Why I’m Taking Over Muffin Production

I made a really difficult decision last week... I officially decided to part ways with my manufacturer and take on the production of the muffins. Meaning, I will be making the muffins myself. This decision was not made lightly. And with a baby on the way, this was not the ideal outcome. But, the issues I’ve recently faced with the manufacturer were too big to ignore. I lost confidence in working with them. 

 

The most critical reason is due to poor quality assurance processes. I experienced issues both during and after the trial production run. Don't get me wrong, it was so cool to see my muffins come to life at the trial production. At the same time, it made me realize how important it is for me to be present for production, especially at the beginning. There were multiple quality assurance incidents that occurred. This left me questioning the quality and consistency of the product produced by them. Living over 1,000 miles away, I can’t be present as much as I would need to be to continue working with them.

 

The point of working with a manufacturer is to have your product produced more efficiently and at scale while maintaining quality. When it was clear that wasn’t going to happen, outsourcing to this manufacturer no longer made sense. There were also other issues that led to this decision. There were countless delays, poor communication, and unfortunately, false promises made. With that, I decided it would be best to not work with them beyond this point. To their credit, they took the news well and we're ending the relationship on amicable terms. 

 

So, where does that leave things? To be honest, I don’t think there will be much of a difference in the timing for launch. Over the last few weeks, I have been preparing for this change. I've obtained the certifications and permits required to operate in a commercial kitchen. I have a local commercial kitchen space lined up that I can hopefully get into by next week. I also have a space I could get into within the next few weeks as a backup plan. 

 

The manufacturer is shipping me all the ingredients leftover from the trial run. As soon as the ingredients arrive, I can get everything going in the kitchen. But, one change I did have to make was the packaging. Sadly, the small pouches we were using can only be sealed using the manufacturer’s machine. For now, I need a different type of packaging for the muffins. And it has already been ordered, so things are moving fast!

 

Looking on the bright side, I will now be much closer to the product. 

 

I can act quicker to implement changes as I receive feedback from customers. 

 

I can make the product faster.

 

I can fulfill orders quicker. 

 

And I will have more control across the business.

 

This was the biggest point of frustration for me. I felt like there were days where I couldn't do anything to move the business forward. I spent too much time waiting. Now that I'm producing the muffins, there's more responsibility on my plate. And right now, that's absolutely necessary. 

 

The road to launch has been full of twists and turns. I keep reminding myself to expect the unexpected, considering I started a business in a completely new industry!