In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, host Daniel Scharff sits down with Bob Williams of BevSource - a beverage industry veteran Daniel calls "the beverage Oracle" - to unpack the most common (and costly) manufacturing mistakes beverage brands run into with co-packers.
Bob has spent over 25 years in the beverage industry, most of it around co-packing, quality, and manufacturing operations. He's built out eight high-speed can lines and spent his career getting called in when something has already gone wrong - troubleshooting everything from mysterious can leaks to failed micro tests. Daniel, who previously ran a beverage brand himself and worked with Bob directly, brings his own founder experience to the conversation, pulling real examples from his time scaling into thousands of retail doors.
Daniel and Bob dig into why "leakers" are almost never actually a can problem, what really happens when a co-packer cuts corners on pasteurization, how to properly vet a manufacturing facility before you sign anything, and what documentation every brand should be asking for - before and after something goes wrong.
Listen in as they discuss:
- Why brewery-turned-co-packers often struggle with the regulatory and equipment shift into non-beer beverages
- The real root cause behind most can "leakers" - and why it's almost never actually the can
- What seam check reports are, why they matter, and how outdated equipment can produce unreliable results
- A real case where a co-packer skipped tunnel pasteurization entirely - and what happened as a result
- Why brands should never sign a co-packing agreement before physically touring the facility
- What to look for on a co-packer site visit, from RO systems to master sanitation programs
- Real warning signs Bob has seen on-site, including uncalibrated equipment and neglected water filtration systems
- Why full documentation - batch records, QA reports, maintenance logs - should never be treated as proprietary
- What to expect (and not panic about) during your first production run and taste-matching process
- Why shelf life and stability testing should start the moment your formula is finalized, not after launch
Episode Links:
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Show Links:
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- Questions or comments about the episode? Email podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
