Episode 52: Anniversary Edition: Why Foodpreneurs Don’t Make Money

Episode 52: Anniversary Edition: Why Foodpreneurs Don’t Make Money

Making money creating and selling food and drink products is hard; with more than 70% of packaged food and drink brand owners not taking home a wage because there is no profit left over to pay themselves. But there are mistakes you can avoid, and things you can focus on to improve your chance of succeeding in the industry.

In this updated episode, I give you the top five reasons why foodpreneurs don’t make money. You’ll learn what you need to know today, with global market issues and increased competition, and limited shelf space, to land more accounts; make more sales; and put more money in your pocket for every food and drink product you sell. This was our most popular episode of 2022, and for good reason. Listen now to find out what to do to put more money in your pocket!

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Episode 51: How 2 Foodpreneurs Created a Successful Business Selling a Largely Unknown Ingredient

Episode 51: How 2 Foodpreneurs Created a Successful Business Selling a Largely Unknown Ingredient

Having a business partner in the food industry has many pros: another set of hands to help with production, someone to bounce ideas off and someone to laugh and cry with during the guaranteed highs and lows that come with being a foodpreneur.

This week on Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I talk to friends, and business partners Cathy Owen and Jenny Daniher of Garlicious Grown. We chat about how they created a thriving business built on an ingredient hardly anyone knew existed, selling to a mainly male-dominant demographic; as well as creating and maintaining a transparent, healthy working relationship, and having a few laughs along the way.

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Episode 50: How Foodpreneurs Can Increase DTC Sales through Digital Marketing

Episode 50: How Foodpreneurs Can Increase DTC Sales through Digital Marketing

For foodpreneurs who sell products online directly to consumers, getting customers to their websites is essential. If people aren’t landing on your website, they can’t buy your products. Last year there were more than 8.5 billion searches a day on Google; and while only a small fraction of that would be related to packaged food and drink products, as a foodpreneur who sells online, you need to get your products in front of those people.

For this episode of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast, I chat with Andy Janaitis, ecommerce expert and founder of digital marketing agency PPC Pitbulls, about all things ecommerce. Listen now to find out how foodpreneurs can leverage online marketing to increase direct to consumer sales.

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Episode 49: How to get Noticed by Retail Buyers and Land More Accounts.

Episode 49: How to get Noticed by Retail Buyers and Land More Accounts.

Standing out from the crowd when it comes to getting your product on shelves can be a struggle for many foodpreneurs. With more new food and drink products being produced than shelf space, it’s a competitive world out there for F&B businesses.

This week on the podcast I chat to Nicky Jackson, founder of RangeMe – a platform that connects retailers and suppliers, about what foodpreneurs need to be doing to differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace to get noticed by buyers. Listen to episode 49 if you want to know how to land on (and get off of) more shelves by highlighting your point of difference.

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Episode 48: 4 Food & Drink Trends for 2023 to Help Your Business Remain Current, Relevant and Engaging.

Episode 48: 4 Food & Drink Trends for 2023 to Help Your Business Remain Current, Relevant and Engaging.

It’s the start of a new year; and the perfect time (if you haven’t yet already!) to put together your business strategy for 2023. Industry trends and predictions can help direct your messaging and overall strategy – helping your business remain current, engaging, and relevant (and just a little bit cool).

That’s why for the first episode of 2023 of Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast I’ve combined extensive research with my experience of working with hundreds of foodpreneurs and big brands to discover four food and drink trends that will help future-proof your business. Listen to episode 48 if you want help aligning your products with what customers are interested in RIGHT NOW, helping to increase your sales and revenue for the year ahead.

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Episode 47: The Golden Quarter: Q4 Retail Review So You’re Ready to Win in Q1

Episode 47: The Golden Quarter: Q4 Retail Review So You’re Ready to Win in Q1

As a foodpreneur you’ve got to the pointy end of the year and you’d like to put your feet up. Fair enough too. But what if I said if you spend just 1 hour reviewing your results from Q4, you’d set yourself up for incredible sales success in Q1? Only 1 hour for all that gain. I think it’s worth it.

This week I complete your year with a good tidy up of what you should be doing right now and give you your simple review strategy for you to have an incredible plan for success in Q1. Listen to episode 47 if you want to know how to set yourself up for success in 2023 so you’re not forever in catch up mode over the next 12 months.

