Practical, factory-floor operational mentoring for Yorkshire food and drink producers. From commercial kitchen scale-up to high-volume manufacturing, we eliminate bottlenecks and unlock deliverable growth.
Whether stepping out of a test kitchen or running an established multi-SKU manufacturing facility, we provide deliverable pathways designed around your commercial reality.
Early Stage & Kitchen Scale-up
Move safely from domestic creation to commercial production without costly trial-and-error mistakes or regulatory surprises.
Factory Scaling & Debottlenecking
For established bakeries, confectionery and food manufacturers facing capacity ceilings, congested floor space, and operational friction.
6-Week Online Cohort
An intensive 6-week guided programme designed for founders wanting to build resilient operational systems and eliminate production anxiety.
Ongoing Critical Friend
An ongoing sounding board and executive mentor to guide governance, capital investment, grant funding, and team restructuring as you scale.
A structured 4-step pragmatic methodology that transitions food business founders from daily firefighting into controlled, profitable scale.
A factory-floor walk-through mapping end-to-end production flow. We analyze batch economics, idle equipment time, repetitive handling, and identify unprofitable product lines.
Before committing to capital outlay, we optimize existing workflows. We reconfigure shifts, introduce annualised hours, reorganize storage, and debottleneck assembly points.
When expanding into new units or extending footprints, we map precise layout blueprints: raw goods intake, segregation, baking/cooking, finishing, hygiene, packing, and dispatch.
We build actionable roadmaps matched to your cash flow, connecting your enterprise to regional grant schemes (MGP, LEP Growth Hubs, NPIF) to subsidise consultancy and capital equipment.
Concrete operational outcomes delivered for independent Yorkshire food producers and small businesses.
Experiencing surging sales across their premium patisserie range, Just Desserts acquired an adjoining industrial unit. Honeycomb Consulting delivered detailed factory layout engineering, mapped production flow, and pinpointed zero-cost process enhancements.
“Working with Jo has been an extremely worthwhile exercise. She gave us the tools to make sound decisions and the confidence that they had the best chance of working.” James O’Dwyer — Managing Director, Just Desserts
Faced with seasonal cash-flow troughs and technical shelf-life barriers restricting retail wholesale distribution, Cocoa Mester partnered with Honeycomb to formulate natural shelf-life preservation and manageable batch scaling.
“Jo has such a wealth of experience and understood all the challenges my business faces. We worked together in small chunks so action planning and implementing were not overwhelming.” Anna Sterling — Founder, Cocoa Mester
Jo brings genuine blue-chip operational rigor combined with the grounded empathy of working side-by-side with independent food makers. Rather than delivering ivory-tower presentations, Jo puts boots on the factory floor.
“I will not over-complicate the strategy or the solution. I provide a tailored service which is unique to the client, provides a clear pathway forward which is deliverable by them… and makes good business sense.”
Authentic, unedited feedback from verified business owners and Google reviews.
“Jo was a really knowledgeable consultant to work with. She supported us with many aspects of our business from looking at ways to increase productivity through adapting our processes and updating our kit to links to possible investors and help with creating our pitch deck. She also has great local knowledge to share in terms of other producers and useful contacts.”
“I have been working with Jo from Honeycomb Consulting for over a year now and I am so thankful that I connected with her services! Jo has been instrumental in the mentoring and growth of my food business on the NHS Supply chain. With a vast wealth of knowledge in manufacturing and operations, Jo is helping me build a strong and successful business with action plans, teaching and mentoring. With a friendly, kind and grounded approach to new businesses I highly recommend working with Jo!”
“We were very grateful to Jo for the in-depth analysis she produced for us regarding production meeting demand. We were extremely impressed and gained a deeper insight into our business as a result. We would definitely use her services again and would highly recommend Honeycomb Consulting to other companies!”
“The time spent with Jo was invaluable and greatly helped with focus. Together we created a buyer persona which has guided all decisions from that point. Jo also helped greatly regards supply chain advice which assisted in a difficult situation. Thanks Jo!”
“Jo has the flexibility to deal with multi-faceted tasks, under high pressure in both corporate and artisan environments. Great experience… she is a huge asset to any business in need of help.”
“Not much Jo doesn’t know about the food industry. Her operational insight, technical grounding, and ability to connect strategy with practical factory realities is exceptional.”
Straightforward answers to common questions about engaging a specialist food manufacturing consultant.
A specialist food consultant bridges the gap between commercial strategy and practical factory-floor operations. At Honeycomb Consulting, we work directly alongside food founders to solve technical compliance hurdles (HACCP, allergen controls, SALSA, BRC), eliminate production bottlenecks, extend shelf-life without chemical preservatives, redesign factory spatial layouts, and build deliverable scale-up roadmaps.
A food business should consider taking on a dedicated commercial unit when domestic kitchen capacity limits batch volume, when batch-to-batch consistency becomes difficult to control, or when retail stockists mandate formal hygiene accreditation such as SALSA. Honeycomb Consulting guides founders through unit selection, facility layout design, equipment sourcing, and environmental health compliance to avoid costly early mistakes.
Yes. Jo Crebbin brings over 25 years of corporate retail technical experience, including auditing suppliers for Sainsbury’s and leading technical operations at Bettys & Taylors. Honeycomb helps businesses build practical food safety management systems, allergen segregation, and traceability processes required for SALSA and BRC accreditation.
Yorkshire food manufacturers can frequently access grant support to subsidise consultancy and capital investments. Key initiatives include the Manufacturing Growth Programme (providing up to 35% grant funding towards specialist manufacturing advice), LEP Growth Hub vouchers (Leeds City Region, York & North Yorkshire), and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF). Jo Crebbin sits on regional appraisal panels and actively helps clients identify eligible grant schemes.
Yes. In fact, zero-cost operational streamlining is always our first priority. By adjusting shift arrangements, introducing annualised hours contracts, optimizing workbench flow, and eliminating micro-bottlenecks (such as shortages of baking trays or cooling racks), we achieved a 40% production increase for Just Desserts at zero capital cost.
Whether you are planning to scale into commercial premises, expand factory throughput, or resolve shelf-life challenges, arrange a free 30-minute discovery consultation with Jo Crebbin.
Contact Jo directly to discuss your manufacturing challenges or arrange an initial diagnostic review.
Please complete the form below and Jo will respond within 48 hours to confirm your consultation time.
