Co-Packer Placement
Find the right co-packer. Then get through the first run.
Fixed-scope co-packer placement for snack and bar brands, run by operators who built and ran a 36,000 ft² SQF-certified plant. We get you ready for the plant, put you in front of the right ones, and stand on the floor when your product runs.
Not a matching service. No co-packer pays us to recommend them.
Why co-packer searches stall
A list of plants isn’t the hard part.
Directories and marketplaces will send your brief to dozens of co-packers. Most will pass. Plants turn down startups because onboarding is expensive, and most founders show up without a manufacturable formula, finished-goods specs, real volumes, or a budget the plant can schedule against.
And the plants that say yes aren’t always the right fit. A high audit score doesn’t tell you whether a plant will run your product the way you designed it, disclose what goes into it, or hand over the paperwork when you ask.
Ready before you ask.
We fix the gaps that get brands turned down: formula, specs, packaging, volumes, and budget. Plants say yes to brands that show up ready.
The right plant, not the first yes.
We recommend plants we already know, matched to your product, run size, and certifications, with MOQs, onboarding costs, and tolling explained before you commit a dollar.
Someone on the floor.
A certified SQF practitioner and PCQI at your pilot and first run, because the first run is where money gets lost.
What a wrong fit costs.
One brand came to us after its SQF-certified co-packer, with audit scores in the high 90s, had been running its product with three non-GRAS ingredients, an unchecked “no added sugars” claim, and undisclosed carriers in its powders. When we asked for ingredient spec sheets, the plant refused. Getting that product back to market will cost about $200,000. A recall would have cost far more.
How placement works
Three steps. Buy one, or all three.
Each step has a fixed scope and a fixed price, and each one stands on its own. Most brands start with Step 1.
Step 1 · Readiness & Shortlist
2–3 weeks · remote
Starting at $4,500
We review your formula, specs, volumes, packaging, and budget against what plants will actually accept, and flag the gaps that would get you turned down.
You get two or three plants from our network that fit your product, an honest read on MOQs, onboarding costs, and tolling, and a clear go or no-go.
Step 2 · Placement to Signed Agreement
6–10 weeks
Starting at $12,000 plus travel
Everything in Step 1, plus a plant-ready RFQ package: finished-goods spec, production brief, and volume forecast.
Side-by-side quote comparison, an on-site visit to the finalist, and support reviewing specs and the agreement before you sign.
Step 3 · First-Run Coverage
Per production run
Starting at $5,000 plus travel
A certified SQF practitioner and PCQI on the floor for your pilot and first run.
Manufacturing control plan, spec tolerances, batch tickets, seal tests, line photos, and a written run report with what to fix before the next run.
Your Step 1 fee is credited toward Step 2 if you continue within 60 days. If we can’t put at least two qualified plants in front of you, we refund the Step 1 fee.
On the floor
The first run is where money gets lost.
That’s why we’re standing there when it happens. Every run we cover ends with a written report: what ran, what didn’t, and what changes before the next one. After that, the plant calls us, not you.
Proof
Seven days to a new co-packer.
A natural foods startup had its first national KeHE delivery on the calendar, and its co-packer couldn’t deliver. We found a new partner in seven days, had product running two weeks after the crisis started, and the order shipped on time.
Is placement a fit
Placement works best when the capital is in place.
A first commercial run for a bar or snack typically costs $80,000 to $150,000 all-in, and co-packers rarely schedule below 10,000 units per SKU. If you’re not there yet, we’ll tell you on the call and point you to a commercial kitchen or a lower-cost pilot partner.
Not sure? Get the free first-run budget worksheet. Still working on the formula? Start with formulation. Already with a co-packer that’s failing you? See co-packer problems.
Before you ask
Straight answers.
Do the co-packers you recommend pay you?
No. No co-packer pays us to recommend them, and we don’t take a cut of your production. Some supporting vendors we may introduce you to, like packaging, film, or logistics, do pay a referral fee. Where they do, it’s in your scope before you sign, and it never changes who we recommend.
How is this different from Keychain or a co-packer directory?
Directories and marketplaces send your brief to a list. We get you ready first, recommend plants we already know, visit the finalist, and stand on the floor for your first run.
Do I have to buy all three steps?
No. Each step has its own scope and price. Most brands start with Step 1 and decide from there.
What if I already have a co-packer and it isn’t working?
Start there. We’ll figure out whether the problem is the plant, the formula, or the specs before you move anything. See co-packer problems.
What products do you place?
Snacks and bars: slab bars, granola, cookies, and puffed or extruded snacks.
What happens after the first run?
Many brands keep us on as their fractional operations team, managing the plant relationship, scheduling, specs, and audits. It’s optional. See what we do.
Start here
Bring us the product and the timeline.
Twenty minutes, no pitch. You’ll leave knowing whether placement fits and which step to start with.
Rather write than call?
Tell us what you’re making. Glenn or Liz will reply within two business days.