Our Mission
Innovate · Create · Launch
Every consumer food product follows the same path. Coming up with the idea. Creating it at scale. Launching it to market. The Contract Manufacturing Alliance supports food brands at every phase — and it all starts here, with Cottage Foods.
Phase One
Innovate
Coming up with the idea — and proving it works
Every great food brand starts with an idea and a home kitchen. The Innovate phase is about turning that idea into something real — making your first products, getting them in front of customers, and proving that people will actually pay for what you make. Cottage Foods is where it all begins.
Alliance Arms at This Phase
Cottage Foods
← You are herecottagefoods.us
Your home kitchen is your first production facility. Cottage food laws let you make and sell legally from home — the lowest-risk way to validate your concept with real buyers at farmers markets and direct-to-consumer.
Commercial Kitchens
Visit →commercialkitchens.org
When your home kitchen can't keep up with demand, licensed shared-use kitchen spaces give you commercial equipment and health department approval without the overhead of your own facility.
Food Innovation Centers
Visit →foodinnovationcenters.org
R&D facilities with food scientists, nutritional analysis labs, shelf-life testing, and university partnerships. Where recipes become official formulations.
Inventions & Prototyping
Visit →inventionguidance.org
From concept to working prototype — patent guidance, product development, and prototyping for food and non-food consumer products.
What Happens at This Phase
Most food brands spend 6–18 months in the Innovate phase. Don't rush it — the market feedback you get here shapes everything. Many successful brands started at a single farmers market booth.
Phase Two
Create
Building it at scale
You've validated your idea. Customers love your product. Now it's time to build it for real. The Create phase is about taking your proven concept and manufacturing it at commercial scale — finding the right production partner, finalizing packaging, and building a supply chain that can support retail distribution.
Alliance Arms at This Phase
Pilot Plants
Visit →pilotplants.org
Pre-commercial scale production testing to validate your manufacturing process before committing to a co-packer. The bridge between innovation and scale.
Contract Manufacturing / Co-Packing
Visit →co-packing.org
Outsourced manufacturing at commercial scale. You own the brand and formula — the co-packer owns the facility and equipment. The core of the Alliance.
Private Labeling
Visit →privatelabeling.org
White-label manufacturing for retailer brands, store brands, and private label programs.
CPG Own Facilities
Visit →cpgmfg.org
For brands ready to build or optimize their own manufacturing plant. Facility planning, equipment sourcing, regulatory compliance.
What Happens at This Phase
The Create phase typically takes 3–12 months. Getting the right manufacturing partner is the single most important decision you'll make. The Alliance co-packer network has thousands of verified facilities.
Phase Three
Launch
Getting it on shelves
Your product exists. It's manufactured, packaged, and ready for retail. Now you need to get it into the hands of consumers at scale. The Launch phase connects you to retail channels, distribution networks, broker relationships, and go-to-market strategy — leveraging the Alliance's 30+ years of retail relationships.
Retail Channels We Cover
What Happens at This Phase
Launch is ongoing. The Alliance's Conzumables network covers every major retail channel in the U.S. and Canada — grocery, convenience, mass, club, food service, and beyond.
Where Are You in the Journey?
Every great food brand started somewhere. Here's where to start based on where you are today.
I'm just starting out
I have a recipe and want to start selling it. I need to understand cottage food laws and where to sell.
Start here →I've outgrown my home kitchen
I'm selling well at markets and need to increase my production capacity beyond what my home allows.
Next steps →I'm ready for retail
My product is manufactured and I need help with retail placement, distribution, and go-to-market.
The Alliance →