Abstract
An enterprise development strategy linking science with business applications moderates effective development
and commercialisation of a functional food production plant. However, as most theories agitate a largely
scientifically skewed process, poor interplay between science and business applications often undermines
effective development and commercialisation of functional foods derived from a variety of indigenous African
plants.
This research seeks to address this gap by using multivariate analysis to evaluate the null hypothesis that a
scientific process intricately intertwined with critical business processes for the development of a functional food
production plant catalyses its successful establishment, growth, sustainability and profitability. Using statistical
data drawn from 40 firms in the food and beverage industry, results of multivariate analysis revealed that
irrespective of the attractiveness of the scientific values of the new functional food concept, a scientific process
intricately intertwined with critical business processes is still often critical for leveraging the initial marketing and
promotion of new functional food concepts as well as the adoption of the appropriate manufacturing strategy.
As the adoption of an appropriate manufacturing strategy enhances cost minimisation and resource optimisation,
all these combined with the moderating effects of the improved linkages between the functional food production
plant with suppliers and distributors were found to catalyse the overall competitiveness and sustainability of the
new functional food concept, even in the midst of the increasing proliferation of the often equally competitive new
rival functional food concepts.