How Cuso Cuts Saves 100s Of Hours & Expanded Their B2B Business with ShipBob [Case Study] 

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Learn how Cuso Cuts leverages ShipBob’s fulfillment solution to save time and scale their business.  

Key Metrics  

• 600+ stores 
• 4 major brick-and-mortar stores 
• 8 total employees, 2-person logistics team 
• 3+ hours saved per-week 

About Cuso Cuts

Cuso Cuts began as a guy who liked to grill. 

In 2019, online grilling influencer Jack Mancuso launched a frozen‑meat drop shipping brand. But after he faced logistical nightmare after logistical nightmare, from meat getting delivered fully thawed to packages being left in P.O. boxes too long, he decided to pivot his offerings.

Customer Profile

Jack Mancuso established a following on social media as a grilling aficionado. Eventually, he launched an ecommerce brand called Cuso Cuts, an homage to his last name and penchant for barbecuing. They sell grilling rubs and barbecue seasoning blends such as Cuso’s Dirt, Cuso’s Cowboy Butter, and Cuso’s Cajun Explosion.  

Jack partnered with his friend Cody Allen, who had a background in digital marketing, and the two built out new product pages, sourced high-quality chef knives, and spent 7 months growing their customer base. Eventually, they introduced a collection of seasoning blends, sauces, and tallows, which have become their primary product lines. 

After working with a mom-and-pop 3PL in the beginning, Cuso Cuts eventually outgrew their offerings and needed a fulfillment partner that could arm them with real-time data, seamlessly connect with their tech stack, and help them scale. Learn how Cuso Cuts leverages ShipBob’s fulfillment solutions to achieve growth and save time.  

How ShipBob’s modern tech transformed our business  

As told to ShipBob by Cody Allen, Co-Founder of Cuso Cuts.  

One of the earliest things we did for Cuso Cuts was hire a 3PL. Neither Jack nor I knew what we needed in a 3PL, so we went with a mom‑and‑pop operation we were referred to. As our first 3PL, they taught us the fundamentals like receiving, BOLs, and the basics of warehousing. It was an amazing education. But as we scaled, cracks showed. 

We needed real‑time inventory numbers, especially because retail orders could wipe out 2,500 units that we needed for DTC orders. Our 3PL didn’t have the software or bandwidth to support that. 

We ultimately outgrew that 3PL from a technology, volume, and inventory distribution standpoint. When we looked at ShipBob, their technology and fulfillment network in the US was really attractive.  

“ShipBob’s technology is by far the most important part of our partnership. It has completely changed the game for us. That’s what ShipBob offers that other fulfillment providers haven’t done extremely well.” 

Cody Allen, Co-Founder of Cuso Cuts

Now that we leverage ShipBob for order fulfillment, we don’t need to be in communication with our rep nearly as much as with our last 3PL because we can log in to the dashboard and access all of the info we need to drive our business. We can see inventory levels, order details, and tracking information.  

As a food brand that sells shelf-stable items, we’re also able to associate lot numbers with every PO and every unit of inventory. When we need to ship from a certain lot, it’s easy. The traceability is clean and compliant.  

In addition, inventory receiving with ShipBob is much better. Inventory was the biggest headache with our last 3PL. 

ShipBob’s advanced B2B Suite has been integral to the success of our omnichannel business 

For about three years, Cuso Cuts was almost entirely focused on DTC. But last year, we hired Jack’s brother, Nick Mancuso, as VP of Sales specifically to grow B2B and retail because we realized our long‑term home is the grocery aisle. 

While our online store offers bundles and build-your-own-packs to save, if a consumer wants a single $12 seasoning, they don’t want to pay $10 in shipping. Retail solves that. Now we ship to Target, Wegmans, Safeway, ACME, King’s Food Markets, Balducci’s, Ace Hardware, and more. 

Last year, our split was about 85% DTC and 15% B2B. This year, we expect 60% DTC and 40% B2B, and it will keep shifting. We are moving toward a more B2B-focused model, and ShipBob is a big part of why we can make that transition smoothly. 

ShipBob already has relationships with the retailers we work with and understands their specific requirements. Whether it’s getting shipments palletized or tagging shipments appropriately, ShipBob’s B2B solution has been very beneficial for us. 

For example, I sent over palletization docs from Target, Wegman’s, and KeHE, and I’m sure the warehouse received them and thought, “Yeah, we’ve already done 6 of these today.” We’ve had zero palletization fees, and that alone speaks volumes to ShipBob’s B2B capabilities.  

“When it comes to B2B, I don’t know what I don’t know. For everything I know ShipBob is doing for us, I’m sure there are 5 things I don’t realize are happening behind the scenes that are integral for success. ShipBob’s omnichannel expertise is a competitive advantage for our B2B business.”

Cody Allen, Co-Founder of Cuso Cuts 

How ShipBob makes virtual bundling a breeze 

Bundles are everything for us, and ShipBob makes offering multi‑item sets effortless to manage on the back end. 

We can offer premade bundles, mix‑and‑match bundles, and “build your own bundle” 
options without pre‑kitting or locking inventory into physical sets. 

This flexibility helps us test new offers, run promos, and improve AOV without any operational overhead. 

Plus, we run a lot of paid ads, and they aren’t cheap. We need to drive our AOV up in order to justify those ads. A $20 CAC doesn’t work on a single unit after COGS. Bundles raise AOV enough to make ads profitable. 

ShipBob’s team makes logistics as painless as possible 

How we use ShipBob as our single source of truth for inventory visibility

Even though we use NetSuite as our ERP, ShipBob has become our single source of truth for inventory management.  

With our old 3PL, inventory counts could have been inaccurate, and we were constantly at risk of overselling. During peak season, this became a crisis. No one wants to tell a customer, “Your Christmas gift isn’t coming.” 

Now, with ShipBob, everything is clean and traceable. 

They also have a great functionality to manipulate shipments when needed. We oversold 150 units over peak season, and ShipBob helped us split orders into multiple shipments so customers still received partial orders while we restocked the rest.  

“With ShipBob, there seems to be a solution for everything. ShipBob’s level of experience and expertise really shines. They work quickly, never get flustered, and are always able to accommodate our needs.” 

Cody Allen, Co-Founder of Cuso Cuts

How integrating our tech stack with ShipBob saved us 2-3 hours per week 

Since working with ShipBob, I’ve saved hundreds of hours. Each week, 2-3 hours’ worth of work has been taken off my plate, especially around integrations. ShipBob is a big company, and we work with some of the biggest ecommerce platforms and tools, so I know that whatever software we want to integrate, ShipBob can handle it.  

Other than ShipBob, SPS Commerce and NetSuite are 2 of the most important platforms to us. From an order fulfillment standpoint, it’s been great to have our data pass through automatically and seamlessly. We don’t have to manually create orders, and that saves so much time.  

What’s next for Cuso Cuts 

We want to be the household name in better‑for‑you spices. When people think of healthy food, we want them to think of Cuso’s. 

We’re headed toward retail expansion, new blends, subscriptions, and broader distribution. ShipBob is the operational foundation that lets us focus on getting there. 

Cuso Cuts’ team at ShipBob

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