Episode 138: [Original Recipe] Working With Co-Packers: How to Set up For Success
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Co-packer horror stories: we’ve all heard them! Finding the right co-packer for your food or beverage brand can be daunting, confusing, and downright scary (not to mention expensive!).
This is the second episode of the Original Recipe series, where we use your top questions to hand-pick previously aired episodes, all presented with fresh insights from our Student Success Coordinator, Gabby. In today’s show, we turn back to co-packing, and are re-airing a favorite episode of our listeners.
In this show, I’m joined by Ashley Sutterfield, the CEO of Sage, a consultant who helps CPG brands navigate the daunting world of co-packers.
We’ll revisit:
💡How to prepare for working with co-packers, and what you’ve got to nail down before you even consider moving to a co-man.
💡How to find the right partner for your brand, and how to evaluate potential partners as you start to do your research
💡How to execute your first trial runs, and what happens next…
Plus a whole lot more!
➡️ From there, come join the convo around co-packing in the Food Biz Wiz® private Facebook group.
💎 Interested in learning more about your path with co-packers? You can learn more about and sign up for Ashley’s course HERE! Use the code “ALLISON” to a receive a 10% discount on eligible offers. For offers with multiple payments or subscriptions the discount will be applied to the first payment.
MEET ASHLEY SUTTERFIELD: CEO OF SAGE
Sage is a consulting firm that helps family-owned and solopreneur packaged food companies find the right co-packer to commercialize their product, so they have more time to grow their business. In her 15+ years as a Food Scientist, Ashley has helped companies scale over 100 million pounds of food products. She guides companies in navigating the food industry and finding a trusted co-packer whose values and capabilities align with their own.
Ashley began her career doing Research and Development with family-owned food companies at the Food and Agriculture Products Center at Oklahoma State University. She then spent 8 years at Tyson Foods in R&D commercializing products for companies like Domino’s Pizza and Panda Express. She honed her understanding of manufacturing by commercializing products in hundreds of processing plants. 4 years ago, Ashley decided it was time to take her knowledge and share her experience with food entrepreneurs. She decided to go back to her roots and guide packaged food companies through the co-packing process so that they can grow their business. Ashley comes alongside food entrepreneurs as they navigate the journey to find the right co-packer.
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