Mark Haas

Chief Executive Officer @ Helmsman Group

About

I've spent 35 years navigating the technical and regulatory complexities that determine whether food products succeed or fail in North American markets. As one of approximately 100 Process Authorities recognized by AFDO, I've formulated nearly 500 brands representing an estimated $5 billion in accumulated client sales value, working across every product category from ready-to-eat cereals to complex thermal processing applications.The food industry faces accelerating regulatory complexity. FSMA 204 traceability requirements, alternative protein labeling challenges, allergen management protocols, and cross-border compliance demands are overwhelming internal teams. Meanwhile, bad advice proliferates in forums and peer groups where well-meaning but unqualified voices create expensive mistakes.I built RegulateCPG as the authoritative infrastructure layer for food and beverage businesses—an AI-powered compliance platform that achieved 96% accuracy and is protecting 8 million consumers daily. At major food manufacturers, comprehensive regulatory implementations reduced product launch timelines by 28 months. At a Fortune 500 food manufacturer, comprehensive sanitation assessments identified more than $50 million in annual savings opportunities. My consulting practice, The Helmsman Group, operates like Accenture for food companies—delivering innovation, concept development, product development, food science expertise, regulatory affairs, commercialization strategy, supply chain design, process engineering, and food safety programs.My work spans creating Cup4Cup gluten-free flour with Thomas Keller at The French Laundry, building Bridgetown Natural Foods to $300 million revenue, helping create the Nai brand that outperformed Pepsi in Saudi Arabia, and serving as a forward deployed engineer on CEO-led transformations at major food manufacturers. I maintain operations across multiple jurisdictions including the US and Canada for regulatory advantages and strategic positioning.I publish weekly technical analysis on food regulation, product development, and supply chain strategy at markhaas.beehiiv.com—join 34,000+ CPG executives, food scientists, and regulatory professionals getting insights you can't find anywhere else.For real-time answers and verified regulatory expertise, join our Discord community at https://discord.gg/Qpcn3Mxk—we provide the technical depth that complements the community insights StartupCPG members share, with professional guidance from experienced practitioners rather than peer speculation.

Country

United States

City

Portland

Industry

Food & Beverages

Skill

Chemistry, Chromatograms, Molecular Biology, DNA Extraction, PAH, Organic Chemistry, Import Law, Import Export, Dumping Duties, PITEX, NAFTA, USMCA, Maquilladora, Public Relations, Fine Dining, P&L Management, OAE, Predictive Maintenance, Process Engineering, Labor and Employment Law

Experience

Chief Executive Officer

Helmsman Group

2011-5 - Present · 15 yrs 5 mos

Portland, OR

Leading CPG product development consultancy specializing in technical operations: Innovation, Concept Development, Product Development, Food Science, Regulatory Affairs, Commercialization, Supply Chain Design, Process Engineering, Food Safety, and Quality Systems. Comparable to Accenture for food industry operations. Recent engagements include comprehensive sanitation assessments across five facilities for a Fortune 500 food manufacturer, identifying more than $50 million in annual savings opportunities through protocol optimization, equipment modifications, and process redesign. Developed detailed technical documentation for CEO-led enterprise transformation initiatives. Developed multiple ready-to-eat cereal lines for major natural foods manufacturers, optimizing production parameters and establishing complete manufacturing specifications for commercial launch. Portfolio includes formulation and commercialization work on an estimated one in five snack and energy bars available in today's market—spanning nutrition optimization, shelf-life stability, texture engineering, and scaled manufacturing protocols. Formulated nearly 500 brands over 35 years, with approximately 10% serving $1B+ enterprises, 40% representing companies with $10-500MM in revenue, and the remainder spanning emerging brands. Individual project scope ranged from $1MM to over $200MM in annual revenue. Nearly every product formulated remains in market today, representing an estimated $5 billion in accumulated sales value for clients. Serve as Process Authority (AFDO-recognized) for thermal process validation. Provide forward deployed engineering services for major manufacturers, comprehensive HACCP assessments for enterprise operations, and regulatory strategy for brands navigating FDA, USDA, and CFIA requirements.

Chief Executive Officer

RegulateCPG

2022-6 - Present · 4 yrs 4 mos

Portland, Oregon

Building the authoritative AI-powered compliance infrastructure for food and beverage businesses. Invested $3 million over six years developing a closed LLM that achieved 96% regulatory accuracy—the highest precision rate in food compliance technology. Secured 32 enterprise clients including major food manufacturers where comprehensive regulatory implementations reduced product launch timelines by 28 months, meal kit companies protecting 8 million consumers with deployment-ready food safety systems, and adoption by 9 universities for food science curricula. Established strategic technology partnerships with NVIDIA, Microsoft, and AWS providing over $300,000 in infrastructure credits. Selected for Plug and Play's Money Tech Pitch Session with active investor meetings for $3M seed round at $20M cap. Working with a global food facility hygiene systems provider to optimize RegulateCPG's engines for automation of predictive master sanitation schedules, establishing exclusive channel partnership for IntelliSync deployment to their international food manufacturing client base. Platform combines 35 years of CPG regulatory and technical expertise with modern AI infrastructure to deliver compliance intelligence that traditionally required expensive consultants or in-house regulatory teams.

Member of the Board

Food Northwest

2011-1 - Present · 15 yrs 9 mos

Portland, OR

ERI is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit. Northwest Food Processors Education Research Institute (ERI) exists to enhance the overall economic health of the Northwest food processing cluster and the communities it supports. ERI and its implementation arm, Northwest Food Processors Innovation Productivity Center (IPC), work on behalf of the food processing industry in the following areas: innovation infrastructure, workforce development/pipelining, operational productivity, strategic alliances, research and transportation.

COO

Cup4Cup

2014-1 - 2015-1 · 1 yr 1 mo

Yountville, california

Consumer Packaged Goods for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group

Operations Director

Annie's Inc.

2011-9 - 2013-12 · 2 yrs 4 mos

Berkeley, CA

Supply Chain, Farmer Direct Sourcing, Contract Manufacturing

CEO & Founder

Bridgetown Natural Foods

2008 - 2011-7 · 3 yrs

Bridgetown Natural Foods is a Contract Manufacturer of Consumer Ready to Eat Food items including: snacks, bars and cookies.

President

Efficiency Foods (The Helmsman Group)

2007-8 - 2008-8 · 1 yr 1 mo

Portland Oregon

Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Business Management Consulting. Delivering Cost Improvement solutions and business strategy to manufacturing organizations.

Plant Director (General Manager)

Kellogg Company

2004 - 2007 · 3 yrs

San Jose, CA

P&L of a highly automated frozen foods manufacturing site - $120MM GSV.

Director of Operations

Kashi Company

2002 - 2004 · 2 yrs

Total cost accountability for Kashi Company.

General Manager

The Hain Celestial Group

2001 - 2002 · 1 yr

General Manager of Health Valley, Breadshop, Casbah, Nile Spice, and multi-format manufacturing site: 5 bake lines, 4 ready to eat cereal lines, and 5 dry pack lines.