Stay Ahead of The Game: Read Our Key Takeaways on The Evolving Landscape of Food Technology

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Stay Ahead of The Game: Read Our Key Takeaways on The Evolving Landscape of Food Technology

Check out the latest insights from the global food leaders at the Future Food Tech Summit, including our very own Lauren Abda and Tara Levine from Branchfood! With consumers demanding environmentally friendly, nutritious, and functional products, the food industry is changing faster than ever before. Stay ahead of the game by reading our key takeaways on the evolving landscape of food technology.

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Ex-buyers spill the beans on how emerging brands can get into – and stay in – coveted retailers

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Ex-buyers spill the beans on how emerging brands can get into – and stay in – coveted retailers

As part of our webinar series in collaboration with Trax Retail, we brought together founders of emerging CPG brands and ex-buyers at Target to discuss best practices for brands to successfully engage with buyers, boost conversions, and grow their presence to win in retail. Listen to the full webinar or find out more about Trax Dynamic Merchandising for emerging brands.

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Financing and Accounting Strategies for Food Startup Success

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Financing and Accounting Strategies for Food Startup Success

The success of a food startup depends on having enough capital and spending it efficiently to support operations and sustain them as they grow. Financial statements are key. Not only do they enable you to capture and track the value you're generating at a specific moment in time, but they also provide you with the information you need to craft a compelling story and engage investors around it. Read on to discover some of the best financing and accounting strategies to propel your business forward.

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Experience Sunrise on the Inside: Waku, a Modern Twist on an Ancient Tea

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Experience Sunrise on the Inside: Waku, a Modern Twist on an Ancient Tea

This week we’re delighted to speak with Juan Giraldo and Nico Estrella, founders of WAKU plant-based tonics, whose mission is to revive the body and spirit through the time-tested knowledge and homegrown flavors of Ecuador. Learn more about their successful pivot to a direct-to-consumer model in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as some of the strategies they leveraged to succeed in this unprecedented environment.

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Exploring The World of Food Pricing with Food Business Expert Jim Verzino

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Exploring The World of Food Pricing with Food Business Expert Jim Verzino

Properly pricing CPG products early on sets entrepreneurs on the path to success but most of the pricing models available are based on mass-produced foods and focus solely on costs. Drawing from the Innovation Adoption Lifecycle methodology, food business expert Jim Verzino demonstrates the importance of taking into account the target market and volume when costing products.

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Improving your Digital Presence and Content Marketing with Nature & Nurture

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Improving your Digital Presence and Content Marketing with Nature & Nurture

Member Monday returns with a spotlight on Elise Yost, Account & Marketing Strategist at Nature and Nurture Creative. Elise’s background is in marketing with an emphasis on the food industry and small businesses. She and the team at Nature & Nurture help clients succeed in the food and beverage space through dedicated partnerships. Read on to learn Elise’s top tips for working remotely, long-lasting marketing trends that arose from COVID-19, and what makes marketing in the food world unique!

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Navigating the Food Industry with Kalahari Snacks

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Navigating the Food Industry with Kalahari Snacks

Tyler Noyes, Branchfood Mentor in Residence, is the Co-Founder of Kalahari Snacks, a packaged food brand that brings South African inspired biltong and crisps— air-dried beef snacks—to America.

To continue Branchfood’s support of the food & beverage community, we recently had the pleasure of hosting ‘Ask an Entrepreneur’ with Tyler, where he shared insights on his company’s launch, the R&D process, how to expand your distribution market, and more. Check out our upcoming events designed to help you achieve your goals, and continue reading for Q&A highlights.

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Launching Allergen-Friendly Consumer Products with Freed Foodies

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Launching Allergen-Friendly Consumer Products with Freed Foodies

Freed Foodies founder Daniel Brassloff was dissatisfied with gluten-free pizza and other baked good options on the market. After being diagnosed with tree-nut allergies in 2000 and Celiac in 2006, he has tried his best to support brands making great products for those who follow a gluten-free diet. After starting his gluten-free microwave-made mug cake business, MuggedCake, with a few of his peers at Babson College and spending a semester abroad in college studying Gastronomy at CETT university, he set out to experiment with flour blends and come up with a formulation he knew he could stand behind.

