R&D Saturdays · Georgetown, TX

Your recipe works in the kitchen. Prove it on a production line.

One Saturday. The whole facility. A trained crew, every line we own, and as many test runs as you can fit in 5–6 hours — inside a certified commercial bakery, without committing to a single production order.

Reserve a Saturday See how it works
5–6 hrsOn the floor
∞Test runs, no meter
1Brand per Saturday
$5–10kAll-in, posted price
Quality check on racks of fresh-baked test cookies during an R&D day at Spud House
GF
GFCO CertifiedDedicated gluten-free
Saturdays OnlyThe floor is all yours
What This Is

What is an R&D Saturday?

An R&D Saturday is a dedicated product-development day inside our SQF-certified, 100% gluten-free production facility in Georgetown, TX — just north of Austin. You get the equipment, a small trained crew, unlimited test runs in a 5–6 hour session, in-house lab checks, and samples shipped wherever you need them. Sessions run $5,000–$10,000 all-in, and you don't have to be a Spud House customer — before or after.

It exists because of a hard truth in food: you can't tell whether a kitchen-perfected recipe is actually viable at commercial volumes until it runs on commercial equipment. This is how you bridge that gap — without betting a full production order to find out.

The Gap

Why kitchen-perfected recipes fail at commercial scale

Commercial equipment mixes, forms, and bakes differently than any kitchen. Batch size changes hydration, heat, and handling — and machines don't have hands. None of that shows up until the day you scale. The question is whether that day is a $5k test or a five-figure production run.

Your options Commercial kitchen R&D Saturday Straight to a production run
Equipment Bigger kitchen gear — still not production lines The actual commercial lines your product will run on Production lines — locked into one shot
What you learn That your recipe works… in a kitchen Whether it's viable at commercial volumes — before you commit Whether it's viable — after you've paid for the run
Iterations Many, but on the wrong equipment Unlimited runs in 5–6 hrs, adjust on the spot One. Adjustments wait for the next PO
Commitment Membership or hourly rental One day. No co-man contract required Full MOQ + ingredients + packaging
Cost of being wrong Low — but you haven't actually de-risked scale Contained: one Saturday, $5–10k The whole run, plus your launch timeline
What's Included

What you get on an R&D Saturday

Every session includes the full floor and the people who know how to run it. The week belongs to production — Saturday belongs to you.

The whole facility

Every line we own, staged and ready. One brand on the floor: yours.

A small, trained crew

Operators who run these lines all week — setting up, changing over, and keeping your day moving.

Unlimited test runs

Run, taste, adjust, run again. No per-batch fees, no meter — 5–6 hours of pure iteration.

In-house lab checks

Run the checks we do in-house same-day; ship samples to third-party labs for everything else.

Samples, shipped

Finished samples packed and sent to you, your team, your buyers — wherever they need to land.

Your numbers, documented

Every parameter you dial in — times, temps, speeds, batch behavior — written down and yours to keep.

Three numbered test cookie variations side by side on a parchment-lined tray
Round 1, 2, 3 — tweak, bake, compare
Gloved hands portioning test cookie dough at the bench between runs
Bench work between runs
Finished test cookies plated for tasting and buyer samples
The keepers — plated, tasted, shipped
First hour

Walk the floor, lock the plan

Your ingredients are already staged. Meet the crew, walk the equipment, set the run order.

The middle

Run, taste, adjust, repeat

This is the day's engine — real batches on real lines, changed on the spot, as many rounds as you need.

Last hour

Final runs, checks, pack-out

Lab checks on your best runs, parameters documented, samples packed for shipping.

The Floor

What equipment can you test on?

All of it. These are the same lines we run commercial production on Monday through Friday — if we run it during the week, you can test on it Saturday.

Bar extrusion and flow-wrap line for R&D testing

Bar & Bite Lines

  • Extrusion, cutting, and forming
  • Flow wrap and individual packaging
  • Custom inclusions — chips, seeds, dried fruit
Commercial cookie production line for recipe scale-up testing

Cookie & Baking Lines

  • Drop, cut, and pressed formats
  • Commercial ovens — soft-baked to crispy
  • Muffins, rolls, and freeze-ready runs
Granola baking and clustering equipment

Granola & Cluster Lines

  • Baking, clustering, and portioning
  • Bulk bag and retail packaging
Powder blending and filling equipment for dry mix development

Blending & Filling

  • Commercial-scale mixing and blending
  • Sifting and powder work
  • Pouches, tubs, and sachets

Formats we run: bars & energy bites, cookies, muffins & rolls, granolas & clusters, dry mixes & powders. Something adjacent? Ask — straight answer within 1 business day.

Pricing

What does an R&D Saturday cost?

$5,000–$10,000 all-in, depending on how you build your day. Posted here because you shouldn't need a discovery call to learn a price. You'll have your exact number before you book — no surprises, no per-run fees.

Every Saturday includes
from $5,000
  • Full facility access — every line, 5–6 hours
  • Small trained crew, dedicated to your runs
  • Unlimited test runs — no meter
  • In-house lab checks on the day
  • Samples packed & shipped anywhere
  • Documented process parameters — yours to keep
  • NDA from the first conversation
Build your day

Add our recipe expert

Two decades of making better-for-you formulas work on real equipment — in the room, on your product.

Add our food scientist

Formulation science, process validation, and shelf-life thinking while the batches are still warm.

