Other Services
Other Services
The Product Development team at CSU Spur can help you turn your idea into a prototype product. While we can accommodate clients at a variety of scales, most of our clients are new, emerging food entrepreneurs. Each of our clients is unique, and so we will listen carefully to your needs and goals.
We have helped small businesses with research, troubleshooting, safety planning, strategizing, and other aspects of navigating the difficult trajectory of getting a new product to market or improving an existing product.
What Other Services Does the FIC Offer?
If you need help with a goal that doesn’t quite match up with one of our typical services, please reach out anyway! We may be able to tailor our services to fit your needs. There are a lot of ways that we can help you solve problems, so please ask us and we will try to help or recommend someone who can.
Basic Pricing and Services
More pricing information can be found here.
Request Other Services
To request a proposal for one of these services, please download and fill out the following documents and submit the relevant information on the Request Services page. Fill out the Contact the FIC form at the bottom of the Request Services page.
Request a Space
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of clients do you normally work with?
The type of client who is the best fit for us is just starting out. Usually, we work with people who have a good idea, but they haven’t started to produce or sell it yet, or they have only sold it at a very small scale (such as farmer’s markets).
Can you help me find a co-packer?
Generally, we work with clients who aim to self-produce and don’t move on to co-packing directly after working with us. For that reason, while we have contacts to some local co-packers and a few in other states, we do not have extensive contacts with co-packers.
We can provide a few recommendations and resources where you can search for co-packers. However ultimately, finding a co-packer will be your responsibility when you decide to take that step.
Can you help me find ingredient suppliers?
When developing your product, we will aim to do it with your scale in mind. This often means using suppliers who sell in bulk or wholesale where possible.
Our network of supplier connections expands every day, and so we can usually provide recommendations for suppliers of your ingredients. However, we don’t guarantee this, as some formulas require specialty or custom ingredients, and also because we are not able to negotiate pricing or other arrangements with suppliers on your behalf.
Can you help me figure out my costs?
Because we are not the final purchaser of ingredients, suppliers will not negotiate pricing with us. Often, we are unable to know the cost of ingredients. For this reason, it falls to you to find out the costs of all your materials. However, once you have gathered this information, we can coach you on how to use it to calculate your cost of goods sold (COGS) and your Unit COGs as part of our consulting services.
How will I be billed for this service?
Once services are agreed upon, and all materials are submitted on behalf of the client and work can begin, the client will receive an invoice that must be paid prior to service completion. All invoices are due upon receipt, and past due invoices are subject to late fees. All materials such as reports, test results, etc. will not be distributed until the invoice is paid. Invoices can be paid via this website on the Pay your Invoice tab on the left pane, or on the home page.