Factor Food Consultant In-House R&D Team Cost Lower Higher Setup time 2–6 weeks 2–4 months Expertise Broad, project-specific Limited to the hire’s background Scalability Flexible, scales per project Fixed, tied to headcount Best for 1–4 product launches a year 8+ product launches a year The honest answer to “food consultant or in-house R&D team” depends almost entirely on how many products you’re launching per year, not on which...