Fractional Director of Culinary Operations
Emerging food brands at $1M–$10M need executive-level operations leadership — without full-time overhead. Mise Collective steps in as your fractional Director of Culinary Operations, embedding in your business to build the systems, teams, and infrastructure that scale.
What Mise Means
It's the discipline that separates a kitchen that performs under pressure from one that collapses under it. The same principle applies to food businesses scaling from $1M to $10M and beyond.
Mise Collective partners with 2–3 food brands at a time as a fractional culinary operations leader. Not a consultant with a framework. An operator who builds what your business actually needs — production systems, wholesale infrastructure, cost visibility, and the team structures that hold it all together.
This is the depth of an executive hire without the full-time overhead.
10–20 hours per week, per client. Embedded in your operations, not advising from the outside. Real decisions, real accountability, real results.
Deep operational work can't be spread thin. Limiting capacity means every client gets a Director-level operator who actually knows their business.
Food & beverage brands that have outgrown founder-led operations but aren't ready — or don't need — a $200K+ full-time hire.
What We Do
Engagements are built around what your business actually needs — not a templated service package. Here are the areas where Mise Collective delivers the most impact.
Facility audits, workflow redesign, staffing structure, equipment coordination, health & safety systems.
Team structure, delivery fleet management, account systems, third-party distributor relationships.
Custom cost-tracking databases, Wherefour & NetSuite implementation, supply chain productivity frameworks.
New product formulation, product list revitalization, redesign for marketability, supply chain adaptation.
Results
These aren't projections. They're outcomes from leading culinary operations at Lick Honest Ice Creams — nine retail locations, 200+ wholesale clients, and a national UNFI distribution launch.
Fit
Work Together
Capacity is intentionally limited to 2–3 clients. If you're in the $1M–$10M range and think Mise Collective might be the right fit, the first step is a 30-minute call to find out.
Fill out the form with some context about your brand and where you're feeling the operational pressure. I'll respond within 48 hours.