1. What types of food products have you developed?

Over the course of my career in food product development, I’ve worked across a wide range of categories, including:

• Shelf Stable Soups, Sauces, Gravies

• Soup Bases

• Refrigerated Sauces

• Bakery

• Formed meat products

• Dry Blends for multiple applications

• Complete bag-in-box Cereals

• Granola

• Snack Bars & Snack Mixes

• Chocolate & Compound Coatings

• Spices & Spice Blends

• Hot Fill hold products

• Dried Fruits and Vegetables

• Baby Foods

This diverse background allows me to apply proven R&D and formulation expertise across many product types and production environments.

2. Can you optimize existing products?

Absolutely. I specialize in formula cost optimization while maintaining or improving product quality. I can also help you clean up ingredient labels, simplify processing, or improve product performance — ensuring your formulation is efficient, scalable, and market-ready.

3. Do you assist with finding co-manufacturers or production partners?

Yes. I can help assess commercial readiness, identify and evaluate potential co-manufacturers, define technical requirements, facilitate communication, and support plant trials and scale-up. Finding a company that can manufacture your product is only part of the challenge—the goal is finding the right manufacturing partner for your product, volume, process, quality requirements, and stage of growth.

4. How early in the development process can FPFI get involved?

FPFI can get involved early, particularly when a company has a defined product opportunity but needs help determining the best technical and commercialization path. Early-stage work can include assessing feasibility, identifying technical risks, evaluating ingredient or format options, and building a development roadmap before significant resources are committed.

5. What experience do you bring to your consulting projects?

I bring more than 25 years of food R&D experience spanning hands-on product development, commercialization, innovation strategy, and R&D leadership. My career includes leadership roles with Kerry, Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), Sun-Maid, and Plum Organics. Along the way, I've helped launch 100+ products and delivered more than $15 million in documented cost savings. That combination of technical depth and business experience allows me to look beyond the formulation and help clients navigate the full path to successful commercialization.

6. Do you work with startups or only established brands?

I partner with both. For startups, I provide practical R&D guidance to bring new ideas to life and help them navigate the manufacturing landscape. For established brands, I offer specialized expertise to accelerate innovation or deliver critical projects efficiently. Regardless of company size, my focus is on achieving first production success.

7. Do you sign NDAs?

Yes. Confidentiality and trust are fundamental to my consulting relationships. I routinely work under non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to ensure your proprietary information and product details remain fully protected.

8. How does a consulting engagement typically work?

We typically begin with a short project brief outlining your product, objectives, current stage of development, timing, and key challenges. From there, we'll schedule an introductory call to discuss the project, determine whether FPFI is a good fit, and identify the best path forward. For qualified projects, I'll prepare a proposal outlining the recommended scope, deliverables, timing, and investment.

9. Why choose First Production Food Innovation?

The answer is in the name. A great idea only creates value when it can be successfully commercialized. FPFI brings together technical expertise, R&D leadership, and practical commercialization experience to help clients navigate the entire journey—from ideation to first production.

10. Can you provide R&D leadership or technical advisory support without taking on a full product development project?

Yes. FPFI can provide experienced R&D leadership and technical advisory support for companies that need additional expertise without adding a full-time R&D resource. This can include innovation strategy, project prioritization, technical problem-solving, commercialization guidance, development process improvement, or leadership for a critical initiative.

11. What types of projects are the best fit for FPFI?

FPFI is best suited for companies that have a defined business or product objective and are committed to moving toward commercialization. That might include developing a new product, solving a technical challenge, optimizing an existing product, identifying the right manufacturing partner, or strengthening an innovation pipeline. Projects don't need to be fully defined—that's something I can help with—but having clear objectives, organizational commitment, and realistic expectations around timing and investment creates the strongest foundation for success.