Chapter 13: Case Studies from CPG Companies That Got It Right

Knowing you need to automate and actually doing it are two very different things. In this episode, the Formic team shares four real stories from CPG manufacturers who took the leap — and what happened when they did. These aren't case studies from companies with unlimited budgets or dedicated robotics teams. They're family-owned businesses, century-old brands, and growing operations that didn't know exactly how to get started either — until they did.Mi Rancho, a California tortilla and chip maker, deployed six end-of-line palletizing stations to close labor gaps across three shifts — and has since expanded to nine systems. Land O'Frost, a family-owned Illinois lunchmeat manufacturer, built a long-term automation strategy by starting with repetitive packing and stacking tasks that were impossible to staff, then scaling incrementally across facilities. Rumiano Cheese, the oldest family-owned cheese company in California, found a way to automate while staying true to its values — supporting its community, protecting its workers, and maintaining the organic quality standards its customers depend on. And Uncle Crumbles, a granola company that had a failed automation attempt years earlier, came back to it with a better partner and proved that a bad first experience doesn't have to be the last word.Key Takeaways:Mi Rancho went from six palletizing stations to nine — eliminating manual stacking injuries, closing labor gaps across three shifts, and freeing employees for higher-value rolesLand O'Frost's approach — starting with low-hanging fruit and building a long-term scaling blueprint — is a model for any manufacturer that wants to automate without disrupting culture or operationsRumiano Cheese proves that automation and tradition aren't in conflict — the right partner makes it possible to increase output while staying true to community and quality commitmentsUncle Crumbles shows that a failed first attempt at automation is not a reason to stop — it's a reason to find a better partner and a better modelThe three most common things manufacturers say before automating: "I don't know how to start," "I want to dip my toe in first," and "I want to test before committing" — Full Service Automation is designed to answer all threeYou don't need a large CapEx budget or an in-house robotics team to succeed with automation — you need the right supportAutomate Now is written by the Formic team — Saman Farid, Danijel Lolic, Molly Garrison, Brooklyn Kiosow, and Shawn Fitzgerald — and edited by Brooklyn Kiosow. Formic helps U.S. manufacturers automate for the first time through Full Service Automation: no large upfront investment, no in-house robotics expertise required. If this episode made you think about where automation could work in your facility, start the conversation at formic.co.0:00 Intro 0:48 Case Study #1 — Mi Rancho 2:15 Case Study #2 — Land O'Frost 3:44 Case Study #3 — Rumiano Cheese5:00 Case Study #4 — Uncle Crumbles 6:24 Key Takeaways