections Methods
• Secondary Data Collection Method
• What is needed to Conduct Effective Research
• The Outcome of Market Research
• Modifications to the Marketing Plan
• Market Share Analysis (Ratios)
• Marketing Cost Analysis
• Taking a Product to the Market
• Wholesaling
• Face to Face Retail and Online Stores or Mail Order
• Online Sales
• Business to Business (B2B)