Food & Beverage Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp

Food & Beverage Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp

Are you an entrepreneur with a great recipe or product but need additional support to turn it into a successful business? The Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs Bootcamp is a 10-week program that will help new entrepreneurs build on their passions and current producers strengthen their existing businesses.

The Clatsop SBDC has partnered with experts at the North Coast Food Web and the Astoria Co+Op to deliver a comprehensive program that will cover what you need to not only create and sell your product but also put you on a path to building a successful food or beverage product business.

This bootcamp will help you refine your recipe, develop your product, grow your business skills, and advance your success with your food or beverage product business.

The program includes:

*Five 2-hour educational sessions (detailed below), with one additional optional “pitch” session where you present your product plan to class participants and experts for feedback

*Five individual advising sessions with an SBDC business advisor to help you apply what you are learning in the classroom to your business.

*Technical advising from the North Coast Food Web to assist with recipe refinement, product costing, and working in a commercial kitchen.

*One individual advising session with a marketing specialist to review your marketing strategy.

*3 months of kitchen access at the North Coast Food Web (up to 20 hours per month)

Who should attend? This program will be helpful to a wide range of individuals who are in the process of building a food business, such as:

*A restaurant owner or chef who wants to market a special product to customers to take home or to local retail stores.

*A person who wants to produce and market a unique food product developed from a family recipe.

*A farmer who wants to make pickles from their garden or create jelly made from berries they grow.

*A person who has a passion and recipe developed for a craft beverage.

*A farmer or gardener who wants to develop and market a special pasta sauce.

PROGRAM DETAILS

Session 1: Introduction to Entrepreneurship (Oct 8th, Clatsop Community College-Astoria)

Presenter: Josh Allison, Clatsop Small Business Development Center

Topics Covered:

*Understanding your “WHY”

*Fundamental business needs

*What makes a good business idea?

*Defining Your Value Proposition

*Identifying Your Target Customers

Session 2: Food Manufacturing & Best Practices (October 22nd @ North Coast Food Web- Astoria)

Presenter: Andy Catalano, North Coast Food Web

Topics Covered:

*Introduction to Food Science & Safety

*Navigating USDA & FDA regulations

*Valuable Food Safety Certifications

*Understanding a HACCP Plan

*Assessing Domestic Kitchens vs Commercial Kitchens vs Co-Packers

*Importance of Sourcing

*Identifying Process Authorities and Licensing

Session 3: Packaging Your Physical Products (Nov 5th @Astoria Co+Op)

Presenter: Silqet Ra, North Coast Food Web & Astoria Co+Op

Topics Covered:

*Packaging and Labeling Considerations

*Understanding Dating Requirements (Best By, Use By, Expiration Date) / Shelf Life

*Navigating Govt Assistance (WIC, Food Stamps, etc)

*Branding Value-Add Statements (Paleo, Gluten-Free, Organic, etc…)

*Cottage Industry Rules

Session 4: Business Fundamentals – Recipe to Profit (Nov 19th @ Clatsop Community College)

Presenter: Josh Allison, Clatsop SBDC

Topics Covered:

*Intro to Financial Statements

*Developing a Budget

*Understanding 3-Tier pricing for Scaling

*Planning for Growth

Session 5: Marketing: Exciting Your Target Customer (Dec 3rd @Clatsop Community College- Astoria)

Presentation Lead: Michael Shipley, Marketing Specialist, Clatsop SBDC

Topics Covered:

*What is product marketing

*Understanding your market

*What you’re actually selling (Hint: It’s not your product)

*The Strategy (Creating Your Sales Funnel)

*Advertising Best Practices

Session 6: Pitching Your Plan (Optional) (Dec 17th @ Clatsop Community College- Astoria)

Presentation Leads: Cohort Participants

Topics Covered:

Participants pitch their business and marketing plans to receive valuable feedback from peers and industry experts.

Interested in registering two people for the course? Contact us at sbdc@clatsopcc.edu to to register the 2nd person for only $69!