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Episode 46: How Storytelling and Persistence Gets Your Product on More Shelves

Episode 46: How Storytelling and Persistence Gets Your Product on More Shelves

As a foodpreneur you might not have thought being a storyteller would be part of the gig. But having a great brand story, and the way you tell it, could be the difference between your products getting stocked or not; particularly in a crowded market when you’re trying to stand out from competitors. And sometimes the only way you get to tell this brand story to buyers is through unwavering persistence.

This week I chatted to charismatic foodpreneur Matthew Jinks, owner of the incredibly successful premium gourmet food brand Random Harvest Gourmet. Listen to episode 46 if you want to know how storytelling and persistence can help products fly off the shelves and get brands stocked in overseas retailers, along with the biggest mistakes he’s seen foodpreneurs make when trying to grow their business.

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Episode 45: Your 12 Month Marketing Plan to Boost Sales in 2023

Episode 45: Your 12 Month Marketing Plan to Boost Sales in 2023

Unsurprisingly when I asked my Females in Food® community what they would spend $1000 on if they had it, they said marketing activities. After all, having an amazing product, attractive packaging, and great sales technique with buyers can get you on the shelf initially, but it’s MARKETING that gets you off the shelf and into consumers’ hands, resulting in reorders from stockists, and ultimately more money $$$.

This week on the podcast I give you the framework of my foodpreneur marketing plan that will help you land more accounts, get your product in more baskets, and put more money in your pocket for every food and drink product you sell.

Listen to episode 45 of the Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast now if you want a 12-month marketing plan to boost sales for your packaged food and drink products in 2023.

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Episode 44: Words of Advice from a Speciality Retail Buyer

Episode 44: Words of Advice from a Speciality Retail Buyer

As the gatekeepers to getting your product onto their shelves, hearing straight from retail buyers is always so invaluable to foodpreneurs. Get them at a good time and you could have your product in their store(s), get them at a bad time and you could never hear from them again….

This week I chat to specialty retail buyer Tim Sykes about everything from the best ways to contact a buyer, to when you should contact them, and what you should bring with you if you land a meeting with one (plus much more!)

Listen to episode 44 if you want to get into the mind of a specialty retail buyer to find out what to do (and what not to do) to improve your chances of getting stocked.

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Episode 43: What to do When a Stockist Says ‘No’ or ‘No for Now’

Episode 43: What to do When a Stockist Says ‘No’ or ‘No for Now’

Chances are if you’re a Foodpreneur trying to get your product onto more shelves, you’ve heard a ‘no’ from a stockist (or a ‘no for now’). In fact, majority of the time you will hear ‘no’, or a variation of it. It’s what you say and do before, during, and after the call, that makes all the difference.

In this week’s episode of The Foodpreneur with Chelsea Ford podcast I take one of our lovely Foodpreneurs Formula® members through how to approach sales calls and overcome objections from a stockist – particularly if you don’t enjoy ‘selling’, or cold-calling.

Listen to ep. 43 now if the idea of calling stockists makes you anxious and you want a sales call formula to double your sales.

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Episode 42: When Things Aren’t Good at Home and Your Business is at Risk

Episode 42: When Things Aren’t Good at Home and Your Business is at Risk

Balancing work and home life is tough for many people; but for those trying to start and run a small food and drink business, it can be even more challenging. The late nights, competing priorities, never-ending to do list, and of course the guilt that can come as a result of the juggle can cause poor mental and physical health and burnout.

For some small, packaged food and drink business owners it can become too much, and they may need make the decision about where to continue to put their time and energy. If your business is or has been negatively impacted by happenings at home and you want to know that you’re not alone, or if you’ve made the gut-wrenching decision to close your business and want to know how to manage your existing relationships and make the process less stressful, listen to this week’s episode.

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Episode 41: The 6-3-1 Formula to Grab Consumer Attention & Get Into More Baskets

Episode 41: The 6-3-1 Formula to Grab Consumer Attention & Get Into More Baskets

Do the words ‘financials’, ‘markup’ or ‘margins’ get you excited? Didn’t think so. While the creating, making, and designing are far more thrilling, financial understanding and financial planning can be the make or break for your brand, no matter how tasty your products are. Getting the numbers right at the start is pivotal to long term success and financial viability as is getting into more consumers hands. In this week’s episode, I have a compelling chat with Brand and FMCG start up King Eddie Stableford about the somewhat ‘unpretty’, but absolutely necessary for success side of branding, the financial aspect. Sit down, or pop in your headphones and go for a walk, while we take you through 52 minutes of how your brand can thrive in retail, how to understand retailer margins and how to get your product into more consumers’ hands using Eddie’s 6-3-1 formula.

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