Sales Dashboard for UNFI, KeHE, and Whole Foods
Free Sales Dashboard for UNFI, KeHE, and Whole Foods to measure sales, velocity, and inventory.
Michelle Razavi, Founder of ELAVI
The number one question I get asked as a food entrepreneur is “So how do you actually make the bars?” Put simply, there’s two ways to bring a food product to market: with a test kitchen or a co-manufacturer (co-man). In this article, get into the mind of a founder who chose the unconventional path and the advice she has for others deciding which route to take.
There’s a lot to consider when evaluating whether you should start with a test kitchen or co-man – time, resources, regulations, logistics, and capital. But first, let’s baseline on what each option entails.
Test kitchen: This is more common as the starting point for most food companies. A test kitchen (aka a commercial kitchen) is where food producers can rent out time in a FDA-approved food kitchen to produce their products.
Pros:
Cons:
Co-manufacturer (Co-man): This is usually the second step that food producers graduate to after being in a test kitchen. Maybe you’ve experienced sales at farmer’s markets or local shops and are ready to scale production. A co-man is a manufacturing facility that is able to produce your product at higher volumes. Each co-man is different in terms of what services they provide, minimum order quantities (MOQ’s), and how they operate.
Pros:
Cons:
Instead of starting in a test kitchen, we intentionally went straight to a co-man.
Let’s take a step back. I’m the founder of ELAVI – a company that produces sustainably-sourced, functional snacks infused with marine collagen, plant protein, and antioxidant superfoods. As a first time founder with no prior food production experience, going straight to a co-man was risky, capital intensive, and a huge learning curve. Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it for everyone? Probably not.
Our biggest pain points: the long production lead times and operating procedures (frustrating for a small company that likes to move fast)
The benefits: save time on navigating ingredient sourcing, prevent costly mistakes with FDA regulations, and set yourself up for scaling faster
Here’s why this worked for our company:
Do your research – I wish I had access to Foodbevy’s list of co-man’s when I was starting out. While I got lucky finding ours through a Google search, I’ve heard horror stories from other founders having issues with their co-man. Set up calls asking them about their minimum order quantity, what certifications they have, production lead times, if they help you source ingredients, and their machines. If you can visit (article written during COVID-19), go view the facility in person.
Over-communicate – Be that person who asks a ton of questions for clarity and build a strong relationship with your co-man. There will always be hiccups, so make sure you know who to contact if something goes wrong and keep the lines of communication open.
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Finding a co-manufacturer is a lot like dating – it’s a partnership you don’t want to rush into. Whether you’re in a test kitchen now or still in your idea phase, investing time into finding the right co-packer is key. Use this article to save yourself additional time, energy, and money in starting/scaling your business.
Get after it!
Michelle
Founder at ELAVI
Free Sales Dashboard for UNFI, KeHE, and Whole Foods to measure sales, velocity, and inventory.
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