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Balancing Family, Nutrition, and a Successful CPG Business with Little Pickins

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Balancing Family, Nutrition, and a Successful CPG Business with Little Pickins

Providing nutritious, delicious food for her family was always important to Branchfood member Jenn Bingham, but with a busy work schedule, it wasn’t always easy — she is a working mom, Physician Assistant, and certified natural foods chef after all! When Jenn couldn’t find a healthy frozen food option that her young daughter would love, she decided to take matters into her own hands. After meeting Co-Founder Kelly Wannier, the two launched Little Pickins, which offers nutritious, gummable, frozen finger food for ages 10 months plus.

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How Instituting a Proper S&OP Process Can Bring Clarity to your Cashflow

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How Instituting a Proper S&OP Process Can Bring Clarity to your Cashflow

Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) is a monthly business management process that integrates quantitative data from different parts of the business, with the goal of driving better decisions around production planning, purchase order management, sales strategy, and product development. Simply put, the S&OP process refers to the regular communication between sales and operations departments to ensure smart cash decisions are being made. The S&OP process is critical for the success of CPG brands. A broken or non-existent S&OP process can lead to problems such as spoilage deductions, forecasting mishaps, and negative distributor balances. In fact, the number one reason brands reach out to advisory firms like Rodeo CPG is because something unexpected has happened that could have been prevented with a proper S&OP process.

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What is the single most important process contributing to the success of a CPG brand? Rodeo CPG's Top Tips for Success

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What is the single most important process contributing to the success of a CPG brand? Rodeo CPG's Top Tips for Success

We’re thrilled to share our next installment of Member Monday featuring Kevin Mannering, Partner and Chief Operating Officer of Rodeo CPG. This week, Branchfood partnered with Rodeo CPG to host a webinar titled, “Where’s My Cash? How Instituting a Proper S&OP Process can Bring Clarity to your Cashflow”. If you missed it, head to our YouTube channel to watch the event recording and learn why optimizing Sales & Operations (S&OP) communication is the single most important process contributing to the success of a CPG brand.

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Tasting Global Flavors with Naturel Juicing

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Tasting Global Flavors with Naturel Juicing

Our third installment of Member Monday highlights Nagélore Jean-Caïdor, founder of Naturel Juicing. Naturel Juicing creates fresh, nutrient dense, 100% raw cold-pressed juices, with no additives, preservatives or chemicals. These juices have globally-inspired flavors and seek to support a healthy life. Keep reading to learn about the process behind creating health-forward juices, balancing a day job with founding a startup, and more. If you missed Nagélore’s Instagram takeover, head over to our Member Monday Highlight to check it out.

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Health + Flavor — The Perfect Recipe for FlavaNaturals Chocolate

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Health + Flavor — The Perfect Recipe for FlavaNaturals Chocolate

Member Monday continues with a spotlight on Alan Frost, Founder of FlavaNaturals. FlavaNaturals specializes in performance-fueling (and tasty!) dark chocolate and cocoa powder products delivering cocoa flavanol levels proven to enhance brain, cardio and metabolic function. Keep reading to learn more about Alan’s successful career and the driving force behind FlavaNaturals. And, if you missed the Instagram sorry, check out the Member Monday Highlight on our page.

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Discover Spritzal Cookie Company + Branchfood Member Monday

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Discover Spritzal Cookie Company + Branchfood Member Monday

At Branchfood we strive to support the efforts of our industry-leading members and highlight their great work in many ways. To that end, we launched Member Monday, a campaign that seeks to support members’ and their efforts in building industry transformative businesses. Tune in to check out our members taking over our Instagram and revealing what inspired their entrepreneurial pursuits, how they launched their products, and what is in store for their future.

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