In this episode of R&D RADIO, hosted by food scientist Adam Yee, Adam sits down with Jamie Valenti-Jordan, founder of Catapult Commercialization Services, to discuss the realities of commercializing and scaling food products. Jamie has helped more than 400 brands commercialize thousands of products and has become one of the most trusted voices in the Startup CPG community when it comes to manufacturing, scale-up, and operational strategy.
Jamie shares the lessons he's learned from years of helping founders navigate the transition from kitchen-scale recipes to commercially viable products. From pilot runs and food safety to ingredient decisions and manufacturing partnerships, he explains why commercialization is rarely a straight line and how founders can avoid some of the most common and costly mistakes.
Adam and Jamie also discuss natural flavors, water activity, pH, pilot-scale production, and the importance of understanding the incentives of every stakeholder involved in bringing a product to market. The conversation concludes with a discussion on founder psychology and what separates successful brands from those that struggle to scale.
Listen in as they cover:
• Why commercialization is an iterative process rather than a linear one
• The importance of water activity and pH in food safety
• Why founders should not skip pilot-scale production
• The risks of jumping directly from bench-top production to a co-manufacturer
• How natural flavors fit into modern product development
• Understanding stakeholder incentives across the supply chain
• Jamie's favorite commercialization hack for running pilot trials
• The characteristics shared by the most successful founders
• Why consumer feedback matters more than internal opinions
• Emerging food industry trends including AI, GLP-1s, and ultra-processed foods
Episode Links:
Catapult Commercialization Services - https://www.linkedin.com/in/fvmh97c/
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 (35K+ members and growing!)
- Follow @startupcpg
- Visit host Adam's Linkedin
- Questions or comments about the episode? Email Daniel at podcast@startupcpg.com
- Episode music by Super Fantastics
- 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.
Ready for honest product feedback? Join Startup CPG's Founders & Formulators event on July 12 and connect directly with leading food scientists and product developers. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-cpg-founders-formulators-july-2026-tickets-1989688128754
