Small Business Food Safety Foundations
For your business to grow,
food safety needs to grow with it.
You built something real. This program gives you the templates, the expert guidance, and the community support to build a food safety system that can actually take you further — step by step, at a pace that works for a small business.
No one wants a gap in food safety - it creates risk for your business and your customers.  We help you close it.
The Problem
You're already doing food safety.
Let's build on it.
Most small food companies have something - a basic HACCP plan from licensing, a GMP policy, a sanitation log. Getting licensed required it, and you did the work. But there's a big gap between what it takes to get a permit and what it takes to scale. What got you here won't always get you there.
- Retailers increasingly want documented food safety systems before taking on new suppliers
- Co-packers and distributors often require documentation before they'll work with you
- Gaps in your programs create risk for your customers and your brand
- A recall without documented procedures can end a small business overnight
- GFSI certification - SQF, BRCGS, FSSC 22000 - requires a complete system, not a starting point
What's Included
Expert support at a price that
actually works for a small business.
Small Business Food Safety Foundations gives you everything you need to build a real food safety system - without paying full consulting rates to get there.
A complete template library with examples
Every foundational food safety program with pre-filled examples so you can see what good looks like before you customize it for your operation. Templates that reflect real manufacturing experience, not generic checklists.
Short videos that explain every template
Not just what to fill in — but what the program means, why it matters for your specific business, and how to make it real in your operation. Watch on your own schedule, revisit anytime.
Group office hours twice a month
Bring your questions, get unstuck, and learn from other founders navigating the same challenges. Facilitated by Catalyst's food safety experts with 36+ years of real manufacturing experience - not generic advisors.
A structured path that builds on itself
The program moves through foundational programs in stages so you're never overwhelmed and always moving forward. Each stage builds on the last. The same programs that underpin every GFSI-recognized food safety system.
The programs your food safety
system is built on.
The program covers the full range of foundational food safety programs - the same ones that underpin every food safety system, regardless of where you ultimately want to take your business.
You won't be doing this alone. Expert support is built into every stage so you understand not just what the templates say, but what they mean and how to make them real.
Our Document Management Partner
Your documents deserve a real home.
That's where Allera comes in.
Building food safety programs is only half the work. The other half is keeping them controlled, current, and accessible so when an inspector walks in, everything is organized and defensible. That's exactly what Allera does.
Allera is an electronic document management system built for food companies. Program members get access to Allera at a significantly reduced rate so your templates don't just live in a folder somewhere. They live in a system designed to manage them. And when you're ready to record the monitoring and inspection data your procedures require, Allera captures that too.
This program is built for founders who are ready to build it right.
If any of these sound like you, you're in the right place.Â
✅You're a founder-led food company with 1–25 employees, actively producing and selling food
âś…You have some food safety basics from licensing but know there are gaps you haven't closed
âś…A retailer, co-packer, or distributor has asked for documentation you don't fully have yet
âś…You want expert guidance without paying full consulting rates for the full scope of work
âś…You've tried to build programs on your own but haven't been able to see them through
âś…GFSI certification is on your radar - eventually or sooner - and you want to build toward it
 Take the next step to have the support you deserve.
Hear from founders who've worked with Catalyst on their food safety journey.
Taylor Clarke, Founder
"You will 100% turn down opportunities that come your way without a food safety program. It certainly would have been easier to start on food safety sooner. Catalyst is now an important part of our team as we grow, and we don't intend to let them go even once all documents are in place."
Erica Fair, Founder
"Food safety is much more complicated than I thought. Even if you're already doing the work to keep things safe, you have to write everything down as proof. Having Catalyst lead the charge on our upcoming audits has been amazing. There is no way any one person could do this and run their business at the same time."
36+ years in food.
All of it in your corner.
Catalyst Food Leaders is co-founded by Jill Stuber and Tia Glave - two food industry veterans with combined experience across 12+ food categories, from dairy and poultry to produce, snacks, beverages, and meal kits. We've led food safety teams at global manufacturers and coached hundreds of food safety professionals from specialists to VPs.
"We've worked with small food company founders before at our standard consulting rates. The work was good. But the invoices were real, and for a founder doing everything at once, they were a lot.
We kept thinking: there has to be a way to give founders what they actually need without pricing them out of getting there.
This program is that way. The same depth of expertise. The same real manufacturing experience. Built for the reality of running a small food business."
-Jill Stuber & Tia Glave, Co-Founders, Catalyst Food Leaders
36+ years
of combined food industry experience across global manufacturers and emerging brands
12+ food categories
from dairy and poultry to produce, snacks, beverages, and meal kits
Trusted by small food companies including Amborella Organics and Sans Bakery, and enterprise brands including Dole, Ocean Spray, General Mills, Bimbo Bakeries, and Wayne Farms.
Get Started Today
Start with our free
Small Business Food Safety Starter Kit.
A practical two-page guide that shows you where you are on your food safety journey and what to build next - no fluff, no consulting pitch. Just a clear starting point.
Get Your Free Starter Kit
We'll send it straight to your inbox. And we'll follow up with practical guidance on where to start - no spam, just substance.
We won't sell your info. Promise.
Already know you want to talk? Schedule a 30-minute call with us.
No commitment. No pitch. Just a conversation about where you are and whether this program makes sense for you.
Have more questions? We've got answers.
How long will it take to get food safety programs in place?
Will this program get me GFSI certified?
I already have some food safety documents. Is this still for me?
How much will it cost?
When can I get started?
What if Catalyst isn't a fit for me?
Ready to build something that lasts?
Start with the free Starter Kit. No commitment. No pitch.
