CPG Consulting for Food Brands Building Products That Can Scale

Sage Against the Tagine provides CPG consulting for food founders and small brands building products they want to sell and scale. We work with early-stage teams navigating the space between a great idea and a viable, manufacturable product, helping bridge the gap between kitchen success and commercial reality.

Our focus is product optimization: refining formulations, ingredients, and processes so products can be produced consistently, costed accurately, and scaled responsibly. This includes support around recipe and formula development, batch-to-batch consistency, ingredient sourcing, production workflow, and decision-making that affects shelf life, margins, and long-term feasibility.

We understand the pressures early brands face": limited capital, evolving demand, and high-stakes decisions around manufacturing, compliance, and growth. Our role is to help founders make informed choices before problems become expensive. Consulting engagements are practical and collaborative, grounded in how food is actually made, packed, and sold, not just how it looks on paper.

Whether you’re preparing for your first production run, tightening a product that’s already in market, or assessing what it will take to scale responsibly, CPG consulting helps ensure your product is ready for what comes next

CPG Consulting Services

• HACCP Planning & Food Safety Readiness
  HACCP plan development and food safety training to support scale-ready production, not just documentation.

• Process Optimization & Scaling
  Translating bench recipes into bulk production through recipe scaling, process refinement, and consistency control.

• Ingredient Sourcing & Specification
  Supporting ingredient selection, supplier evaluation, and specifications that hold up as volume increases.

• Commercialization into Foodservice
  Adapting products for foodservice channels, including portioning, handling, shelf life expectations, and operational fit.

• Scaling Strategy: Shared Kitchen → Co-Packer → Own Facility
  Guidance through key growth transitions with readiness assessments and decision support at each stage.

• Equipment & Facility ROI Analysis
  Evaluating equipment purchases and facility moves to understand cost, throughput, and return before capital is committed.

Additional Support May Include

• Labeling & Regulatory Readiness (Pre-Submission)
  Ingredient statements, allergen review, and early claims reality checks before design, printing, or buyer review.

• Shelf-Life & Stability Planning
  Decision support around shelf-life assumptions, packaging implications, and when validation is actually required.

• Manufacturing & Co-Packer Readiness
  Preparing product documentation and specifications for productive co-packer conversations.

• Costing, Pricing & Margin Modeling
  Batch-level costing and margin awareness to inform pricing and scale decisions across channels.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a CPG consultant do for a food startup?

A CPG consultant helps food brands navigate product development, manufacturing readiness, and commercialization. This includes refining formulations, assessing scalability, supporting production decisions, and helping founders avoid costly mistakes as they move toward larger-scale production.

When should a food startup hire a CPG consultant?

Many brands benefit from consulting earlier than they expect — before scaling production, changing packaging, or committing to a manufacturer. If you’re preparing for your first commercial run, struggling with consistency, or unsure how to scale without compromising quality, it’s a good time to bring in support.

Do you work with early-stage or pre-revenue brands?

Yes. We regularly work with early-stage food brands, including pre-revenue startups. The goal is to help founders make smart product and process decisions early, so growth is intentional rather than reactive.

How is this different from a co-packer or shared kitchen?

Co-packers and shared kitchens produce food. We help you prepare for that relationship by refining your product, understanding requirements, and evaluating whether your product is ready to scale. Consulting helps you ask the right questions before committing time and money.

Do you help with recipe or formula development?

Yes. Recipe and formula development are often part of CPG consulting, but always with scalability in mind. We focus on consistency, ingredient behavior, cost, and feasibility — not just flavor.

Do you advise on compliance and food safety?

Food safety and compliance considerations are integrated into product optimization, especially when preparing for scale. While we don’t replace regulatory authorities or inspectors, we help founders understand requirements and design products and processes that are scale-ready.

Is your CPG consulting location-specific?

No. We work with food brands nationally. While we’re based in the Washington DC area and familiar with local production ecosystems, CPG consulting can be done effectively through a mix of remote and in-person collaboration.