The skills shortage in food production isn’t new but it’s certainly hitting harder than ever. Experienced people are moving on or retiring, recruitment takes longer, and turnover is constant. Businesses are relying more on seasonal or part-time workers to fill the gaps, and that makes consistency much harder to maintain.
When the skill level changes from one shift to the next, even small details can slip. A recipe might be mixed slightly differently, a weight might be guessed, or a label might be missed in a rush. Those little variations add up, leading to waste, rework, and more than a few headaches.
That’s exactly the problem Formulate was designed to solve. It’s not there to take anyone’s job, it’s there to make sure every member of the team, whatever their experience, can get consistent, high-quality results every time.
The growing skills gap in food production
Before we jump into what Formulate is and how it can help, let’s talk a bit more about why it’s needed. Across the industry, businesses are facing the same challenge: experienced staff are leaving faster than they can be replaced. Training takes time, and new recruits often join with little or no background in food production.
That creates a knock-on effect. Senior team members end up spending time supervising instead of producing. Mistakes become more common, and output slows down. In fast-moving production environments, that costs real money. The goal isn’t to remove the human touch, it’s to make sure the process doesn’t fall apart when someone new steps in.
What is Formulate by Velocity?
Formulate is a touchscreen workstation with a built-in scale that guides staff through each recipe step by step. Once a recipe and batch size are chosen, the system automatically calculates ingredient quantities and prompts the user through the process.
Each step is simple and visual with easy-to-follow prompts like weigh, add, confirm, and move to the next ingredient. Formulate gives instant feedback when the target weight is hit and logs the data automatically. Batch numbers, ingredient weights, and traceability records are all stored as you go. For team leaders, that means less time watching over every station and for newer staff, it’s a clear guide that builds confidence right from the get-go.
Does training to use Formulate take a long time?
In many kitchens and prep rooms, training a new team member can take days. They shadow a colleague, take notes, and learn through repetition. It’s time-consuming, and it ties up experienced people who could be focusing on higher-value work.
But luckily Formulate changes all of that! Because the system shows each step clearly, staff can get started after a short demonstration. The touchscreen leads them through the recipe, reducing the need for supervision and minimising the chance of errors. That kind of hands-on, guided learning saves hours in training and gets production back up to speed quickly.
Automation without losing the human touch
There’s a lot of talk about automation in food production, and it can sound like a threat to craftsmanship. But Formulate was built to do the opposite; to keep the human element at the centre while taking care of the repetitive parts that cause inconsistency.
It doesn’t make the decisions or change the recipes, it just ensures they’re followed exactly as intended. Senior staff set up the recipes in the backend, and every person on the line can then follow them confidently. The result is consistency without micromanagement. The process stays human, just better supported with technology.
How teams can use Formulate
For production managers:
- Start with recipes that vary most between staff.
- Use Formulate to capture knowledge that’s usually held by a few key people.
- Spend less time checking and more time managing production.
For HR and training leads:
- Build recipe training directly into the production process.
- Cut onboarding time and reduce the need for constant supervision.
- Let skilled trainers focus on developing advanced techniques instead of repeating basics.
For business owners:
- Scale confidently knowing quality won’t slip between sites.
- Improve traceability and compliance with automatic data capture.
- Grow your business without losing consistency or control.
Final thoughts
At Velocity we don’t believe in replacing people, we just want to empower them to do their best work. Formulate gives them this support. It helps teams stay confident, keeps recipes consistent, and makes training faster and smoother.
When the process runs better, your people can focus on what matters: making good food and keeping customers happy. That’s how the skills shortage gets solved, not by removing people from the process, but by giving them the right tools to thrive in it.
Book a demo to see how Formulate can support your team and help your business grow with confidence.
