# #177 -  Finding Your Co-Man: Lance Schwarzkopf of Copack

- Show: [The Startup CPG Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast)
- Published: 2025-01-07
- Length: 53m
- Episode: 109
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2025-01-07-177-finding-your-co-man-lance-schwarzkopf-of-copack
- Listen: https://share.transistor.fm/s/abc7d536

## Summary

Lance Schwarzkopf, founder of Copack, explains the end-to-end process of finding and working with contract manufacturers (co-mans) for food and beverage brands. He details the critical pre-work required, including converting recipes into industrial formulas, sourcing ingredients from suppliers like Foodmaster, and creating comprehensive specification documents. Schwarzkopf emphasizes the legal and technical necessity of obtaining a process authority letter and conducting shelf-life studies to ensure safety and quality. Finally, he outlines strategies for outreach, contract negotiation, and managing the production relationship to avoid common pitfalls like ingredient shortages or quality mismatches.

## Outline

1. Introduction: Lance Schwarzkopf and Copack
2. Formulation and Formula Ownership
3. Sourcing Industrial Ingredients and Brokers
4. Creating Product Specifications and NDAs
5. Process Authority Letters and Shelf Life Studies
6. Finding and Vetting Co-Manufacturers
7. Outreach Strategy and Minimum Order Quantities
8. Contracting, Pilot Runs, and Production Day
9. Quality Control, Bench Samples, and Warehousing

## Topics

- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Copack (company)
- Miles Comfort Foods (company)
- Tarani (company)
- Eat Smart (company)
- Campbell's (company)
- Bolthouse Farms (company)
- IFT (other)
- Foodmaster.com (other)
- Univar (company)
- Bev Source (company)
- Costco (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [360 - Beyond the Die Line - The pitch was awful. They liked the bar! Tom Seymour and Ree Dolnick](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-10-08-360-beyond-the-die-line-the-pitch-was-awful-they-liked-the-bar-tom-seymour-and-r) (People of Packaging)
- [345 - Beyond the Dieline - The secret success behind Junebar! Tom Seymour and Keith McCullough](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-04-17-345-beyond-the-dieline-the-secret-success-behind-junebar-tom-seymour-and-keith-m) (People of Packaging)
- [339 - Beyond the Dieline ep 1 with Tom Seymour and Jessica Kwon from Moka Energy!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/people-of-packaging/2026-02-05-339-beyond-the-dieline-ep-1-with-tom-seymour-and-jessica-kwon-from-moka-energy) (People of Packaging)
- [Advice Line with Chieh Huang of Boxed](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2026-04-16-advice-line-with-chieh-huang-of-boxed) (How I Built This)
- [S3 E8: Navigating and Managing Contract Manufacturers with Peter Russo](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2026-01-27-s3-e8-navigating-and-managing-contract-manufacturers-with-peter-russo) (The Builder Circle)

## Citing this page

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