Fractional COO
A COO who has run a snack plant. Without the full-time salary.
Senior operating leadership without the $150K+ hire. We step in as your fractional COO team: the operating system, the weekly rhythm, co-packer and supplier management, and the numbers your board can plan against, so the founder can get back to vision and sales.
Ran a 36,000 ft² SQF-certified plant · 150+ brands across formulation and operations · Two SQF Practitioners and PCQIs · 30 years in clean-label snacks
Who it’s for
Does one of these sound like your company?
You’re scaling faster than your systems.
Orders doubled, the plan lives in someone’s head, and every week brings a new fire.
You need a COO, but not a full-time hire yet.
The company needs senior operating leadership now, but the budget and the workload don’t justify a full-time executive.
Your co-packer is running the show.
Runs come out different, costs creep up, and nobody on your side is managing the relationship.
Your board wants real numbers.
COGS, cash needs, capacity, and a plan the board can approve, built on how production actually runs.
A relaunch, new line or new plant is coming.
New SKUs, a new co-packer, new equipment or a 3PL cutover, and no one on the team has done it before.
The founder is doing everything.
Sales, operations, suppliers and certifications all run through one person, and growth is stalling because of it.
Built for growing snack brands and manufacturers, whether you run your own plant or make product at co-packers. Cookies, granola, puffed and extruded snacks, bars.
What a fractional COO does
The work of a senior COO, scaled to where your company is now.
Runs your operating system.
A one-page plan, clear roles and accountability, quarterly priorities, and a weekly scorecard of the numbers that predict the health of the business.
Keeps the weekly rhythm.
We run the weekly operating meeting, keep priorities on track, and drive issues to resolution while they’re still small.
Manages co-packers and suppliers.
Co-packer selection and oversight, supplier qualification, pilot and first runs, and the run-day decisions on the plant floor.
Builds the numbers.
Cost-of-goods models, capacity plans, cash-flow forecasts, and budget-to-actual tracking your finance lead and board can plan against.
Supports your board.
Board reports, decision logs and a risk register, with us in the room when operations are on the agenda.
Brings formulation and food safety with it.
Liz leads reformulation, sourcing and certifications. Glenn covers food safety programs and audits. One team instead of three separate consultants.
You get a monthly report: the scorecard, what moved, what’s at risk, and what’s next.
Ways to work with us
Get a COO team every week, or start smaller.
Every company is different, so we quote each engagement after a 20-minute call.
Fractional COO
Best for: growing brands and manufacturers that need a senior operator every week.
Up to 25 hours a month: the operating system and weekly meeting, co-packer and supplier management, financial models, and board support.
Launchpad COO
Best for: founders heading into a first production run.
Three months of experienced operators on your team, from first supplier to first order.
Fractional QFSM
Best for: plants that need a senior quality and food safety lead.
SQF audit prep, outside PCQI, supplier oversight and team training, including the move to SQF Edition 10.
Plant Days
Best for: commissioning, line trials and first runs.
Glenn or Liz on your floor for new equipment, scale-up and production runs.
Retainers start with a defined term and renew by agreement. Plant days and travel are billed separately.
Why Snackteva
We’ve run the plant, the brand and the co-packer.
Glenn and Liz Ward grew BumbleBar from a 300-square-foot kitchen into a top-20 national bar brand, then ran CleanCopack, their own 36,000 ft² SQF-certified co-packing plant. Glenn ran the plant; Liz ran the R&D center. As your fractional COO team, Glenn leads operations, governance and finance, and Liz leads formulation, sourcing and supply chain.
Most fractional COOs come from finance or general management. We come from the plant floor, so the plan we build is one your line can actually run.
Two senior operators, not one.
You get both of us. If one of us is on another plant floor, the other picks up.
Snack specialists.
Cookies, granola, puffed and extruded snacks, slab bars.
Straight answers.
If the numbers don’t work or a co-packer is the wrong fit, we’ll tell you, and what it takes to fix it.
Before you ask
Straight answers.
What is a fractional COO?
A senior operating executive you share. With Snackteva you get two: Glenn on operations, finance and governance, and Liz on formulation and supply chain, for a monthly retainer instead of a full-time salary.
Will you sign contracts or spend money for us?
No. You and your board make the final calls on spending, suppliers, formulas and strategy. We recommend and run the work; you decide.
How often will you be on site?
Most of the work runs remotely on a weekly rhythm. We come on site for planning sessions, line trials, new equipment and first runs, billed as plant days plus travel.
Do you work outside Washington?
Yes. We’re based in Spokane and work with brands and manufacturers across the U.S.
We already have an operations lead. Is this for us?
Often, yes. Many clients use us to support a GM or operations manager, build the systems they run, and coach the founder as the company grows.
How much does it cost?
We quote a monthly retainer once we know your company, your goals and the hours involved. Plant days and travel are billed separately.
How do we start?
Book a 20-minute call. We’ll ask where the company is and what’s in the way, then recommend the right starting point.
Start here
Growth shouldn’t depend on the founder doing everything.
Tell us where the business is. In 20 minutes we’ll tell you what it needs, and whether we’re the right fit.
Rather write than call?
Tell us about your company and what’s coming up. Glenn or Liz will reply within two business days.