A Match Made In Manufacturing: Rescale Launches Co-Man, 3PL, & Ingredient Tools

Five years ago, Julia Megson was on her 100th+ visit to a comanufacturer as Director of Operations at Trader Joe’s, trying to find the right partner to make a new product that would be distributed to TJs stores nationally. Frustrated by the manual nature of the process – the searching, the dead ends, the out of date info, and the timelines – she decided that there had to be a better, more cost efficient way to scale food & beverage manufacturing.

Megson tucked the idea away, and went on with her career – scaling emerging brands and going back to school – but the idea that there had to be a better way to search and onboard manufacturing operations, remained.

In 2023, after speaking with over 100 food & beverage brands, and hearing time and again that co-man search and onboarding still felt outdated, opaque, and painful, Megson decided that she had to build a solution to the ops problem that had plagued her most of her career. Together with co-founder Matthew Kaliara, she built and launched Rescale, a software tool designed to simplify the time, process, and cost associated with finding the right co-manufacturing, sourcing, and fulfillment partners. Rescale offers self-guided, software & tech-enabled tools paired with expert-built templates and guides to take you through search, trials, and negotiation.

Megson adds that Rescale is, “simple, capital-efficient, and effective so founders can spend less time and less cash making products, and can spend more time building.”

The process is simple but effective: Rescale has an up-to-date, searchable database of over 5,000 vendors (manufacturers, 3PLs, & ingredient suppliers)in the United States. Using their proprietary tools and process, users quickly build a prospect list of 20-30 vendors, and get to trials with their top 3-5 choices 2X faster than a DIY approach. Using Rescale’s expert-led process and templates – everything from call scripts, to NDAs, to RFPs – brands see 30% more competitive bids, and avoid the costly legal and operational pitfalls of a DIY process.

If users need additional support, Rescale offers that too. Megson herself will work with customers to make sure they don’t fall into any of the many contractual traps – like exclusives – that befall many emerging brands.

“Understanding what co-manufacturers are looking for and what clauses they will often write into contracts is vital to making sure an emerging brand is protected. Even if the process is going smoothly and you think you’ll be with this partner forever, it’s important to make sure you own your IP and are in a position to leave if the need arises,” Megson adds. “Part of the value that Rescale provides is that not only do we help you find the right partners, we help you succeed in getting the right terms.”

Brands are taking note. When Georges Duverger, founder of Telegram Cookies, couldn’t keep up with making his French-style butter cookies, he turned to Rescale for help.

“Rescale has been instrumental in helping my company transition from me baking in a shared commercial kitchen to establishing a relationship with a manufacturer and taking my business to the next level… I highly recommend them to any food entrepreneur looking to take their business to the next phase,” he said.

Ultimately, how a food & beverage brand’s manufacturing and operations are set up can make or break a company. Often with small teams or even solo operators, emerging brands don’t have the bandwidth or knowledge to search manually, or the cash to hire expensive consultants. Rescale gives you access to a tested process and expertise without costing a fortune, thus putting competency back in the hands of founders & operators.

To start searching, click here. To book a demo click here.