The short version: Most food and beverage startups struggle to secure a co-packer because they approach it like hiring a supplier, when it actually works more like pitching an investor. Co-packers ignore most inquiries because onboarding a new brand costs them time and money before it ever earns them a dollar. You get a yes…
Between us, we’ve overseen the manufacturing of tens of millions of date paste bars. We’ve run these products on our own lines and managed them through co-packing relationships across multiple facilities. And if there’s one thing we can tell you with absolute certainty, it’s that date paste bars rank among the most deceptively risky products…
There’s a moment in every founder’s journey when the thing you’ve built comes within inches of disappearing. For us, that moment came in the early 2000s, in the form of a transposed SKU number, a nationwide food product recall, and our brand splashed across the FDA website and CNN. I was young and just had…
When protein bar companies are ready to move on to a new co-packer, it is a big decision. Co-packers can become ingrained in the brand, the business, and the formulas, so removing them from the process can seem like a daunting and unpleasant task. What’s more, after you’ve decided to break up with your current…