Regional Wholesale Brand

Funky Fresh Spring Rolls is a company that produces uniquely flavored, hand rolled spring rolls that are baked or grilled (not fried) with fresh and local ingredients. The Funky Fresh team began selling at Farmers Markets, which in addition to providing early cash flow have functioned as market research labs, allowing them to talk directly to consumers.

Many food and farm entrepreneurs know their way around a kitchen or carrot crop, but when it comes to the financial stuff, they feel...

Tera and John Wepking discuss Meadowlark Organics’ farm transition journey, from securing the first loan to buy breeding cattle to building the infrastructure to mill organic small grains on-site, all under the mentorship of an experienced farmer.

Matt D'Amour of Yumbutter talks about the importance of having multiple things that distinguish your food brand so you can remain defensibly unique and mitigate the risk of competition. They joined the food scene when their category (nut butters) was not crowded yet and they were positioned well to overcome roadblocks.

Within six months of launching their company they got their product out in front of consumers, trying out 127 product variations over an additional 18 months in just two stores. Once they honed in on their product, they rapidly expanded into distribution and raised multiple rounds of funding to support their growth.

The Amazon platform provides a means for small and emerging brands to find an audience and generate sales if they dedicate time and resources to ensure discoverability on the platform by constantly optimizing product pages with the right keywords and features once the user is on the page, in addition to paying for keyword-based advertising.

If e-commerce wasn’t a priority for food brands before, COVID-19 has certainly made it one. Online food sales are soaring right now, and many shoppers want to buy direct from producers. A big part of your online strategy is deciding which online platforms to pursue. Our latest podcast explores how to figure this out. Also check out our free business tools to guide businesses during this tricky time, and remember to join our Monday virtual huddles for entrepreneurs and consultants.

Most food entrepreneurs will inevitably face the question of whether to self-manufacture or use a co-packer. For many, this comes after their business takes...

poSaNa organics is a manufacturer of best-in-class gluten-free cooking and baking mixes wholesaling to grocers and retailing directly online. This pitch deck is an example of an optimized pitch deck template to successfully raise money and communicate the company's business model.

Because Quince and Apple has labor-intensive, artisanal products, the best strategy was not to compete on quantity or price. Instead, they chose to compete by dominating an emerging niche (pairing their products with specialty cheeses) while telling the defensibly unique story of their artisanal processes.