Extended lab testing

Beyond the included checks — we coordinate third-party lab work and ship the samples for you.

Bring your own food scientist — free

Your consultant is welcome on the floor at no charge. We'll brief them before the day.

Fit

Who R&D Saturdays are for

A straight answer, both directions — your day only works if the fit is real.

Built for you if…

  • Your recipe is dialed in the kitchen and retail is calling — you need to know it survives commercial equipment
  • You're refining an existing product — texture, cost, process — and want real-line iteration, not guesswork
  • You're taking an idea to a commercialized, co-packer-ready product and want the data first
  • Your product is a dry baked good: bars, cookies, muffins, granola, mixes, powders
  • Every ingredient is (or can be) gluten-free

Not the right day if…

  • Your product contains gluten — we're a 100% dedicated gluten-free facility, zero exceptions. (Dairy, soy, corn, eggs, and nuts are fine — handled under full allergen controls.)
  • You need beverage, refrigerated, or wet-processing lines — that's not our floor
  • The recipe doesn't exist yet — come once you have something worth scaling
How It Works

How to book your R&D Saturday

Three steps between you and a production line.

1

Reserve your Saturday

Tell us what you're testing. We respond within 1 business day with fit, your exact price, and available dates.

2

Planning call + ship ingredients

We lock the run plan, quantities, and testing scope — then you ship your gluten-free ingredients ahead so everything is staged.

3

Run your day

5–6 hours, full facility, crew at your side. Leave with data, samples, and a real answer on commercial viability.

No co-man commitment. Take your results to any manufacturer — including, if you want, staying right here: our production runs start at just 1,000–5,000 units.
Your formula stays yours. Mutual NDA from the first conversation, formula access restricted internally, and everything we build together belongs to you.
Run by operators. Spud House is built by people who've launched and scaled better-for-you brands — including one of America's fastest-growing food companies (#3, Inc. 5000). We've been on your side of the table.
FAQ

R&D Saturday questions, answered

Commercial equipment mixes, forms, and bakes differently than kitchen equipment. Batch sizes change how ingredients hydrate and how heat moves through the product, and machines handle dough differently than hands do. A recipe that's perfect at 5 pounds can behave very differently at 500 — the only way to know is to run it on real production equipment.
No. Every other day of the week is full with production for existing clients. Saturday is our only non-production day — which is exactly why we can be this flexible with pricing and equipment access. One brand, the whole floor, no production schedule to work around.
$5,000–$10,000 all-in. The base day includes the facility, a small trained crew, and unlimited test runs in 5–6 hours. The final number depends on how you build your day — adding our recipe expert or food scientist, and the scope of lab testing. You'll have an exact price before you book.
No. R&D Saturdays are open to any brand — you're not required to manufacture with us before or after. Your results, data, and formula are yours to take anywhere, including another co-packer. (If you do want to scale here, you'll already know exactly how your product runs on our lines.)
We're a 100% dedicated gluten-free facility — zero gluten on site, ever. That's what keeps our GFCO certification meaningful for every brand that runs here, including yours on a Saturday. Every ingredient you send must be gluten-free. Dairy, soy, corn, eggs, and nuts are all fine — handled under full allergen controls.
The same lines we run commercial production on all week: commercial-scale mixing and blending, bar extrusion with cutting and flow-wrap, cookie lines for drop, cut, and pressed formats, commercial ovens, granola baking and clustering, and powder blending, sifting, and filling. If we run it during the week, you can test on it Saturday.
Your ingredients, shipped ahead of your date, with gluten-free documentation. We stage everything before you arrive so your 5–6 hours go to testing, not unloading. Your planning call covers exact quantities, specs, and anything format-specific.
Yes — bring your own food scientist or consultant at no extra charge; we'll brief them before the day. Or add ours: our recipe expert and our food scientist are each available as paid add-ons. Plenty of room for theirs and ours in the same conversation.
As many as fit in 5–6 hours — no per-run charge, no meter. Run it, taste it, adjust, run it again. With ingredients staged ahead and a crew that knows the equipment, iteration moves fast. If you get to the end of the day with more to test, book another Saturday.
We run a set of checks in-house on the day, and ship samples to third-party labs for anything beyond our scope — plus finished samples to you, your team, or your buyers. Testing scope gets locked on your planning call so the right checks happen while you're still on the floor.
You leave with documented process parameters, shipped samples, and a real read on commercial viability. From there it's your call: take your co-packer-ready process anywhere, or scale right here — our production runs start at just 1,000–5,000 units, unusually low for a certified facility.
Dry baked goods: bars & energy bites, cookies, muffins & rolls, granolas & clusters, and dry mixes & powders. If your product sits outside those formats, tell us what you're making — you'll get a straight answer on fit within 1 business day.

Page updated August 2026 · Spud House · 3301 Shell Rd, Georgetown, TX 78628

Reserve a Saturday

One brand per Saturday. Make it yours.

Tell us what you're testing. Within 1 business day you'll have fit, your exact price, and available dates — from a human, not a funnel.

  • Exact price before you book — no surprises
  • No co-man commitment, before or after
  • NDA-ready from the first conversation
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Your request is in. Within 1 business day we'll reach out at with fit, your exact price, and available Saturdays — then a planning call to build your day.

R&D Saturdays$5–10k · one brand per Saturday
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