Working with co-packers, co-manufacturers, and everything else required to get your food or beverage brand onto shelves (brick and mortar or virtual) can be a daunting task for any entrepreneur. Finding a partner that consistently delivering the quality level you expect while staying within your budget is the secret to long-term growth.
This week on the Real Food Brands Marketing Podcast, host Katie Mleziva sits down with Sandro Gerbini, founder of Gatherer’s Granola and Empire Co-Packing, to get into the nitty-gritty of how you take a product that works at small scale and make the logistical decisions you need to see increased volume and support wider distribution.
Sandro’s story scaling up Gatherer’s Granola provides valuable lessons for anyone trying to figure out how to work with co-packers, co-manufacturers, and other contractors involved in making a supply chain that gets your product into your consumers’ hands.
From a granola recipe that was so good his college roommates resorted to larceny get a taste, now to a strong regional brand with online sales across the country, we get to listen in on what Sandro learned trying to make his product work with some of the top co-packers in the business, and why he eventually started up his own food manufacturing facility in order to maintain top-notch quality.
As a co-packer and contract manufacturer for food companies, Sandro takes us through the ins and outs of what you should pay attention to when you’re looking for food and beverage manufacturing partners, where many vendors can kill you with their fees, and how you can find a solution that works for both parties.
The biggest takeaway from Katie’s conversation with Sandro is to pay close attention to your service contract, and to make sure that you’re as specific as possible when it comes to how you measure quality, compliance with certifications, and food safety. If you show up to preliminary interviews with a comprehensive rubric of requirements, you can really compare apples to apples and find the best food manufacturing partner for your brand.
Join us for this inside look at contract manufacturing and more, and don’t forget to subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you never miss an episode.
Now, let’s go shake up shopping carts!
In This Episode:
- How Sandro started a premium granola company, and why production quality concerns drove him to start his own food co-packing business.
- Why consistent quality means everything in contract manufacturing.
- How finding the right contract manufacturer frees you up to focus on marketing and sales to help scale your brand.
- What the difference between contract manufacturers, co-packers, and private brand manufacturers is, and where there is overlap.
- Why geographic proximity to a contract manufacturer matters.
- How integrated ingredient sourcing, production, and packaging makes a difference to your bottom line.
- How you can make sure your contract with a co-manufacturer is rock-solid.
- What fees most contract manufacturers add to invoices and what they mean.
- What mistakes most brand owners make when they’re trying to scale, and how to avoid them.
Quotes:
“Find the right manufacturer so you can be really really good at selling and promoting your products.” – @sandrogerbini
“You don’t want to be shipping product to a different packager if you can help it—it adds a layer of cardboard, it adds a layer of freight that wouldn’t have to be there, and it adds a big opportunity for complexity and time loss.” – @sandrogerbini
“I encourage young entrepreneurs to be really careful about how they scale and to focus on owning their backyard in a way that most people don’t think to do first.” – @sandrogerbini
“Going narrow in terms of geography or going narrow in terms of clients served and really working on improving the same-store sales numbers, or on Amazon your sales rank by category, those metrics will be the leading causes for success down the road.” – @sandrogerbini
Resources:
