Tips for Emerging Brands on Choosing a CM/CP

Finding the right fit depends on understanding what a contract manufacturer and packager (CM/CP) can and cannot do for a startup scaling up production for the first time.

Most startup food companies would have a difficult time shepherding their new product to market without the help of a co-manufacturer or co-packer (CM/CP). The knowledge, cost, and logistics required to produce consumer packaged goods safely and consistently is often beyond the scope and budget of emerging brands, who are likely better versed on how to sell the finished items to consumers instead.

At the recent Snaxpo 2023 in Orlando, a panel of CM/CP experts offered advice for startups in choosing the right co-manufacturer for their product. Here are a few key takeaways from that session.

Is my company ready for a CM/CP?

A nascent brand may be able to produce small amounts of test products on its own, and it may be able to package those products at that small volume, perhaps even manually. But when it’s time to scale up to mass manufacturing, CM/CPs say there are many other elements that need to be nailed down before moving forward.

“As you get ready for emergence into the supply chain, you need to have your formulation done with commercial ingredients, you need to

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“Just because you have a formulation, doesn’t mean you’re ready to go to market,” added Chuck Woods, senior director, commercial at the CM/CP MSI Express. “As a contract manufacturer, the biggest struggle we see is [companies] that think they’re ready to go to market, but sometimes they don’t really have a plan for where they’re going to sell and how they’re going to sell it from a marketing standpoint.”

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Dave Krombeen, GM and VP of sales at the specialty food CM/CP Cheeze Kurls, added that from the manufacturing side, “you want to partner with [a startup brand] that has a passion. They have to be able to turn that passion into a product and understand the challenges we’re going to face and meet us in the middle and make sure we both get what we need out of it,” he said. “When someone comes in our door, we want them to be full-time invested in their product. If you’re still doing this on the side, then you’re not financially committed. Once you’re financially committed to anything in life, you treat it differently.”