Heather Knepper — Founder, Food Producer & Peer-to-Peer Product Coach

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Heather is the founder and creative mind behind Ocho Sundries with its Ocho Salsa/Dips/Spices, CookThese Cookies, and SweetFreeze Treats.  She bringing more than 17 years of hands-on experience in small-business management including staff management, batch food production, product development, farmers market sales, and customer engagement. A fourth-generation Los Angeles native, she built Ocho from the ground up after moving to Pittsburgh, driven by a determination to recreate the bold, fresh flavors of Southern California.

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Heather has developed over 20 unique salsa varieties, multiple spice and salt blends, and a growing line of freeze-dried snacks—earning a loyal following for her product quality, consistency, and ability to connect personally with customers. She has spent years refining everything from flavor development and small-batch production to packaging, visual presentation, and market booth design.

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Her experience is practical, real, and hard-earned: sourcing ingredients, scaling recipes, running a certified commercial kitchen, preparing for markets, managing wholesale needs, and navigating the day-to-day realities of running a food business alone before Ocho grew into a team effort. This on-the-ground expertise makes her an invaluable peer-to-peer coach for other small food makers who want honest guidance from someone who has lived it.

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In the consulting space, Heather supports fellow producers with:

• Product feedback & refinement

• Label layout and packaging advice

• Farmers market table setup & customer engagement coaching

• Peer-to-peer support for early-stage food makers facing real-world challenges

• Practical insights on flavor design, batching, and presentation

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Heather brings deep maker-level experience, creativity, and empathy—helping producers improve their products, refine their presentation, and build confidence in their brand.

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Ron Knepper — Strategy, Operations & Technical Consultant

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Ron is a cross-disciplinary consultant with over 30 years of hands-on experience in federal disaster response, technical implementation, operations management, and small-business systems design. 

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Managing multiple federal contracts totaling $300M+ during his 21+ years, Ron became the go-to for everything from GIS mapping, data collection systems, drone mapping, and analytics to program/project management, field operations, technology development/implementation, reporting, and workflow efficiency assessments. His ability to switch between technical and operational roles made him a leader in disaster work and federal consulting.

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In the food sector, Ron helped build and scale Ocho Sundries’ commercial kitchen operations, leading everything from regulatory compliance (HACCP, labeling), equipment planning, packaging systems, and workflow design to grant development—including a top-scoring USDA BBS award.

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Today, Ron focuses on helping small producers, early-stage businesses, and organizations implement practical, efficient systems—whether in the office, in the field, or on the production floor. He also supports AEC and engineering firms that need experienced field operations support without the overhead and long term commitments. With a career built in disaster response, Ron understands how to execute field work quickly, accurately, and safely—often reducing the time, cost, and operational friction that technical teams face when they’re pushed into unfamiliar environments.

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Ron’s strength is seeing the whole picture, identifying what needs to happen, and building the systems to make it work—no matter the environment.