Reaching out to a consultant can feel like a big step, especially if you are early in your journey or worried you do not know enough yet. You do not need a polished pitch. A little preparation simply helps you get more out of the conversation, whether you are starting a brand from scratch or fixing a product that is already in production.
Start with a short email
At 6R, it starts with email. Send a few lines about what you are making and what is in the way. Zach reads it himself and replies, and then you set up a call. A clear first email helps that call get to the point quickly.
What to include
- Where you are. Idea, bench samples, pilot, or production?
- What you are making. Jerky, meat sticks, or both, and in what style?
- Who you are. A new brand or an existing producer?
- How you produce, or plan to. Your own facility, a co-man, or not decided yet?
- What is failing or missing. The problem in your own words.
- Best phone number. So the conversation can move to a call.
If you have samples or a recipe
Have your current recipe or formula handy, along with any notes on how you make it. If you have product samples, describe how they look, taste, and hold up. You do not need to send confidential details in your first email; you can decide what to share as the conversation goes on.
If you are already in production
Gather what you know about the problem: when it started, how often it happens, what has changed recently, and what you have already tried. Production records, photos, and descriptions of the issue are all useful. Patterns are often more revealing than any single bad lot.
Questions you might ask
- Which of the nine stages does my project need?
- What usually trips up products like mine?
- Should I be working with a co-man, and how would that work?
- Can you work on site, remotely, or both?
- What would a realistic path look like for my product?
About timing and cost
Every project is scoped individually, so there is no price list. Timelines depend on your product, your plant or co-man, and the work. 6R has taken product concepts to a commercial product in about 90 days — the absolute minimum, not typical. A lot of variables go into it. The call is where you start to figure out what your project actually needs.
About food safety questions
If you have questions about food safety, validation, or shelf stability, bring them. Those topics are handled case by case because every product and process is different.
What happens after the call
If it looks like a good fit, the next step is scoping: deciding together which stages you need and how to approach them. Then the work begins, at the bench, in pilot runs, on your line, or with your co-man, on site or remotely.
Be honest about constraints
Every project has limits: budget, time, equipment, a launch window you are aiming for, or a partner you have already committed to. Share them early. Constraints are not a problem; they are information. Knowing them up front helps shape realistic recommendations instead of ideal ones that do not fit your situation. It also helps you and Zach decide together whether the timing is right to start now or to prepare a little more first.
You do not have to have it all figured out
Most people who reach out are in the middle of something messy. That is fine. The point of the first conversation is to understand where you are and what would help. Send the email.
Talk it through with Zach
Email a few lines about your product and what’s in the way. Zach reads it himself, replies, and then you talk on the phone.