#172 - Ops Talk: 5 Things Brands Get Wrong
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 3 December 2024
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this episode of the Startup CPG podcast, Daniel Scharff sits down with Jamie Valenti-Jordan, CEO of Catapult Commercialization Services, to tackle the five biggest mistakes brands make in operations—and how to avoid them. Jamie shares why "planning for the unexpected" isn’t just a saying, it’s a survival tactic, and explains how treating your co-manufacturer like a real partner can save you from production headaches.
They also dive into the messy world of ramping up new equipment, keeping quality in check after launch, and knowing when to call in a consultant to save time, money, and sanity.
If you’re navigating the wild world of CPG production, don’t miss Jamie’s top tips for keeping operations on track. Tune in and subscribe for more essential insights!
Reach out to the Catapult team: https://bit.ly/catapultcpg
Listen in as they share about:
- Preparing for inevitable delays
- Building a productive co-manufacturer relationship
- Managing production ramp-up and quality control
- Smart strategies for using consultants
- Community and Resource Sharing
Episode Links:
Website: https://catapultserv.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fvmh97c/
Don't forget to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify if you enjoyed this episode. For potential sponsorship opportunities or to join the Startup CPG community, visit http://www.startupcpg.com.
Show Links:
- Transcripts of each episode are available on the Transistor platform that hosts our podcast here (click on the episode and toggle to “Transcript” at the top)
- Join the Startup CPG Slack community (20K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Daniel's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hey folks, are you ready to boost your e-commerce sales and profitability? |
| 0:05.9 | When I ran a brand, the hardest bill to swallow was money wasted on a bad performance marketing strategy. |
| 0:11.6 | Meet the team from Pennock Digital Marketing. |
| 0:13.9 | They're strategists, media planners, and SEO experts who can't stand seeing emerging brands struggle with inefficient marketing spend. |
| 0:20.2 | They create tailored solutions for brands who generate over $25,000 in monthly e-commerce revenue |
| 0:25.6 | to help them achieve profitable growth. |
| 0:28.4 | But wait, there's more. |
| 0:29.9 | Pennock is offering qualifying startup CPG brands a special deal, |
| 0:33.5 | either $15,000 in ad spend or a full quarter of SEO services. |
| 0:38.7 | To see if you qualify, head over to pennic.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:43.5 | That's P-E-N-N-O-C-K.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:48.7 | It's in the show notes. |
| 1:06.5 | Mm-hmm. Comans are in fact your business partners. Comans are not vending machines that you stick money into and get product out of. |
| 1:13.1 | That is just not how this works. |
| 1:17.5 | Anyone who wants to debate that with me, I'm happy to do it in a public forum if you'd like. |
| 1:25.9 | But they are partners in our business because not only do they generate the quality that we claim to our consumers by making the product, |
| 1:39.3 | they also generate the volume that we represent to our buyers and they're instrumental in the margin that we claim to our investors. So at the end of the day, these are really the people that are bringing our products to life. Jamie Valenti Jordan, back in the house, the SlackOps MVP. |
| 1:44.4 | We are just trying to absolutely milk him of all of the knowledge he's worked so hard to gain over a few decades in operations, |
| 1:50.2 | working with hundreds of startups. |
| 1:52.3 | Jamie's the food brand program manager for the Food Finance Institute, |
| 1:55.4 | and he's also the CEO of Caterpult Commercialization Services. |
| 1:59.9 | I'd asked him, what are the top five things brands are getting |
... |
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